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Where would this meter be used??
Traditionally, they were found in places which had a quick turnaround of occupants (e.g. student accommodations) or in any circumstances in which the PoCo didn't consider the customer cerditworthy enough to have a regular account. For example, if a customer got into difficulty and made a habit of not paying bills on time the PoCo might insist that he go over to a coin meter (which was generally set to charge a higher rate per unit than for someone with a normal credit account).

As I mentioned above, coin meters were also sometimes found in places such as holiday cottages which were just rented out for a week or two at a time. It could be either a PoCo coin meter in such a case, or a privately installed one so that the property owner collected the money but paid the power bill in the usual way.

Coin meters gradually fell out of favor with the PoCos in more recent years, and the card meter is the modern equivalent.

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If my memory serves me correctly Paul,
there used to be one of them meters on the wall in the Lounge on Steptoe and Son.
I think you may be right. It might have been a gas meter though, can't remember for sure.
Yes, we had coin-operated gas meters at one time as well!

If you watch enough old British movies, eventually you're bound to see one where somebody gets sent off to put a shilling in the gas or electric meter. [Linked Image]



[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 01-18-2007).]