What should I do...re gas & elec

fuschia_2

Hi All,
Right on the 28th of July following Martins advice I went online and changed my duel fuel from EDF to British Gas at a capped rate. It all went through, got confirmation etc etc Was told it'd take 6-8 weeks to swap over and I've heard nothing since the confirmation.

Fast forward to Now, EDF have just taken another monthly direct debt and sent a letter saying their prices are going up £20 a month on gas and electric from 1st of December this year. SO, I thought why are they still charging me when i should be with BG by now...keep in mind I've received sales letters as a 'customer' from British Gas in the meantime. I know I should have alerted myself to this weeks ago but things have been so busy!

ANYWAY...I've called British Gas who've informed me as a result of their credit check I need to pay a security deposit of £215 as I didn't meet their standards. I asked why I wasn't informed of this earlier as I havent budgeted for the rise in prices and she claimed a letter wasn't sent and that it must've been a system error - which doesn't really help me.

I explained that it doesn't really help me as I'd have to pay EDF for the hike and she said oh well it'll only be a couple of months...:eek:

SO, do I call them back and just try and pay the money (although where I'll find £215 so close to christmas and as well as paying the extra on edf) or do I have any other options at the moment?

Thanks
X

fuschia_2

Does no one have any advice on this? part of me is wondering whether to just stick with edf and hope the prices go down...

Cardew

More information needed before advice can be given.

Which BG capped rate did you apply for? 2011 or 2012? If 2012 then you may well have had a lucky escape by BG not signing you up.

What price are you paying per kWh(gas and elect) for dual fuel with EDF

What is the price on BG for the account you applied for?

How much do you use in kWh?

littletommytucker

Sorry for late response... If you applied to BG on July the 28th then it would actually be Price Guarentee December 2009, and you would be on a tarriff currently 42% below standard rates on Direct Debit, or 35% cheaper than quarterly bill.

So you would be making great savings. I have thought about your situation and have thought of the best thing for you to do.

Call up the general call centre on 0800 048 0202... DONT mension that you have previously put an order in with them. Let whoever answers the call know that you want to become a duel fuel customer (customer services advisors get between £4 to £10 commission for signing customers up for duel fuel, so there tone of voice will probably be quite pleasent at this stage)

Now I dont feel that you should need to pay and security deposit with BG... Customers who get rated poor on the credit check can avoid the security deposit by giving your account number and sort code over the phone and agreeing to monthly Direct Debit (which you can cancel straight away at your bank once you have changed), This will only be insufficient if you have an extremly poor credit rating I.E bankrupcy or previous bills with an energy supplier that have resulted in a CCJ, and even if this does happed, the customer service advisor can still waivor the deposit (even though they shouldnt, but if im being honest I do it personally all the time, just because I dont want to miss out on the £10 bonus that I mensioned earlier, and most of my colleagues do the same practice).

So sit back and wait for your welcome pack, and after your supply start date, just call up and check your on PG2009, sound shocked when your not, then just tell them when you originally placed the order on 28th July you were promised PG2009, the order was resubmitted (through no fault of yours) and you were told that if you re submitted your order they would put you on the PG2009 tarriff. (dont say you were told this by the person that put your order through, say you called up a week before hand to clarify this and spoke to someone called "john" or some equally common english name, who told you this would be fine).

It is as simple as the click of a button for the person you are speaking to, to put you on the cheaper tarriff, and if a customer called up and got through to me in this situation i would easily do that for them.

I know this post maybe sounds a bit long and confussing, any questions, just ask, and im sure this will all work out fine for you (as complicated as it maybe sounds)

DirectDebacle

Doesn't affect me but what a good post.

Cardew

littletommytucker wrote: »

I know this post maybe sounds a bit long and confussing, any questions, just ask, and im sure this will all work out fine for you (as complicated as it maybe sounds)

Nice post and gives an insight into how things work at BG.

Now what about someone who wants to go on BG 2010 - could they try the same trick;) After all the offer only closed 3 years ago!!!!

littletommytucker

LOL. I have been known to put customers onto 2010 tarrif before... I even took the liberty of giving it to my grandparents...and backdating there bills on the tarriff for the past 2 years, giving them a nice £400 credit balance! But now im probably just saying too much!

Its all about who you get through to, and how your manor is with them.
I know its an awfull attitude to have, and have been shouted at before on this forum for being that way...but im sure everyone else would taking the same calls day in, day out, and hearing the same storys over and over!

Premier_2

Personally, I wouldn't go agreeing to pay monthly by DD with the intention of immediately cancelling the arrangement with your bank, no matter what a salesperson keen on earning commission however they can suggests.

First off you need to decide whether you really want to place your custom with a company that does not really care whether you do or not (if they did, they would have ensured they got back to you)

Secondly, it is true that you can often avoid paying a security deposit by agreeing to pay monthly by DD. However, if you cancel that DD, you are obviously in breach of your agreement so who knows what the supplier might elect to do. Perhaps put you onto their higher priced standard tariff and agree to you paying on receipt of bill but requiring the aforementioned deposit. Or worse still, lose any little faith they trusted in you when you promised to pay monthly by DD and decide that a pre-payment meter is the only way they can ensure you don't build up a big debt - together of course with the higher unit costs they usually attract.

littletommytucker

Erm excuse me premier.... I work for British Gas, and wouldnt of suggested that if it was "in breach of contract" or anything like that. The verbal contract, and written contract that the customer recieves doesnt mension anything about HAVING to pay by direct debit or anything like that. Thats just something that will allow the sale to go through on the systems we use.

Nothing you have said in the third paragraph would happen... fact.

I know your probably only trying to help, but what i said is totally correct.
Obviously when replying to fushia I am only trying to help her, the chance of her actually coming through to me on the phone call is slim, so dont really know what you mean by "no matter what a salesperson keen on earning commission however they can suggests" ...as i wouldnt benefit from this??

Its a shame that my suggesting I know would save fushia between 35 to 42% off her bills, but she will probably be scared to try it now because of your "personal" opinion.

1carminestocky

littletommytucker, as someone who has criticised you on here before, can I just say that's an amazing post and IMO EXACTLY the sort of post employees of the Big 6 should be making on here; informative and extremely helpful whilst also giving some great 'insider knowledge'. Brilliant! vbmenu_register("postmenu_15817805", true);

littletommytucker

Thank You 1carminestocky. Premier clearly has the wrong idea of me. My intention on this forum isnt to help the fat cat at the top of my company earn an extra tenner this year...its to help fushia save a few hundred.