BG late payment charges

bogwart

For reasons which are not necessary to explain I have been late paying the last two or three bills from BG.

They are trying to stitch me up with a £14 charge for writing a reminder letter. They also did this about three years ago but when I challenged them they removed the charge.

But they will not now move. According to my interpretation of the law their conduct equates to the overcharging by the banks and credit card companies.

"The law of penalty charges permits the recovery only of losses caused by a contractual breach. Penalties which make profits are unenforceable at Common Law and The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999."

Surely this should also apply to BG? They tell me the £14 covers the cost of the letter, but a computer-generated letter doesn't cost £14 to produce.

If anyone has any definitive knowledge on this I shall be most grateful for the information; the reptiles are making more than enough from me as it is, and being on Pension Credit Guarantee means every penny has to count.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Cardew

Are you disputing that there should be any charge; or just the amount of the charge?

I would have thought £14 to produce a letter is not unreasonable.

How much do you feel the charge should be?

bogwart

Yes, I think £14 is excessive. These letters are produced as part of a routine computer run, it's not as if a human being is sitting down and composing a letter. As I mentioned earlier, the principle is the same as the banks overcharging for basically producing a letter.

If you think it's a reasonable charge then how is it that other utility companies, EDF for example (who supply my electricity) don't impose a similar charge?

Debt-chasing is part of the cost of doing business, and such costs are already factored into their charges. I ran businesses for decades, but was never able to get away with charging people (even monolithic institutions like BG) who paid on 60, 90 or 120 days.

I appreciate you taking the time to respond to my query; what I really wanted was to learn of any other experience of this situation, not a subjective comment on the morality of the problem.

Vestra

People who don't pay their bills on time and need reminding so to speak cost a company a lot of money! If you feel the charges are excessive, write and complain seeking their answer from someone in a complaints department and if you don't want to incur the charges again pay the bills when they are due.

bogwart

Wow. I hope that hair shirt is not itching too much. You know nothing about me or the circumstances which have brought me here, so do not presume to lecture me. Who the hell do you think you are?

Cardew

bogwart wrote: »

Yes, I think £14 is excessive. These letters are produced as part of a routine computer run, it's not as if a human being is sitting down and composing a letter. As I mentioned earlier, the principle is the same as the banks overcharging for basically producing a letter.

If you think it's a reasonable charge then how is it that other utility companies, EDF for example (who supply my electricity) don't impose a similar charge?

Debt-chasing is part of the cost of doing business, and such costs are already factored into their charges. I ran businesses for decades, but was never able to get away with charging people (even monolithic institutions like BG) who paid on 60, 90 or 120 days.

I appreciate you taking the time to respond to my query; what I really wanted was to learn of any other experience of this situation, not a subjective comment on the morality of the problem.

I wasn't commenting on the 'morality of the problem'. I was enquiring if you agreed with the principle of the charge, or disputed the level of the charge.

BG's T & C's - http://www.britishgas.co.uk/terms-and-conditions-additional-dual.html clearly allow them to make charges for chasing late payments.

2.3 Our price list may include charges that become payable by you if you do not pay your bill in full within the time stated in clause 3.3. These charges will be based on our calculation of costs that we may have to pay at different stages to recover unpaid charges from you(my underlining)

It seems to me that statement is 'definitive' in that they calculate the cost of a letter at £14.

If you feel £14 is excessive, you can always take the matter up with the Energy Ombudsman.

If you feel any charge is unjustified then you can leave BG.

I am pretty certaint that EDF will have a similar provision in their contract; but might not apply that sanction as quickly as BG.

bogwart

Thanks for the comment, and sorry if I misunderstood where you were coming from with your first reply.

I will take this up with the Energy Ombudsman, because their terms as quoted are completely subjective. In theory they can charge whatever they like and tell you it's the result of their calculation. Pity it doesn't work the other way around; if I spend time without recompense dealing with different problems of their making I have to suck it up.

I do not believe that, whatever their T&C may say, they can override the provisions of the relevant legislation in the same way that legislation takes precedence over a company's claims as to guarantees, refunds, etc.

It seems I will have to go to a proper site for help for this specific problem.

BillTrac

I opted for paperless billing several years ago with BG. Apparently there is no initila with my account, so I couldnt check online. After several phone calls and having received red "month overdue" letters FINALLY I have managed to get an online account. So I have not been able to have any early payment discounts etc.

Do BG have their own set of horses and spurs?

As far as I can see they are a bunch of cowboys,.

1carminestocky

Their loyal customers effectively paid for their super duper computer. Surely it must be state of the art, it cost a reported HALF A BILLION POUNDS. And to think Thatcher stated privatised industries mean more efficiency..:p

bogwart

I would certainly agree with that. And from the Dubya class of cowboys too - all hat, no beef.

I get my gas from BG and my electricity from EDF. Since I've been having problems the difference in attitude truly tells its own story. BG are arrogant, dismissive and unhelpful; they tell lies and basically behave as if they are reading from a prepared script. EDF are helpful and willing to be accommodating if they feel you are being straight with them.

As soon as I have settled the current problem with BG they're out of my life; as someone else said in a different thread I wouldn't use them again if they had the cheapest prices in the country, permanently.

bogwart

1carminestocky wrote: »

Their loyal customers effectively paid for their super duper computer. Surely it must be state of the art, it cost a reported HALF A BILLION POUNDS. And to think Thatcher stated privatised industries mean more efficiency..:p

So now it's Maggie's fault? Dear oh dear. Have you never heard of GIGO? "Garbage in, garbage out." It's not the computer's fault.

As for the system designers yes, it is their fault. Along with the BG people who wrote the specification. They're obviously the same morons who design all of HMG's systems and programs.