BG late payment charges

KimYeovil

So are you saying you want the charge to be much higher and for it to reflect the true costs of not paying your bill? Is it not better to have an automatic modest charge of £14 applied every now and then (when you've spent your winter payment on something else) rather than having a hefty charge of £60 or £70?

Lots of people shrugging and paying a small charge of £14 when they are a bit late is surely better for you than a few people paying a large charge when they are very late. I'm in favour of the latter but I doubt you are.

Turkeys voting for Christmas.

KimYeovil

(What alternative action do you suggest should be taken against pensioners (and others) who don't pay their utility bills - after fourteen days cut off their supplies until they cough up?)

david39

Without being sympathetic to BG - I owe them no favours - I would have thought that they could make a strong case for the charge of £14 on the strength that it covers not only the cost of producing the letter(s), but also the average interest on outstanding balances on their average overdue bill.

When you go overdue with your payments (whatever the cause) BG are giving you an interest-free loan - try and get that from a bank or a money lender for £14.

bogwart

KimYeovil wrote: »

Lots of people shrugging and paying a small charge of £14 when they are a bit late is surely better for you than a few people paying a large charge when they are very late. I'm in favour of the latter but I doubt you are.

Turkeys voting for Christmas.

If you can't answer a simple question then don't answer at all. If I want advice from sanctimonious fools there are other places I can go.

What god-given right do you imagine you have to be so judgemental? Stay the hell away.

bogwart

david39 wrote: »

When you go overdue with your payments (whatever the cause) BG are giving you an interest-free loan - try and get that from a bank or a money lender for £14.

Another holier-than-thou clown who would rather get his opinion in print than answer the question posited. As you'd obviously prefer to be heard at any cost go somewhere other than my thread and do it.

What an amazing lot of pompous windbags we have here; it's almost funny to see the number of you who whinge about bank overcharges (which I've never had to do) but then become all smug and po-faced when it comes to dealing with the outrageous increases foisted on us all by the utilities.

WhistleBlower

£14 isn't that bad actually, we have an estimated per-letter cost of £18, but we don't charge for overdue notices. (Cost includes processing, printing, postage, man-hours for working on the data etc etc. ad infinitum)

We charge when we pass accounts to outside agencies, £14 for a telephony collection call (which may result in a letter if they can't get you by phone) and £23.50 if we end up sending someone out there.

Anyway, this argument isn't about how different companies operate.

The bottom line is, no matter what your circumstances there is currently a balance due and they sent you a reminder, which under their own terms and condidtions they are allowed to charge for. You can take it to the ombudsman if you wish but i'm afraid of all the practices power companies have in place, debt collection is one of the strictest so i wouldn't be too confident of a result i'm afraid.

Vestra

bogwart wrote: »

Another holier-than-thou clown who would rather get his opinion in print than answer the question posited. As you'd obviously prefer to be heard at any cost go somewhere other than my thread and do it.

What an amazing lot of pompous windbags we have here; it's almost funny to see the number of you who whinge about bank overcharges (which I've never had to do) but then become all smug and po-faced when it comes to dealing with the outrageous increases foisted on us all by the utilities.

What would you like us to say? Do you think people should just be allowed to just pay thier bills whenever they feel like it and not be penalised? You have come asking if we thought they were fair and I think the general opinion is that they are fair.

bogwart

WhistleBlower wrote: »

The bottom line is, no matter what your circumstances there is currently a balance due and they sent you a reminder, which under their own terms and condidtions they are allowed to charge for. You can take it to the ombudsman if you wish but i'm afraid of all the practices power companies have in place, debt collection is one of the strictest so i wouldn't be too confident of a result i'm afraid.

Thank you for your helpful and germane comment. I do appreciate your answer as well as your attitude.

Premier_2

bogwart wrote: »

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?

We know by your own admission that you have been late paying your gas bills for the last 2 or 3 times.

We also know that BG have agreed to waive that charge once already when you aked them to.

That's all we need to know to suggest to you that if you don't want to incur the charges in future, pay your bills on time!


Now how do you know what type of shirt a poster is wearing???
Presumptious? Your post speaks for itself!

bogwart

Rian1988 wrote: »

What would you like us to say? Do you think people should just be allowed to just pay thier bills whenever they feel like it and not be penalised? You have come asking if we thought they were fair and I think the general opinion is that they are fair.

Try sticking to the point and you will do better. I did NOT come here asking if you thought the charges were fair. I came to ask for opinions on my reading of the existing relevant legislation. The only person who has actually addressed my question was WhistleBlower; the rest of you behave like I've farted in church.

For your information the last tax bill I paid before I became ill was in excess of £100k. If I'd wanted a sermon and to be lectured like a naughty boy I would have brought my own hassock.