Gas bill problem - could be trouble ahead

liverpooldave2009

3 years ago i purchased a flat and it had a pre-pay gas meter. It took me a year to get British Gas to change it so i could have a normal bill. I found them impossible to deal with and it caused me so much stress.

A few months after the new meter was installed i was sent a bill for 0.71 pence. I found this very odd and called up, they said i must have had some credit off my old meter. I found this odd as the old meter was prepay but i assumed they knew what they were on about. I asked for a DD which i eventually got (after numerous calls) and returned. I then thought nothing of it until i got a bill through which stated a credit of over £100. I checked my bank for the DD and found nothing there, i'd not paid a penny.

So again i phoned up and explained, they asked me to do a burn test to make sure the meter they had down was correct. I did this and it was. So they said they would send someone out. Nobody came and the next bill i had showed even more credit, again nothing from my bank.

I again called and again they would get someone to look into it. More months later i receive another bill with even more credit, up to £400 this time. I was getting very stressed with all of this and phoned up saying whats going on. They again said we'll get someone to look into it.

By this point i was getting so angry with them i was getting slightly ill everytime i had to deal with them so i gave up. The last communication i had from them was about 9 months ago with a bill stating a credit of £670.

I know i must owe them a lot of money (2 years of gas paying only 0.71 pence) however when they do eventually get round to sending me the bill is there anyway i can get them to lower the total amount as i really can't afford to pay over 2 years worth of gas now.

I honestly tried my best, i must have made a total of about 50 calls over the first year but gave up as i was getting absolutley nowhere with them.

Premier_2

If you are getting nowhere with the CS, why not follow the BG complaints procedure as printed on every bill they issue?

liverpooldave2009

Premier wrote: »

If you are getting nowhere with the CS, why not follow the BG complaints procedure as printed on every bill they issue?

I've lodged a complaint before and when calling up to chase it up they said they had no record of it!!

Im going to do it again, im more looking for advice as i know they will get back saying yes you are correct we don't owe you £670 you owe £1000+. Im wondering is there any fall back for me to say i can't pay the full amount and due to your failings i shouldn't be billed the full amount straight away.

Premier_2

Post edited - obviously wasting my time even hoping to explain. :rolleyes:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=28296189&postcount=19

liverpooldave2009

Premier wrote: »

Send your complaint recorded delivery.

When they then say they have no record of it, and you can prove otherwise, you can take it to the next stage

What is the basis of your complaint? You can't complain because you can't afford to pay. A complaint is something they have done wrong.
If you can't afford to pay, start negotiating. Raising a formal complaint is not the best start to negotiation.

I'm beginning to understand why after 50 calls you got nowhere

Maybe i'm naive but when i call british gas and they tell me they are going to do send someone out to look at my meter i assume they will do it.

Also maybe i'm naive but when they say they will get someone to look into the matter and call me back i assume i will get a call back.

Can you tell me what someone's supposed to do in circumstances like that?

Pincher

Roughly 15 years ago. I was with British Gas, and they did a Barclaycard offer. They were supposed to charge the Barclaycard (VISA) every quarter. I should have got Barclaycard reward points, and maybe a small discount on my Dual Fuel bill.

They NEVER charged the Barclaycard, but the bill was paid each quarter, MIRACULOUSLY. Being too vigilant, I called up every quarter to tell British Gas. Three quarters later, somebody said something about problem with linking to the Barclaycard IT system, they are WORKING on it. One year plus one quarter later, it was still going on. British Gas also refused to cover my boiler, because it was too old.

So I switched away, before the XXXX hits the fan. I think the switch forced somebody with a brain to manually work out what the bill should have been, which I paid by cheque, just to be sure there was a record. Obviously I kept a log of the meter readings throughout the whole period.

The constant wailing of BG victims over the last 15 years vindicates my decision to leave. I now just tell the BG salesmen who call to give me a £10,000 welcome bonus, which is what I estimate the grief will be worth as a BG customer.

It was just obvious the company had been taken over by fast talking double glazing salesmen, who sacked all the IT people because they were overheads.

ixwood

liverpooldave2009 wrote: »

..

Can you tell me what someone's supposed to do in circumstances like that?

Put the money they haven't taken into a savings account and get paid interest on their money, until they ask for it.

I wouldn't just spend it and then bleat about not being able to afford it a year later.

t0rt0ise

I would move to another supplier and see what happens. They will either pay you what they think they owe you by cheque or recalculate what you really owe.

Cardew

liverpooldave2009 wrote: »

I honestly tried my best, i must have made a total of about 50 calls over the first year but gave up as i was getting absolutley nowhere with them.

How many times have you written to BG?

If you write, and send it recorded delivery, then you are on stronger grounds re your billing.

If you receive money from any source that you are aware is a mistake, you are not allowed to retain it!