British Gas Electricity meter rip off - help please!

moosetastic

hiya Kinnairdy, did you check the meter thoroughly? put the key in and then check through the menus? thats how we found out about ours being put on without our knowledge or consent.

btw, I have official complaint status at energywatch now, they are writing to BG for their version of events, so just waiting to hear now

Kinnairdy

Mornin Moose
Yes I did check with the key in the meter too, a very useful piece of info you gave me and everyone else.
No still not attempting to recover debt yet, perhaps the volume of complaints re this alleged debt and threats of Energywatch has caused a slow down/rethink by B.G. on recovery methods, time will tell.
Hope you get your problem sorted soon anyway.
Am still in the early stages of the energywatch complaint procedure so will be interested to know how you get on.
All the best, stay :cool:

lisaj33

Hi everyone we had a prepayment meter put in about 6 weeks ago due to getting a bill for £550 from bg and not being able to pay it.
Anyway we are currently putting at least £40 a week on and we do not have any gas at all just elecrtic in our property, after reading the posts on here i had a look at our meter and we are paying £13 in arrears a week and £14.13 for a weekly charge though funnily enough the debt is still £550:mad: :mad:
Last night we put £20 on the key and it jumped down to £11.89 (9pm) this morning it is £9.52 (12.05pm) we have no heating on and no emmersion tank on the only things running are the usual things fridge,tv,fishtank,computer so how the bloody hell are we using this much electricity?
We have rung bg 3 times and as you all know their customer service is crap:mad:
I have now emailed them to see if i get a better response

thanks Lisa

tricky31

I recently changed to EDF Energy only to find they are now carging me over double my last tariff.
I signed up on line but their excuse is that as i have an economy seven meter, i am not entitled to the on line tariff. They are now going to change the meter in around three weeks ( i had to organise that myself) and i will be on the more expensive tariff until then.
I complained stating that this was in fact unfair and that no other provider has charged me anything other than the standard domestic tariff regardless of what meter i had. They pretty much told me tough, i am supposed to be a meter expert to ensuer this did not happen and that they would stick by their decision and fight any complaint. I will be paying the more expensive tariff until the meter change.
I contacted Energywatch who are very very helpfull and will be complaining on my behalf. EDF energy stated that they will even fight Energywatch and will not be budging.
I will post the final outcome.
In the meantime i suggest everyone checks the meter they have before switching suppliers, in particular to EDF Energy and reads the small print!

Kinnairdy

So why not change providers again then Tricky?, assume it is the usual 1-3 month clause then you can switch again. Let them change the meter then change provider. Why stay with a company that you feel is giving sub standard service?.

bravejordy

Hi everyone

I too, received a bill from British Gas - albeit just for £6.04. I don't wish to sound like a miser, I was more annoyed on principle than anything else. Here's the letter I sent to BG yesterday:-

Dear Mr Dyer

I am filled with shock and disgust at receiving a bill from you this morning for the sum of £6.04. Your letter goes on to say that I’m not paying the correct tariff and gives a somewhat “clear as mud” explanation relating to when my meter was changed. I’m sorry but this is just not acceptable. It’s not the sum of £6.04 that has angered me but more the fact that I feel I was conned into leaving Scottish Power in favour of signing up with British Gas for my electricity supply.

The salesman, who called at my home on 23rd February 2005, assured me that the tariff was much lower with British Gas than what I’d currently been paying to Scottish Power. He went on to say I’d find I’d be spending less on electricity each week. In truth, this has not been the case. I’m still putting the same amount of credit in my meter each week, sometimes even more. Quite frankly, had I known then what I know now, there’s no way I would have signed up with British Gas for my electricity supply.

I’d like to clarify a few facts which, hopefully, will make you see things from my perspective and make the possibility of me owing money to British Gas highly unlikely.

I signed an agreement on 23/02/05 to have my electricity supplied by British Gas. Just to reiterate what I said in the last paragraph, I did this on the understanding that my electricity charges would be much lower.
The salesman (Mr R. Lewis – Advisor Code: 156 610520) told me I’d probably have to wait a month or two for my new key-type meter to be installed. However, he said in the meantime British Gas would send me a card so that future purchases of ‘electricity credit’ would be credited to my British Gas account, and not Scottish Power.

True to his word, I did receive a card a few weeks after signing the agreement and British Gas subsequently started supplying my electricity as from 13th April, 2005. I was a little disappointed however, that no one from British Gas came to adjust my meter to the promised lower tariff. Not wanting to make a fuss, I assumed this would right itself when my new meter was eventually installed.

The new meter wasn’t installed until five months later – 20th September 2005, to be precise. It was only when my new meter was installed that my tariff was lowered. This effectively means that between 13/04/05 and 20/09/05, although contracted to British Gas, I was actually paying the higher Scottish Power tariff. In conclusion to these facts I would say it’s more likely British Gas owe me money as oppose to the other way round.

If you still insist that I owe you a bill for £6.04 please furnish me with facts, figures and tariffs. Plus a crystal clear explanation as to why you feel I owe this amount. I never pay any bill unless it can be fully and reasonably justified.

While we’re on the subject of who owes who, there’s another matter I’d like to raise while I’m in communication with the Customer Services Department. Scottish Power used to periodically send me 4 x free Energy Saving Light Bulbs, as they do with all their customers. Yet I’ve never had any free bulbs from British Gas. I’ve spoken to a local councillor about this and he assures me that all companies supplying electricity are meant to give their customers free Energy Saving Light Bulbs as part of the Government’s energy saving initiative. I’d like to offer you the opportunity to explain why I have never had any light bulbs from you. To my calculations I’d say you owe me at least 4 x bulbs – and you have the audacity to send me a bill for £6.04? Maybe I should go to my local B&Q store, purchase 4 x Energy Saving bulbs and then send you the bill.

If you cannot offer a satisfactory response to the points raised in this letter, I feel it fair to warn you of my intention to return to Scottish Power for my electricity supply. They may not be the cheapest but they could certainly teach you a thing or two about customer relations. I will however, continue to have British Gas as my gas supplier – as I’ve always done.

I trust you will give this matter your immediate attention.


Yours faithfully

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I'll keep you updated on any reply I receive

moosetastic

well, its a victory for the little people once again!!

FINALLY got a reply from BG after going through Energywatch, they are admitting they were in the wrong, and credited me £55.25 back onto my electricty meter!!! Wont need to buy any eleccy until Xmas now!!

Fantastic :T :j :rotfl:

fluffieone

This morning i got a letter from BG telling me i could not change supplier as i owe them 87.01, got to say i was fuming, it was only a couple of months ago i had to pay them forty something pounds back for not being on the right tarrif, so as advised on here i checked my prepayment meter to see if there was any outstanding debt and ther was'nt.
When i phoned i was surprised that it only took 5 mins to get through, the BG guy said that the bill must be paid before i can switch, i said it isn't a bill its a letter telling me why i cannot switch and that i had'nt had a bill not even for the forty something pound i had to pay back. ( i have to say that i was angry when i phoned , though still sort of polite, the guy kept apologising, i know its not his fault.)
He put me back on hold 3 times, one of the times he muttered that i had been paying the wrong tarrif, i said thats what the forty something pound was for according to BG.
Then he comes back on saying he's having trouble sorting it out as its complicated will i wait a bit longer.
Finally after about another 10 mins he says that it appears that its their mistake and i owe nothing, i asked him if he was certain more than once, no explanation just that theyed made an error and i owe nothing, then he told me to contact the supplier who i was switching with so that they can request a transfer again.

I'm still quite angry now with BG, i know its been sorted out (hopefully i won't get another letter telling me i still owe them) but why put people through stress just because they can't be bothered to do things right.

GrannyKnits_2

Wish I'd known about this site before. We were with BG until April, they (at short notice) told us we had to have a new meter fitted. Nothing mentioned about the key until the guy had fitted it. Once it was fitted we found we had to keep putting a lot more money onto the card (once we found somewhere who would do this). I mentioned it to the shopkeeper and h said everyone who had been in with a new meter said the same thing. DH decided to switch suppliers in March, by April this had taken place and we were sent closing statements on both fuels. Gas said we owed £16.67 and electric said we were in credit by £71. 51. I disregarded this as we were on pre-payment meters. A few weeks later I received another statement from bg asking for the money. Forgot about it until a week later when I got a letter from debt collector threatening futher action., Phoned bg, spent ages on hold, finally spoke to someone who said they would wipe the gas and look into whether I was owed the money for electric. A week later had another letter from bg saying it had been investigated and i was owed £51.51 and a cheque should be with me within next 14 days. It wasn't so phoned again, several attempts before i got through. Spoke to a very stern sounding woman who told me she would wipe the £16.67 and the other would have to be looked into. I repeatedly told her that it already had been and that I had a letter in front of me saying i was owed £51.51. She was adament that it would have to be looked into and would not discuss any further. The letter was dated 29 June! End of last week i received a letter from credit agency demanding £16.67 and today I get a red letter Final Notice with £30 legal charges added on.

Please can someone give me some advice. Went on bg website and tried to find a contact address but didn't know whether to write, email or phone. Don't really want to phone tough as i will not have a record of what is said. Is there an ombudsman?