I NEED HELP ( British gas & goodwill )

rajlaldil

Dear all,

I switch from EDF to BG. BG sent me all paper work confirm that switch to GB is done, I set up direct debit for GB.

few days ago i found by chance that I still with EDF and I did not switch with GB. I talked to GB explained what want wrong, after few calls they agreed .. they refund all money I paid ... I've asked for financial compensation as it not my mistake , I found that by myself , I spent time and calls cost to talk to EDF & BG and I have to catch up with bills I left behind with BG.

How much do you thing I should ask for goodwill payment?!! anyone has similar story he likes to share it here.

PLEASE I REALLY NEED YOUR HELP.




thank you


( sorry for my English error as I am international student )

spiro

If the switch failed how do you have "to catch up with bills I left behind with BG"?

Did EDF or BG say why your switch did not go through? There are only a few reasons this can sometime happen but why impacts any answer we can give you.

In terms of a goodwill payment you are unlikely to get anything from either party.

rajlaldil

Thank you. BG says: they have done address mistake, so I was paying someone else usage.

dogshome

Hi rajlaldil - As I understand your posts you switched from EDF to BG who accepted you in writing, but some time later you found that because BG had made mistakes with the address, the Switch had never taken place and EDF were still your provider.

Whilst BG have returned the money you paid to them, you now have to pay EDF for power used in the time BG held the account.

Payment for your time and trouble in sorting out BG's error is not the issue, what is the issue is that you moved to BG as they offered a cheaper tariff and they offered, and you accepted, a contract to supply at these prices.
BG having c*cked it up cannot just say sorry, give you your money back and walk away - They have failed to deliver on the contract and are liable for any extra costs you incur, which is the extra cost of the EDF tariff you have been forced back into.
Write to BG pointing out that you are holding them liable for £xxx, being the difference between your billed amounts from them and the bills from EDF

Note to other regulars I do have a bee in my bonnet about the cost to customers of a failed Switch and having searched as best as I can thro' that dogs dinner, The 2002 Utilities Act, I can find no procedure laid down as to customer billing in the event of Switch failure,( probably because the administrators who wrote it never considered that such a thing could happen )
It appears that the Utilities who quickly found that such a thing could and did happen, agreed a cosy little arrangement amongst themselves whereby in the event of Switch failure, the account is always passed back to the original supplier - Never mind that this will more often than not be at extra cost the customer, it's an easy and simple fix

What they forgot is that when they impose thier contract T & C's on a customer, it is governed by Contract Law as well as the 2002 Utilities Act, and if you fail to deliver on a contract you are responsible for any costs the other party incurs because of that failure

rajlaldil

Thank so much for you help ... it is really useful.

Joyful

Although I agree with Dogshome's sentiment the official rule is the customer goes back to the original provider as an Erroneous transfer and then is billed continuously as if they had never left. The incorrect supplier then returns any money paid. The incorrect supplier or the correct supplier do not have to pay any difference in the tariffs. Some may give compensation but not required by the regulator.

Very often it is the industry records that are incorrect especially with flats or new builds. In this case it is not the supplier who makes the mistake.It is often the builders when they register the properties to the industry databases.

dogshome

Hi Joyful - I stand to be corrected, but the point of my post is that I have not been able to find an "Official" rule in the Act, but there is some evidence of an Ad Hoc arrangement between the Utility Co's
What the Regulator, I presume you mean Ofgem, does or does not require is beside the point - The Utilities Act has to operate within the bounds of Contract Law

rajlaldil

Joyful,

it is B.G mistake there is no debate about it. but does B.G have to pay "GOODWILL" . I would say: YES. How much? I do not know.

In my case, the flat is quite old .. I have all letter B.G confirm the address the supply which is my address but, the serial number of the mater is not mine. So the start charging me for someone else usage and PDF continue to charging me as switching to no where.

Joyful

This may be that the builders allocated the wrong meter to the flats. I have a customer who lives in a block of 5 flats. Someone has put a flat no beside all the meters which correspond to the industry records. The only problem is at least 2 of them are wrong so are not getting correct bills. Also one supply keeps leaving to another provider in error because of this.

This is not BG's fault. Luckily the customer has been very helpful to get the situation resolved but it will take time. The other customer does not know she is being billed incorrectly so will be in the same situation as rajlaldil soon.

Cardew

rajlaldil wrote: »

Joyful,

it is B.G mistake there is no debate about it. but does B.G have to pay "GOODWILL" . I would say: YES. How much? I do not know.

Hi rajlaldi,

I believe the term you need is 'Compensation' not 'Goodwill'.

'Goodwill' is a voluntary payment, usually without any admission that a company are at fault, and often for wasted time and effort.

If you suffered a financial loss where BG are at fault, then you are entitled to compensation. That compensation would cover the actual financial loss and a reasonable sum for your time and effort.

However as Joyful points out, the fault might not lie with BG. There are big problems with meter serial numbers being allocated to the correct address, and that is usually not the fault of the Utility company. For instance it could be EDF passing incorrect information to BG,

I suggest you get BG to sort out the switch, determine where the fault lies and then you ask for either a goodwill payment or compensation.

dogshome

Hi Joyful - I very rarely get into debate as to the quality and pertinance of other posts, but on this occasion I am getting a stronger and stronger whiff of Red Herring from your post Nos. 6 & 9

Your report of a 5 flat building in which the meters have been labelled with incorrect flat Nos, is indeed a problem for BG which is not of BG's making, however rajlaldil has reported he is in an older building and has had an admission frm BG that they are at fault
BUT
Whilst I have directly challanged your post stating that the way failed Switches are dealt with is "Official" and "Regulator" policy - Your only reply is to report an instance of wrong meter allocation

The longer this thread runs without an authorative and detailed reply from one of the Utility reps, the more I am convinced that the Utilities when dealing with failed switches, have ignored the legal boundaries of their own contracts