British Gas stopped Standing Orders forcing Direct Debits

sharpmantf1

Has anybody else had an issue with British Gas?
Have been with them for near on 10 years now. Have paid by standing order for the best part of that time.

Had a falling out with direct debits and caused all sorts of problems with bank charges etc.

So, out of the blue I recieve a letter from BG querying if I had stopped my payment plan, and that I must pay the outstanding amount.

Rang BG, Turns out that they are no longer accepting SO as payment method. when I explained my situation and my dislike for DD and my reasons, the were not interested. it's DD or nothing else. or other payments which are faintly disguised but are still tantamount to a DD - blank cheque to rob my account when they feel like it.

has anybody else had this done to them...

t0rt0ise

Standing orders are just the same as you paying by bank transfer each month. Of course it's not as easy for you and you have to remember to go and do it but I don't see that it's like a DD in stealth.

marleyboy

Inform them your transferring to a more user friendly gas company that allows you to pay your bill the way you prefer it to be paid.

p00hsticks

sharpmantf1 wrote: »

it's DD or nothing else.

What tariff is this ?
British Gas simply bill me every quarter for what I've used and I then pay electronically. Is that option not available to you ?

sharpmantf1

Standard tarriff,
I get a bill every quarter.
I pay x amount each month by SO, have done for a good many years.

as usual i could be in the red over the winter months due to a higher useage but this usualy evens out over the warmer summer months. sometimes this has put me in credit.

but it appears that this is no longer an option. but it is still an option on their website.

business customers are allowed to pay by this method.

Premier_2

Oh, more details please OP!

According to the BG website, it still says you can pay by Standing Order
http://www.britishgas.co.uk/pdf/waytopay.pdf

I'm not sure how they can stop it really unless they prevent all incoming electronic credits.
Has your bank informed you that Standing Orders you've attempted have been returned?

Also according to BG tariff, there's even a discount for paying by SO
http://www.britishgas.co.uk/pdf/unit%20rates/Gas%20ONLINE%20Rates%20Tables%20-%20Standard.pdf (note 4)


Edit: OP beat me to it whilst I was typing

sharpmantf1

t0rt0ise wrote: »

Standing orders are just the same as you paying by bank transfer each month. Of course it's not as easy for you and you have to remember to go and do it but I don't see that it's like a DD in stealth.

SO is a bank transfer .... it's setup to go out each month on the same day.

sharpmantf1

Premier,
as stated in opening post, I had a letter from BG querying if I had stopped my Payment Plan. And that I owed £214.00
(my last bill was only £127.76 dr. That was the latest bill which came out 11 Aug.)
The letter I recieved was dated 23 October.
it states as the methods of payment as:
Pay by Phone
Card
Cheque
DD

No SO Mentioned anywhere.

I contacted BG customer services to enquire what the issue was. I was told that they have changed their billing company or something along those lines and that standing orders are no longer an option.

She quoted some other methods of payment which were not suitable. mainly pushing the DD route.

Come to think of it now, I had a phone call from BG a few weeks ago making enquiries about how I pay for my gas and enquired why I did not pay by DD. I thought nothing of it until now.

Premier_2

sharpmantf1 wrote: »

Premier,
as stated in opening post, I had a letter from BG querying if I had stopped my Payment Plan. And that I owed £214.00
(my last bill was only £127.76 dr. That was the latest bill which came out 11 Aug.)...

With due respect, the highlighted text would suggest to me that they think the lack of payment is a result of something you've recently changed, rather than something they've recently changed.

Also, if you currently owe more than the last bill from August, then it suggests something serious is going wrong somewhere.
(the fact you appear to now be officially in arrears could be a reason they wont accept SO which is a regular payment system - I suspect they want the arrears all in one go)

I would suggest you check with your bank if they've had any returned SO payments, and if not (or even if you have) consider making a formal complaint to BG

http://www.britishgas.co.uk/complaints

spiro

sharpmantf1 wrote: »

Standard tarriff,
I get a bill every quarter.
I pay x amount each month by SO, have done for a good many years.

as usual i could be in the red over the winter months due to a higher useage but this usualy evens out over the warmer summer months. sometimes this has put me in credit.

but it appears that this is no longer an option. but it is still an option on their website.

business customers are allowed to pay by this method.

By you own admission you are not paying your bills on time. If you get a bill every quarter and paid by Bank Transfer (one off SO) that would be acceptable.
If you want to pay monthly you need to either:
a) Go onto a tariff that offers monthly bill and pay the bill when it arrives by whatever means you want, or
b) Go onto a DD tariff which allows you to pay the same every month.

Joyful

IF they have stopped taking standing orders why not set up a Monthly pyt card plan with them but instead of paying it over the counter set up the Standing order for the same amount. I think your problem has been that either you are not on an official plan or you have not been paying the amount advised. This is the problem with Standing orders as opposed to Direct debits. With a DD you are advised of a change in amount and it is actioned. With a SO some people do not action and think they will continue pyg the amount they want. This then puts your account into arrears and the payment plan fails. I think with the size of your balance this might be what has happened to you.