Having Problems Changing Supplier For My Gas & Electric

Maria_MacGowan

Can anybody help me I am trying to change supplier for my gas and electric I am with British Gas at the moment and want to go to Eon.

I started the process back in September time, I was with British Gas and they kept upping my direct debits, so I looked for a cheaper supplier and Eon came up as 1 of the cheapest (EDF are the cheapest but they upset when I moved from my previous address to this address so don't want them again). Set up an account with Eon as they came up with a cheaper direct debit than British Gas so I changed over to Eon the change over went through no problem. I got my final bill for gas from British gas which they owed me money on and they sent me a cheque, but I did not get a final bill from British Gas for my electric, I contacted them and they said they will send it 2 weeks later still no bill but got a call from someone in the account section of British Gas demanding payment for my final electric bill. I told him I had not had it and until I got it I will not be paying a penny, then he started to accuse me of stalling for time and I said I was not stalling for time pointing out that in the past week other post had gone missing including an important appointment for my son which I ended up missing as I did not get the appointment letter. I also made it quite clear to him I don't deal with payments over the phone and because I was changing provider I had cancelled my direct debits to British gas and when I get the final electric bill would come to some arrangement to pay the bill off because I live on benefits due to having a disabled husband and son I would not be able to pay the bill off in 1 go but would pay in instalments, but he just kept on pushing me for payment and still accusing me of stalling and he told me that no arrangements to pay in instalments could be made on a closed electric account, with that I told him if he don't stop being rude I would be putting the phone down on him and making a complaint. He said he would leave me alone and was putting the final electric bill in the post.

3 days later the final electric bill arrives I phone British Gas to make payment arrangements and told them what happened with the ignorant demanding man last time I had dealings with the accounts department and that department could no longer telephone me as I had blocked the number on my phone. British Gas apologised for the man’s behaviour and for him telling me lies and set up a payment plan using a payment card.

By this time I am getting my Gas & Electric from Eon. About a week after setting up a payment plan with British Gas for my electric to pay off my final bill, I got a call from British gas offering a better deal with them than Eon was giving me so I took that deal and went back with British Gas but I did not agree to set up a direct debt with them. A week later Eon came up with a better deal than British Gas so I went back with Eon which I am now in the process of trying to complete and will be staying with Eon no matter what deal British Gas come up with.

Within the time I start the process of going back with Eon, I get a letter from British Gas welcoming me back for my gas and saying they had set up a direct debit using my bank details from previous account (which I am sure is breaking the law as when you leave a company they are meant to remove your bank account detail from their system). I phoned them and had ago at them for not deleting my bank details off their system and that I had not agreed to paying by direct debit. The British Gas lady I spoke to was very sorry for this and cancelled the direct debit then removed my bank account details off their system or so I thought! 2 or 3 weeks later I get exactly the same letter from British Gas regarding my new electric account again saying a direct debit has been set up saying they would take £50 per month for my electric using yet again my bank details from my previous electric account. Again I called British Gas and told them what I told them when they did the same thing with my gas account stating this is the 2nd time my bank account has been used illegally and again British Gas said they was sorry and removed my bank account details and cancelled the direct debit, promising this time my bank account details had been removed from their system.
On checking my bank account online on Saturday 4th December 2010 I saw that British Gas had taken £50 direct debit payment for my electric (I am sure they had told me only 2 weeks before that my bank account details had been removed from British Gas system and all direct debits had been cancelled???). Again I called them blew them up regarding this matter of illegally using my bank account and again they said sorry and said they would refund my money on Tuesday 7th Dec 2010 and would call me when it was done, which they did.

This morning I get a letter from British Gas (sent on the 2nd Dec 2010) stating that they are sorry I was leaving them for my electric and that I needed to call them to pay any outstanding monies as I cannot change supplier until I pay it off (I guess I will probably get another letter like this for my gas account with British Gas). I call them and said I would I need my final bill so that I could come to some arrangement to pay it off and I asked why is it that I have been sent a letter saying that I can't change supplier until I paid all monies owed, when last time I changed to Eon I had no problem or letters like this. The person I was speaking to at British Gas regarding this matter (another ignorant person) said apparently it is law from OFGEM (that you can’t leave 1 supplier to go to another unless all monies owed are paid off 1st) and I could not go till payment was made for my electric and that EON should have told me this when I went to change over to them, now and before and that I could check this out myself on the OFGEM website. I did check this statement on OFGEM’s website and it says that suppliers may stop you from changing over. Not must stop you changing supplier before making payment. Is there anything I could do about this and after the way they have messed about with my account and illegally used my bank account not once but 3 times why should I make payment before I change as the way they messed about and used my bank account it only shows what type of company they are.

McKneff

Do you think yu could go back over your post via the edit button and put in quite a few paragraphs, it is extremely difficult to read and will stop people from reading the whole post, hence yu get no help.
sorry.

Maria_MacGowan

Now been edited and spell checked I hope it makes sence now many thanks for pointing this out.

KimYeovil

You are very free with the 'ignorant' pejorative when a more neutral and appropriate use of 'ignorant' could be deployed elsewhere. You are messing around chopping and changing between two suppliers with scant regard for sense. You are trying to change supplier when you know you owe money.

You really have to sort out what you want and act on it. If you do not want to pay by direct debit then find out what your cheapest tariff will be using a comparison site and settle for it for a while. Ignore telephone callls from salesmen (they do not have magical new tariffs and will accidentally not hear you mentioning you want to pay quarterly (that is if you did mention it).) Of course if you are in debt to the present supplier then they can stop you switching. Not paying by direct debit may result in a much more expensive cost for your fuel. As you have messed British Gas around so much your debt is clearly flagged on their system so you are stuck with them for now until you have cleared the debt.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Maria_MacGowan wrote: »

I am with British Gas at the moment and want to go to Eon.

I could not go till payment was made for my electric and that EON should have told me this when I went to change over to them, now and before and that I could check this out myself on the OFGEM website. I did check this statement on OFGEM’s website and it says that suppliers may stop you from changing over. Not must stop you changing supplier before making payment.

Hi Maria

Thought it might help if I clarified what happens in these cases.

When changing supplier, there is a set amount of time following on from the cooling off period where the existing supplier can object to the transfer.

The gaining supplier will not be told the reason for the objection and is not permitted to ask as this would be in breach of the Data Protection Act.

Where another provider objects to our request to take over a supply, we will write to the customer letting them know of the objection.

However, this is as far as we can go and all other contact needs to be with the existing supplier.

Hope this clarifies this part of the switching process Maria.

Malc

Maria_MacGowan

Hi Malc

Thank you for your information. I have a feeling they might not object to me changing over bill paid or not as this morning I put in a complaint to them for the way things have gone and for the fact that they did use my bank account details without asking me first which wound me up first and the letter and phone call yesturday was the last straw, yes pay by direct debit it a good idea but when I close an account with a company I expect them to cancel my bank details off as well not use them later on.

Maria_MacGowan

Hi Kim if you spoke to these 2 people and they spoke to you they way they spoke to me you would understand why I called them ignorant.

I understand what you are saying about messing companies about, but look at it that way when you are on a limited budget you have to pay as little as possible for things especially when its freezing and you need to use the heating and you have to do full washing machine load of washing at least once a day (My son has ASD and tends to be extra messy) then tumble dry it as it is so wet and damp outside you can't put it out on the line the cost of electric and gas gets pretty high so you don't want to pay more than you have to so when a company calls you with a better deal you tend to take it. I assure you I am not gulable and take any deal that comes up I do check these things out 1st using both comparison sites and other sites. These days we are encouraged to chop and change companies to get better deals for gas, electric, insurance, credit cards etc. so there will be times when you start with 1 company and chop and change till you get the lowest deal possible. At the end of the day I might have been flagged because I was chopping and changing utility companies, but the point I was trying to make was if you have limited funds then this so called law works against you as you start to pay off your bill with your utility supplier, but in the mean time you still need them to supply you the gas and electric while you pay off the outstanding amount. You pay off that amount, go to change supplier then your origanal supplier can still stop you changing as yet again you still owe them money for your gas and electric that you was using while paying off their previous bill, a very clever and sly way to keep customers don't you think.

Not only that would you not agree that British Gas should have removed my bank account details from their system when I 1st change utility supplier, but they had not and used them when I rejoined them with out my permission and every time I called them and told them to take my bank account details off their system they said it was being done while on the phone to me but they had not, which was proved on Saturday when that money was taken out of my bank account and although they assure me my bank account details have been removed off their system this time can I really believe them and they did break the law in that way by using my bank account not once but 3 times. I will be settling with Eon from now on no matter what British Gas come up with anyway. I do have a feeling though they might let me change to Eon with out demanding I pay off the bill 1st as I have put in a complaint to their complaints department not just because of the letter I got yesturday, that was just the last straw but the fact I have a sneaky feeling this won't be the last time I will have bank account issues with them. I also told the complaints department I will take this further and go public if I don't get the resault I require, telling them I had already been on this site and put a post on this forum which was also posted on Facebook using the share option on this site making it show not just to my friends but everyone, I will keep you posted on that 1.

DVardysShadow

Maria_MacGowan wrote: »

Set up an account with Eon as they came up with a cheaper direct debit than British Gas so I changed over to Eon the change over went through no problem.

You do know it is charged according to the meter and that the direct debit amount is actually an on going fib, don't you? You are asking for grief if you judge according to the Direct Debit. Compare on unit prices and if the credit or debt builds up too much, either demand a refund or pay extra.

Maria_MacGowan

At the moment I am going by both, but to be really honest if I get a lower direct debit I am happy as I am having less outgoings a month. In my previous property when my husband was not sick and earning a good wage the direct debit amount did not matter and the unit price did, but now the situation is a whole lot different by £150 per week which it is now from £500 per week when hubby was well enough to work you need a lower direct debit as you still need to eat and feed family. I am more likly to stick with a utility company if they keep the Direct debit to a minimum British Gas want £68 for Electric and £58 for gas a month done as 2 seperate monthly payments 1 gas & 1 electric Eon want £80 per month as 1 payment for both gas and electric and all I need to do is give them on the 1st of each month my metre reading who would you go for? I do understand what you are saying about unit prices, but at the end of the day it depends on your financial circumstances.

DVardysShadow

Maria_MacGowan wrote: »

I do understand what you are saying about unit prices, but at the end of the day it depends on your financial circumstances.

So if you are poor and financially stressed, you go for the 'cheaper' DD and pay more for your units? This might make sense if you use the lower DD to keep other debt lower - if the difference in unit charges over the period it takes to catch up with you is less than the interest on the monthly underpayment. But I wouldn't do this without doing the calculations.

Maria_MacGowan

True, what you say makes sense, it was just stressing me out as British gas kept putting my DD's up to compensate for their prices increasing, hence higher bills and it was getting to the point where I was struggling with every thing else I was not in debt or behind in any payments as I have a brilliant bank account that takes out all your DD's from your wages or benefits then what is left goes on your card (recommened on this site), but as the DD's with British Gas was going up so was the prices of food and other essentials including petrol (need a car as going on public transport is impossible with my mentally disabled son and hubby, due to their various problems that inlcude behaviour with both of them) If you go by unit price Eon are still about 6% cheaper than British Gas and my contract promises thay won't raise it till the my 2 year contract is up. The only other option I can use is having a pay as you go metre for my gas and electric but that is the most expensive way to go I have had them before but we seemed to manage a lot better money wise that way, the only problem I had was when my metre key went wrong and I had to wait for a new 1 to be sent. British Gas was never mean't to be a perminant arrangment it was just that when we moved British Gas was suppling the gas and electric and I was advised by my gas and electric supplier (EDF) at my previous address to stay with British Gas for the 1st month then change it back to them as I takes that long to change things over when people move so that I would still have Gas and electric. Then EDF messed up with the final bill at my old property which ended taking months to sort out and it turned out the mistake was theirs so after that I kind of went off them and stuck with British Gas, till now.