Scottish Gas Energy Misselling Etc query

PoisonGirlSasa

In 2009 I was signed off on long term sick leave and I knew that my salary would decrease and I'd have to deal with SSP etc so I contacted Scottish Gas to arrange a repayment plan for my dual fuel. I joined them when I bought the flat in 2006 and had been updating my meter readings using their online system and paying direct debit over the years with no problem or so I thought. The person on the end of the phone took an up-to-date meter reading and told me that they had been undercharging me for 2 years and I now owed them a total of £1410.83. The only explanation I could get from SG for this colossal error is that their online system thought my meter readings were too high so they overwrote them with an estimated reading. I dread to think how long this could have gone on for had I not contacted SG myself.

I wrote a letter of complaint and contacted Consumer Direct whilst applying for the Scottish Gas Energy Trust Grant which was later rejected. I didn't receive a response to my complaint from Scottish Gas. During this time I was threatened with legal action and disconnection which whilst ill was quite distressing. All Consumer Focus did to help was to set up a repayment plan that would run for 3 years. I continually requested a letter of explanation about the situation which I have never received. And I still have problems with SG wrongly closing my accounts or deducting a full balance from my bank account without permission. I realise that it has been over 9 months however it is only through today's weekly email that I was aware I could have complained to the Ombudsman service. I am still trying to pay off the outstanding balance and am now unemployed which makes it even harder. As of next month the gas account will finally be up-to-date however I still have over £300 outstanding on the electricity account. Not to mention all the phone calls I've had to pay for to get through to SG to deal with all the errors and boy do they keep you on hold for a long time. I pretty much call them every single month for one thing or another.

As I said I realise it has been over 9 months but is it worth my while noting my complaint to the Ombudsman on the small chance that the outstanding balance could be cleared or any kind of assistance at all?

It has been a complete nightmare dealing with SG and I'm at the point I won't even put my heating on as I can't afford it and don't want to deal with more discrepancies.

All feedback is appreciated. Thank you

Joyful

Contact the British / Scottish Gas rep who can look into this for you here:[EMAIL="PAYGE_MSE_contact@britishgas.co.uk"]PAYGE_MSE_contact@britishgas.co.uk[/EMAIL]

chanz4

you only have 6 months from a deadlock letter been issued togo the the energy ombudsman.

British_Gas

Hi PoisonGirlSasa

I'm sory to hear about the problems that we have caused. The explanation that you've been given may be true, but that is a situation that should never happen, so something must have gone very wrong there to cause it.

As Joyful says above, if you could send me the details, your name and either your account number or your address to [EMAIL="PAYGE_MSE_contact@britishgas.co.uk"]PAYGE_MSE_contact@britishgas.co.uk[/EMAIL], I will investigate this and find out exactly what has happened for you.