Britsh Gas £5 fine for late payments

immoral_angeluk

I think it's fair enough if people just don't pay but I think it's abit harsh if your bill doesn't turn up or there's some other error which means they don't get their bill on time!

geordie_joe

tripled wrote:

You receive a red reminder after 14 days - it is not at this stage you are charged, only if they issue a disconnection notice which is the 28 day point.

I have a red reminder bill in front of me now, it arrived today.

The last paragraph, before the signature block says.

"From 1st of March 2007, Brtitish Gas will charge customers £5 if we have not received payment before issuing this notice."

To me this means they will charge £5 for sending the red reminder bill.

tripled

In which case either the incorrect message has been printed on red bills, or they are now issuing reminders after 28 days instead of 14. I'll check into this on Monday.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23380788-details/%C2%A35+fine+for+a+late+gas+bill/article.do

geordie_joe

tripled wrote:

In which case either the incorrect message has been printed on red bills, or they are now issuing reminders after 28 days instead of 14. I'll check into this on Monday.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23380788-details/%C2%A35+fine+for+a+late+gas+bill/article.do

The reminder is dated 8 Jan, and it fits in with 14 days after my bill was due. Sometime between xmas and new year.

tripled

In which case the message on the reminder is incorrect.

geordie_joe

tripled wrote:

In which case the message on the reminder is incorrect.

I've check my previous bills and worked out that this red reminder refers to one which should have been dated 23-25 Dec 06.

Maybe it's a "deliberate mistake" designed to encourage people to pay the first bill promply and not wait for the reminder.

Years ago a finacial expert told me never to pay bills on time, always leave it until the last minute. That way the money stays in your bank and earns you interest.

I've never done this, because the interest I would earn would not be worth it. But perhaps there are others who do this.

prudryden

I'm with BG and everything works well. They take the same amount of money every month from D/D. I get a quarterly statement showing the debits, the amount of gas used and whether I am in credit or debit for that quarter. If at the end of the year, I have a large credit or debit, they adjust the D/D for the next year to take the overpayment or underpayment into account.
Have never had a problem with BG.

geordie_joe

prudryden wrote:

I'm with BG and everything works well. They take the same amount of money every month from D/D. I get a quarterly statement showing the debits, the amount of gas used and whether I am in credit or debit for that quarter. If at the end of the year, I have a large credit or debit, they adjust the D/D for the next year to take the overpayment or underpayment into account.
Have never had a problem with BG.

I've been with BG for 31 years and never had a problem with them.

For the last 7 years I've lived in a fairly small flat and my bills are pretty small. I get both gas a leccy from BG and never seen the need to change.

Unfortunately the post round here is not reliable and I sometimes get a red bill when I have not received the first one.

I will be very annoyed if BG are going to charge £5 when a bill doesn't arrive. Or arrives to late for me to pay it in time.

I am lucky, I can aford to pay my gas/leccy Bills on the day they arrive, just pop onto the bank web site and make the payment.

But what about those people who's bills are dated 15 days before payday, but have to wait until pay day to pay them?

I think if BG are going to charge for not paying a bill they should be able to prove you received it.

tripled

geordie_joe wrote:

But what about those people who's bills are dated 15 days before payday, but have to wait until pay day to pay them?

It's lucky they have 28 days to pay it then, isn't it

dc

marcellep wrote:

Why not avoid the £5.00 late paymnet fee and save money by paying via DD

Dependant on DD timing the bank charges could be zero OR more than the £5 for a lot of folks.

That is why I do not like any possible hefty DD's.

Perhaps I am a Control Freak, or not as rich as others???;)

Nor do I like giving BG a loan, which is usually what monthly fixed DD's involve.
After all this is MSE