British Gas owe me money!

gwapenut

Actually it seems a bit legally dubious to send out a bill to The Occupier, with a payment slip, if they know full well that any monies paid on that payment slip will disappear into a black hole and be re-demanded as part of a duplicate bill once they have your name at the address.

They need to demand a name first with threats of disconnection, and THEN send the bill. Or credit your subsequent account with any monies paid. Thieving b@$t@rds.

debsy42

BG are completely useless, no bill from them since May for my electricity supply and I'm now over £430 in credit. I've phoned and emailed, promised a call back the following day with no response at all. All I want them to do is bill me for what I've used so I can assess my monthly DD as I think it may need adjusting downwards. I can see them suddenly sending me a cheque for the £430, then producing a bill for about £300, demanding immediate payment and then sticking a £5 late payment fee on top !!

gwapenut

debsy42 wrote:

BG are completely useless, no bill from them since May for my electricity supply and I'm now over £430 in credit. I've phoned and emailed, promised a call back the following day with no response at all. All I want them to do is bill me for what I've used so I can assess my monthly DD as I think it may need adjusting downwards. I can see them suddenly sending me a cheque for the £430, then producing a bill for about £300, demanding immediate payment and then sticking a £5 late payment fee on top !!

You're not far off. When I finally got my first two bills - after 5 months of begging - I got 4 copies within a week, and was given 3 days to pay one, and minus 2 days to pay the other.

I ended up asking to speak to their legal department today as I was going to take them to court. Promised a call back by a manager within 48 hours. If she doesn't call, at least I've got her name, and the name of the rep who referred me.

Think I will demand that, rather than a refund, the two accounts - Occupier and mine - are merged. As they did their usual trick of sending a bill to The Occupier, with threats of disconnection, even after I'd advised them that I would be taking over the account. Therefore it's reasonable to expect the money paid to end up in my account.

Scum.

masonic

gwapenut wrote:

if they know full well that any monies paid on that payment slip will disappear into a black hole and be re-demanded as part of a duplicate bill once they have your name at the address.

It hasn't disappeared into a black hole. Suppose BG were to refund you without proof you paid the bill. Suppose, say, your landlord paid it... or what if your housemate really did pay the bill, but you were claiming the money back for yourself without telling him? You can't blame BG for wanting to establish the money is going to the right place.

gwapenut

OK, wrong terminology, but they issued The Occupier a bill and a payment slip, after I'd advised them of my name, knowing full well that anything paid using that bill and that payment slip would NOT be credited to my new account.

Many companies would just merge the two accounts for you. If they're not prepared to credit it against gas used, they shouldn't accept money.

masonic

gwapenut wrote:

OK, wrong terminology, but they issued The Occupier a bill and a payment slip, after I'd advised them of my name, knowing full well that anything paid using that bill and that payment slip would NOT be credited to my new account.

You seem to be of the opinion that this is a premeditated and intentional action. That seems unlikely. The more likely scenario is that the left hand did not know what the right hand was doing. The bill was probably processed before your account was fully set up. You were warned that might happen. There is no point insinuating that BG do anything "knowing full well".

gwapenut wrote:

Many companies would just merge the two accounts for you.

So what do these companies do if someone other than the accountholder crawls out of the woodwork with proof they paid an overestimated 'occupier' bill and demands a refund?

If they're not prepared to credit it against gas used, they shouldn't accept money.

How would they go about preventing someone from paying a bill that had already been issued (other than asking them not to pay it, which they did)?

tripled

Frequently, people ignore the 'welcome to you new home' letters, and the ones saying 'if you don't register within 7 days we will disconnect you'. Often people don't ring up to register their details until they have received the first bill and some never ring up but happily pay bills in 'the occupier' for years. Without BG knowing the name of the people in the property, what do you suggest they do in these circumstances other than send bills in the name 'the occupier'?

Also, you know your flatmate paid the money, but how do BG know? The only way around it if you have lost the receipt is to get the bill your flatemate paid, check what date and read it was paid until, then phone homemovers and ask them nicely to amend the opening date and meter reading on the account.

Cardew

Given the countless threads about the poor customer service at BG, I am constantly amazed that people spend hours on the phone and writing emails.

A simple letter sent by recorded delivery, copied to energywatch is the way to get a response.

gwapenut

tripled wrote:

Frequently, people ignore the 'welcome to you new home' letters, and the ones saying 'if you don't register within 7 days we will disconnect you'. Often people don't ring up to register their details until they have received the first bill and some never ring up but happily pay bills in 'the occupier' for years. Without BG knowing the name of the people in the property, what do you suggest they do in these circumstances other than send bills in the name 'the occupier'?

Also, you know your flatmate paid the money, but how do BG know? The only way around it if you have lost the receipt is to get the bill your flatemate paid, check what date and read it was paid until, then phone homemovers and ask them nicely to amend the opening date and meter reading on the account.

The property changed hands at the beginning of July. I signed up in September, backdating my occupancy to July, after receiving a letter to The Occupier. A couple of weeks later a bill arrived addressed to The Occupier and it was paid.

We are not talking about money paid in June or the beginning of July.

Given this time sequence, it is entirely reasonable to request that monies paid to British Gas relating to a period that I had already accepted as being in residence, should be credited to my account. That was not possible, so I requested a refund and paid for the same gas a second time, via my main account.

I am aware of no legal onus on private individuals to retain receipts for a period of 4 months after confirmation of receipt via an updated statement of account has already been received? Surely a receipt is just needed until more official confirmation is received, as is the case here.

BG are not disputing the fact that they have our money!

davey4444

I'm having the same problem here - http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=366430

Such a nightmare