Compulsary time with previous supplier when moving house

oceanofviolence

I've recently moved house - at my old property we were happily supplied by Scottish Power on an affordable, capped tariff.

We downsized to a small flat and moved into our new property on 18th Nov 2011. The gas & electricity was supplied by British Gas on their standard tariff. I immediately arranged to transfer back to Scottish Power on the same capped tariff. They agreed, but the transfer process has taken 53 days.

The charges from British Gas for this period are quite a lot higher than we're used to paying - no surprise I suppose, on their standard tariff. The bills they've sent are a bit confusing and I've asked for clarification and statements based on actual readings which we gave at the start and end of the 53 day period.

It really does seem quite unfair that there is an unavoidable period of time being tied to both a supplier and tariff while the transfer takes place.

Does anyone have any thoughts/ideas on this? We're going to struggle to pay British Gas in the time they've given us - it's much higher than we're used to paying and we weren't expecting it! I am hoping they will provide a clearer bill/statement and that this might buy some time. I have been clear that we will need longer to pay the bill which is due 6 days after issue!

I think it may just be a case of lumping it But if anyone has any useful info or ideas I'd be very grateful.

oceanofviolence

Maybe I should add that I have calculated, I think, the usage for this period as follows:

[FONT=&quot]Gas: 90 imperial units = 2808 kWh over 53 days[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Electricity: 427 units = 427 kWh over 53 days[/FONT]

Assuming all readings are correct, etc. Can anyone indicate if this seems anomalous in any way? I was on my old tariff comfortably for so long that this has all been a bit of a shock and the maths more so!

Thank you.

plumtreebabe

Yes, it is unfair! But unavoidable when you move house as even if you have details of the supplier to the new property, you have to take a reading when you move in to separate old and new bills. Totally agree that the length of timefor the switch is disproportionate to the amount of effort it takes on the part of the supplier - even the phone suppliers don't take that long.

anniecave

The electric is less than 10 units a day which seems reasonable to me (depending on what you use of course)
Likewise the 2800 could certainly be correct.

I would imagine the actual bill is probably a combination of first tier and second tier units and/or standing charges and as impossible to easily fathom out as most bills are!

oceanofviolence

Thank you for these replies! We are two adults working full time and living in a small 2 bed flat. We have had the heating cranked up in recent weeks, but not more so than previous Winters and our costs have never been quite this high!

Thanks again. I've sent a letter to British Gas asking for a proper final statement and breakdown of actual charges. Fingers crossed!

macman

4-6 weeks is typical, but given that your switch involved both Christmas and New Year, 7.5 weeks is not exceptional.

chanz4

oceanofviolence wrote: »

Thank you for these replies! We are two adults working full time and living in a small 2 bed flat. We have had the heating cranked up in recent weeks, but not more so than previous Winters and our costs have never been quite this high!

Thanks again. I've sent a letter to British Gas asking for a proper final statement and breakdown of actual charges. Fingers crossed!

But these are new appliances to you and maybe not efficent, so going off previous you cant compare, also other factors like insulation. Also you are on a standard tariff

fightyfish

if once your amended bill comes you still struggle to pay you should be able to contact BG to work out a repayment plan so don't worry if you can't pay it all off at once.
i agree that switching suppliers takes too much time - good luck sorting it all out

oceanofviolence

chanz4 wrote: »

But these are new appliances to you and maybe not efficent, so going off previous you cant compare, also other factors like insulation. Also you are on a standard tariff

All true - I think the tariff is affecting us more than anything else. They are our own appliances, so the same.

Insulation etc, we're hoping it is better than the old property, as that was a rather draughty semi detached house with front and back doors. We are now in a modern ground floor flat with only one entrance which has a bricked 'porch' on it too.

I think I've been lucky in recent years with various capped tariffs so it's just rather a shock!

oceanofviolence

fightyfish wrote: »

if once your amended bill comes you still struggle to pay you should be able to contact BG to work out a repayment plan so don't worry if you can't pay it all off at once.
i agree that switching suppliers takes too much time - good luck sorting it all out

Thank you! They are asking for a lot all in one go so I hope they'll be understanding.

I will definitely bear all this in mind next time I move! (Hoping that won't be for a long time yet.....)

Joyful

Call them and ask to split the bills over 3 months. They should accept this.