British Gas nightmare - any advice?

Joyful

For this to be a catch up bill the start reading will show it is estimated and the last reading will show a true read. The way to get the better tariff is an online one which gives 4% off the standard price and to pay by Direct debit. If you are unable to do this get your correct monthly usage from BG and see what that is then see how much the outstanding balance will be on top of that. You may be able to negotiate a slightly longer payment for the debt. Other than this a Prepayment meter may be the best option setting the weekly recovery rate at an affordable amount.

studentsaver166

macman wrote: »

Only if you refuse to pay by fixed monthly DD. The Online Energy tariff will give you an immediate 4% saving against Standard-just log in to your account and switch online.
http://www.britishgas.co.uk/products-and-services/energy/our-tariffs.html?WT.seg_3=i100272
I'm afraid that if you've been on Standard for some years then you are just throwing money way-it's always the most expensive tariff.

Thank you for the advice and info. It's having a DD that's the problem, but it seems as though we will have to try and re-jig our finances to make it work. It does seem unjust that you are penalised for choosing to pay in a different way. I mean, at the end of the day, they still get our money!

studentsaver166

Joyful wrote: »

For this to be a catch up bill the start reading will show it is estimated and the last reading will show a true read. The way to get the better tariff is an online one which gives 4% off the standard price and to pay by Direct debit. If you are unable to do this get your correct monthly usage from BG and see what that is then see how much the outstanding balance will be on top of that. You may be able to negotiate a slightly longer payment for the debt. Other than this a Prepayment meter may be the best option setting the weekly recovery rate at an affordable amount.

Thank you, that's very helpful. I did ask the person I spoke to what proportion of the £115/month figure was towards the debt and what was usage and he seemed unable to tell me, saying 'well I don't really know because the figures are skewed by the estimations'. I said that with a confirmed figure from a reading now that surely he should be able to give me a more accurate usage figure but he just sort of repeated himself in various vague ways and said that the payment amount would also include a slight overpayment to build up some credit. I said I didn't want to build up credit, I just wanted to pay what I owed, but he wouldn't negotiate down.

macman

But they haven't had your money. You've effectively had an 18m free loan from BG, plus another year to pay it back. Look at it from BG's point of view...
It's much cheaper for BG to take payment by DD than processing a manual payment. Furthermore, paying quarterly results in huge seasonal peaks and troughs. With a fixed monthly DD, that doesn't happen, and you know exactly what you need in your account on a fixed date each month.
Check your actual annual consumption in kWh, then use a comp site to tell you your annual spend. Divide by 12 and that is what your DD should be set to for ongoing consumption. Ideally you need actual readings about a year apart, but if you compare your last actual readings ( from May 2010 to current), then you can make a reasonable pro-rata estimate of your annual consumption.
Let us know how you get on with negotiating a longer payback term. And submit regular meter readings of course...

studentsaver166

macman wrote: »

But they haven't had your money. You've effectively had an 18m free loan from BG, plus another year to pay it back. Look at it from BG's point of view...
It's much cheaper for BG to take payment by DD than processing a manual payment.

Given that we pay by direct bank transfer, there is no additional cost to them in processing our payment. Paying quarterly is what works best for our circumstances, but for the fact that we are not then entitled to a better rate, simply because that's what BG decide. I don't think that is fair, although I understand the theory behind it.

Anyway, that is besides the point and doesn't change the fact that this has happened because we didn't take readings. For that, I am not 'blaming the system'. That is down to our mistake, being human and all. Thank you for your advice. I have very definitely learned my lesson and will be more vigilant from now.

macman

I'm afraid that almost all the cheapest deals (regardless of supplier) require fixed monthly DD. It's not just about processing cost, it's also much better for their cashflow.

borkid

Why don't you and your flatmate open a joint bank account just for direct debits. You can then pay in your contribution each month a few days before it is due out. This will enable you to take advantage of cheaper tariffs. We use BG and they take money each month for the full amount, we send them the readings. Possibly not the best option for you though as you need to repay the debt but it does mean you never get into debt.

studentsaver166

Thanks Borkid, that's a good idea. I've never wanted to have joint finances with anyone, but in this instance it might be a good solution. I will look into it.

SwanJon

If the estimated reads go back 18 months it might be worth asking for all these bills to be recalculated (if they haven't already) - this will make sure that you are charged the price for when it was used (Price rises last summer).
It might also be worth approaching the British Gas Energy Trust to see if they can help get you back on level ground (they are independent of BG, run by Charis Grants I think).
You can sign up online without going DD - it'll let you see the readings they have, and let you put them in when convenient for you (at least making any future estimates more accurate). If they only have 2 readings 18 months apart (and especially if the latest bill has all the catch up) the monthly amount they suggest will be vague to say the least. The more readings they get the better this estimate will be too.
As above, you should get the same time to pay it back as it took to build up (may need to push for this), along with more readings should bring the monthly amount down.
If you have registered a complaint, then you need to follow the process and it ends up with you having the option to go the the Energy Ombudsman after 8 weeks. (Ask for a complaint process number)

macman

You can have an online account on Standard tariff, yes. But Online Energy tariff requires payment by monthly DD in addition to online account management. Switching to that tariff will give the OP an immediate 4% saving (around £50pa, or 2 months debt repayments). Not a fortune, but in this situation every little helps.
Why didn't the BG rep mention this tariff?