Is British Gas having a laugh

BobQ

I recently had a gas bill from BG in which they recalculated my direct debit and increased it.

A small increase was in order, but I was struck by the fact that they presented a calculation which summarised my consumption over the past 2 years and then set my DD by assuming that I would consume 16% more in the next year than I had consumed in the previous two years. When I asked why they said:

“Our system always over estimated future consumption based on your previous consumption. “

They claim this policy is to ensure that I am never in debt.

Does anyone think this is a fair policy? Or are they just having a laugh?

Terrylw1

It seems a nice way to take x% extra of x million customers, hold it get interest as well as invest in growing their company at he cost of the consumer.

andyf3050

I had the same from Eon... they wanted to increase my DD form £88 to £138 a month...! When I asked them to explain themselves they gave me the usual "based on past blah blah... we calculate future useage blah blah blah"...

"sorry can I stop you there as this is five minutes of my precious time I can't get back.... I'm not paying it... in fact I'm cancelling my direct debit and I will from now on make manual payments of £95 a month (a justifiable increase that I could budget for, at the expense of something else I hasten to add).

Needless to say, I am neither in debit nor credit and just ticking over nicely and I don't miss the "discount for paying by direct debit" which amounts to sod all anyway...! I will not be bent over and bummed out of my hard earned money just to help them build their greed-fuelled empire...! I hope this helps anyone else facing this ridiculous money-grabbing tactic!

Thank you, come again! :rotfl:

jalexa

BobQ wrote: »

"Our system always over estimated future consumption based on your previous consumption".

They claim this policy is to ensure that I am never in debt.

Does anyone think this is a fair policy?

Is the quote *exactly* right, especially the "over"?

The policy to ensure there is never a debt is not intrinsically "unfair" but if the calculation is not correct taking account of the most recently available information then it is not in compliance with the relevant Standard Licence Condition.

Can you post the calculation.

greyteam1959

' I will not be bent over and bummed out '
:eek::eek::eek:

penrhyn

OP, Access your account online, find the manage your payments section and adjust you direct debit yourself.

JoshBee25

They always average it out higher then your consumption to ensure your not getting big bills then young dd's by £50+ but I'd say it's the more credit they have from every custOmer in there bank the more interest they get so it's swings & roun abouts ask them for an annual consumption compare on uswitch then ring them & say e.g Scottish power - £11 a moth less then what I'm paying now against my consumption they'll then correct it so you don't leave it, if your with British gas ring them up & go on a web saver I they have you on a standard.

unsure

We have this with npower each year they try to put up the monthly charge by a silly amount, we argue the case and then settle at a lower figure. We've never ended the year in deficit. Last year they proposed a huge increase based on our actual usage when I pointed out that the coldest winter in 40 years was hardly realistic baseline figure to work from they relented and agreed to leave the payments where they were.

This year they tried again, we were in surplus by about £200 after the wors tof winter was over so the missus made them send a cheque for that amount and said that should a deficit arise we'll settle it at that point!

They try it on every year, but to be fair we've found that if you argue your case you can soon get some movement. I think they rely on customer inertia/fear to swell their coffers. I'm sure other energy companies are similar. Resist!

mathsmum

BobQ wrote: »

“Our system always over estimated future consumption based on your previous consumption. “

They claim this policy is to ensure that I am never in debt.

But with a fixed direct debit each month, surely you're supposed to be in credit in the summer months and in debt in the winter months? Otherwise, it's like giving them a deposit refundable only when you move or expire.