WATCH OUT! British Gas Door to Door Man quoting wrong info to get me to change over.

jaxxy00

Please excuse if this is not quite correct as this is my first thread ive started.
I would like to make people aware of what happened to me in the last few days though so hopefully it doesnt have to happen to anyone else.
I had a British Gas man knock on my door wanting me to change over so i told him that just within the last few days i had been doing price comparisons to see who was cheapest and told him i am with Powergen who is almost the cheapest in my area and so wasnt going to change. He then asked which site i did the comparison on and when i told him https://www.uswitch.com and also another i had used (cant remember the name) he told me that British Gas wouldnt show up on these sites as they do not pay the sites to be on them. He said the only ones shown on the sites are those that pay to be on there. I told him that they were independent (as i thought they were but i dont know) but he said no they are not.
As i had only just received my new dual fuel bill in the last few days i asked him what the British Gas rate was per kwh for electric and also for gas so i could compare to what i was paying Powergen. He told me 6.95 pence per kwh for electric and 1.65 pence per kwh for gas. He also confirmed there was no standing charge but also there was no tier system where you get charged more for the first x amount used. So i went over it all again with him to make sure i was understanding him correctly and obviously agreed to change over as these quoted prices were cheaper than i was paying.
I did ask him if he had a copy of the prices but was told that i would receive them along with other paperwork in the post when i changed over.
I then told him what i knew would make him turn around and walk away (as has happened in the past with others) and that was that i owed money to Powergen and therefore i wouldnt be able to move over. But no, he just said thats not a problem (well that made me very interested as to what the solution to that would be). I told him i couldnt afford to be paying Powergen the £300 i owed them and also having to pay British Gas as well. He had a plan and that was to get me signed over as that would take about 2 months in total. In the meantime i would have 2 months of payments paid off to Powergen (although i would also been using 2 months of gas) and in about a months time Powergen would write to me for a meter reading. Instead of me giving a genuine reading though, thats when i would need to phone him (he gave me his mobile number) so that he could come and read the meter so that i could send them a false reading. The result being i wouldnt owe them as much as i really should and i would be using their gas but he was going to make it look like i had used less with them so that British Gas got the money. I questioned as to how that would be possible when i owed them £300 and in about a month or so i would need to give a meter reading which would not be possible to give one of less that what it was when it was read by them, but he said we will sort it out. He did say 2 or 3 times during the conversation that what he was saying was to go no further.
Anyway, i signed up (although i was rather apprehensive but he said it would be cheaper) and off he went. That night i found the British Gas website https://www.house.co.uk and was looking at their prices which did not compare to what he had written down for me, they were much higher. I thought maybe the site was incorrect and noticed a 24 hour phone number and called that at 11.30pm. I spoke to a lady who i didnt tell this whole story to for obvious reasons but i did ask her about the prices and yes the site was correct and his prices were not. He forgot to mention there was a tier system and for me to get the prices he was on about i would have had to use an absolutely crazy amount which would be impossible, like the lady said that would be business usage and large at that. She apologised and said he should not have given the wrong information and said that if i wanted i could ring and complain.
I only wish my mp3 was working. Its battery was dead otherwise halfway through the conversation i thought to myself about recording what he was saying as i wanted proof if it turned out he was wrong. I think its awful the way some of these sales people are these days. It seems they will do anything to get you. If i hadnt checked i would now be changing over to a company that would be charging me more money than im paying now, not cheaper. I think thats the worse part though that he was prepared to give false information and in effect steal money (by giving false readings of gas used) from the other supplier.
The purpose of this story is to warn others so the same doesnt happen to you. I always thought these sort of people were to stick to a code of practice (or whatever the term) but they obvioysly do as they like. BEWARE!!!

Paul_Varjak

And why would you trust someone who suggested that you do something illegal?

jaxxy00

I know what you mean but i thought as he worked for such a large known company etc that he should do what is right. Im obvioulsy cancelling my agreement to be taken over by them, but i wonder if i had gone along with him and got him to read the meter wrongly (which thinking about it i would not have done as i knew it would be wrong)who would be to blame had he been found out? Would i be to blame too as i went along with him?

jockettuk

you would have still had to pay your overpayment to someone and it sounds like it would have been to british gas.. giving powergen a false reading still means your meter will be read eventually by a british gas meter reader and when that bill arrived would show the proper amount used etc and you get a huge bill then .. only difference is that the debt will be to british gas and not powergen..

sunflower_2

jockettuk wrote:

you would have still had to pay your overpayment to someone and it sounds like it would have been to british gas.. giving powergen a false reading still means your meter will be read eventually by a british gas meter reader and when that bill arrived would show the proper amount used etc and you get a huge bill then .. only difference is that the debt will be to british gas and not powergen..

...on the higher rates !!!

:mad:

jaxxy00

Yes thats a good point sunflower, i would be paying British Gas the money what Powergen should really get, but even more as British Gas charges are higher. Never thought of that.

MarkyMarkD

But, because of the strange way that gas and electricity recharging works, if the changeover reading is understated, Powergen won't have paid for that fuel to be supplied to you, but British Gas will. It's very strange, but in a way it would then be right that BG get the income for that fuel as well.

Anyway, back to the main point. He was a wicked salesperson and should be strung up for that sort of mis-selling!

jockettuk

this type of salesperson isnt just down to british gas they are all at it. half the time the salesperson doesnt work for the company they trying to sell to us.. and if you elderly they think your stupid as well.. my b/fs nan has had her gas and electric signed over so many times and never signed any contracts..it only comes to notice when she gets her bills .. sometimes its even a different name on the bill as well arghhh

Rex_Mundi

These door salesmen can be complete sly b******s.

I've always told my girlfriend, NEVER sign up to any deal at the door or out in the street. If a company is offering a genuine deal. They would be happy for you to read their info in your own time and make a decision in your own time.

A couple of years ago, a London Electric salesman knocked at the door while I was out. My OH told him she would read through the brochure when I was in, and we would decide. He told her this was OK......................but, could she just sign to say that he'd called at our address.

A month later (after the cut off point).We received a welcome pack from London Electricity, and confirmation of our switch to them of gas and electric. I looked at the 'confirmation' my OH had signed, and sure enough it was the bottom of the contract. The rest was blank, on their copy back at the office they filled out the required details.

It took me many months to get things sorted out. I threatened them with the regulator and court action if they tried to take any money from us. Eventually after months of phone calls and letters, the contract was cancelled. I only believed them when they sent me a final written letter to state this. I told them to take our address off their books because if anyone else from their company called round I couldn't guarantee my actions.

Would you believe it! A year later, a knock on the door from a salesman. As soon as he said London Electricity I went ballistic. I physically threw him off my property, and chased him down the road. You should of seen him move! As I was going back indoors, I noticed my neighbour talking to someone at the doorstep. I went to warn him about their tactics. Well, the other salesman could run too! I was just in time for my neighbour. He had just been asked to sign that the salesman had called at his address.

Be very wary of anyone trying to sell at the doorstep. They are only really interested in their commision. Not your best interests.

captain_insano

He then asked which site i did the comparison on and when i told him https://www.uswitch.com and also another i had used (cant remember the name) he told me that British Gas wouldnt show up on these sites as they do not pay the sites to be on them. He said the only ones shown on the sites are those that pay to be on there.

This is the only thing the rep told you that is true. uswitch has contractual ties with a number of companies and makes its money by switching customers to its 'clients' businesses

sunflower_2

captain_insano wrote:

This is the only thing the rep told you that is true. uswitch has contractual ties with a number of companies and makes its money by switching customers to its 'clients' businesses

but BG is one of its "clients" also?

their prices are quoted on the broker sites aswell as all the other suppliers?