British Gas complaint

djohn2002uk

Cardew wrote: »

Is it?

Right I'll dictate, to all the companies I have a DD with, that they WILL reduce my DD to £1 a month;)
No comment...;) On second thought, you have probably already agreed all your DDs.

Seriously, I think you will find that in the terms and conditions for Direct Debit scheme(which is run by the Banks) that the supplying company(any company) decides on the amount of the DD.
Not my experience with Scottish Power.

Obviously if you disagree, and you can't reach an agreement, you have the option of leaving the DD payment scheme. However if 'push comes to shove' the supplier determines the amount of the DD
Not the only option. You also have the option of telling them that unless the amount taken by DD is the correct amount, you will join another company who will take the correct amount...i.e. Scottish Power...:cool:

....................

Cardew

djohn2002uk,

I can't recall ever disputing the amount of my DD with any Utility Company; so my agreement would be assumed.

Not sure what you mean by "not my experience with Scottish Power" If you have told them what you intend to pay, and they accept that figure, then you have, by definition, reached agreement. However if(to take my hypothetical example) you 'dictated' to them that you were only going to pay £1 a month, what do you think would happen?

If they didn't accept that dictat, I suggest that your options would be to leave the DD tariff or as you rightly say, leave the company.

djohn2002uk

Cardew wrote: »

djohn2002uk,
Not sure what you mean by "not my experience with Scottish Power" If you have told them what you intend to pay, and they accept that figure, then you have, by definition, reached agreement. However if(to take my hypothetical example) you 'dictated' to them that you were only going to pay £1 a month, what do you think would happen?

My experience with Scottish Power was:-
My DD was decided by me when I joined Scottish Power from Powergen after my debacle with Staywarm (which
I have chronicled on here in various threads). This figure was caculated by me from our previous years useage of gas and electricity, and after 2 winters and 1 summer it has proved to be spot on.. Some time later it was increased and I asked for it to be put back to the original figure, and it was. Some time later it was reduced, towards the end of last summer, again I phoned and told them I wanted it put back to the original figure, and it was.
Whilst speaking to the call centre person, I sugested that the new figures were computer generated and did not have any human intervention and I was told that was absolutely correct. I believe that is the reason they carried out my wishes without argument.
But even so I don't believe any utility company could justify to Energy Watch, charging a customer either a higher or lower figure via DD than that which would "balance the books" over a 12 month period.
The hyperthetical figure you used, I am ignoring, because you and I know it is laughable and this is a serious thread....I think.;)

Cardew

Since I last posted I have just received my on-line British Telecom(BT) bill. I have a big credit balance on this account(my 'fault' and another story).

Anyway pertinent to this, and other, threads about big credit balances is a new facility I have not seen before - presumably because I have never had a big credit balance.

This facility on my BT bill asks me if I want a 'holiday' from my DD payment. Clicking on this 'holiday?' link tells me that I can miss April, May, and June's DD payment and resume paying again in July.

Obviously if my DD payment was going to be too high for my expected spend(it won't be) I could lower my DD payment. However it strikes me that this would be an excellent way for Gas/Electricity companies to reduce credit balances, without constant changing of the DD total.

djohn2002uk

But don't you smell a rat? If you do by chance run up a surplus as I do with BT, surely it is better to do as I do and ask for it to be refunded. I got £100 refunded from BT just a month ago. By offering you a "holiday" they keep their hands on your money and I would rather it be back in my account. Could be a nice little earner for BT if a million or so agree to the "holiday".

Cardew

djohn2002uk wrote: »

But don't you smell a rat? If you do by chance run up a surplus as I do with BT, surely it is better to do as I do and ask for it to be refunded. I got £100 refunded from BT just a month ago. By offering you a "holiday" they keep their hands on your money and I would rather it be back in my account. Could be a nice little earner for BT if a million or so agree to the "holiday".

As with all things, there is a compromise between saving a small amount and the inconvienience of contacting BT, getting a refund and banking it.

Frankly the lost interest(less tax) on a couple of months DD payments amounts to pennies and is not worth the bother(to me). Far easier to click a box.

Far from 'smelling a rat' it is at least a way toward reducing credit balances.

I would add that I have often had large debit balances without Utility Companies demanding payment; swings and roundabouts?

moosetastic

British Gas have just done this with my gas bill as well. On my last bill I was £148 in debt (due to them never sending me a bill for 9 months and me ending up owing them nearly £400!!) and have been paying £65 per month to them. At the beginning of March it went up to £103 a month!!!!

I went to house.co.uk and checked my balance, its only £11.33 in debit now, and yet when I phoned them up they wont reduce the amount. they just said they are revising all their payments at the end of April because of the pricecuts and my bill will probably come down, but not until June!!

I have hardly any spare cash as it is, and this hike of nearly £40 is ridiculous.

Cardew

moosetastic wrote: »

British Gas have just done this with my gas bill as well. On my last bill I was £148 in debt (due to them never sending me a bill for 9 months and me ending up owing them nearly £400!!) and have been paying £65 per month to them. At the beginning of March it went up to £103 a month!!!!

I went to house.co.uk and checked my balance, its only £11.33 in debit now, and yet when I phoned them up they wont reduce the amount. they just said they are revising all their payments at the end of April because of the pricecuts and my bill will probably come down, but not until June!!

I have hardly any spare cash as it is, and this hike of nearly £40 is ridiculous.

Checking your credit balance on line is often pretty meaningless, see this post from another thread:

"You should bear in mind that your monthly DD payments are credited to your account as they are received. So if you check mid way through a cycle you can get a false picture.

For instance I pay £70 a month for gas and had my bill on 23 Dec 06. If I look at my account on-line I can see that I am £200+ in credit(because 3 payments have been credited to my bill in a 2 month period 1st Jan, 1st Feb and 1st Mar) Tomorrow my £300+ bill will be issued and if I check on-line I will see that I am £100 in debit."


Your post demonstrates why BG and other companies are in a 'lose/lose' situation.

You have owed BG hundreds of pounds for many months. You knew you hadn't paid a bill for 9 months and could have put some money in the bank earning interest.

They didn't insist you paying the £400 straight away but allowed you to pay it back slowly. You are still in debt, and when your next bill comes will possibly be even more in debt.

Yet you feel justified in criticising BG because you feel you might go into credit for a few weeks.

I think a fair minded person might not agree with you.

stphnstevey

I suppose its a case of them ensuring they are not in debt.

ie if everyone was in debit till their direct debit just paid that off, then they would be millions in debt. By making sure you build up a credit balance, by paying inflated DD, they are ensuring most of their customers are in credit (and also making a sly few million pounds on that money that is in credit).

It also balances their books well as they have vast sums in credit, which they can then approach banks for more funding/borrowing to grow their business (at the expense of their customers).

Direct debits do make it easier to pay (a no brainer), easy to budget and often come with a slight discount (I now understand why they give that discount). However, paying quarterly by normal payment might actually save you just as much as the direct debit discount is worth? (ie YOU get the interest on that money)

Cardew

stphnstevey wrote: »

I suppose its a case of them ensuring they are not in debt.

ie if everyone was in debit till their direct debit just paid that off, then they would be millions in debt. By making sure you build up a credit balance, by paying inflated DD, they are ensuring most of their customers are in credit (and also making a sly few million pounds on that money that is in credit).

It also balances their books well as they have vast sums in credit, which they can then approach banks for more funding/borrowing to grow their business (at the expense of their customers).

Direct debits do make it easier to pay (a no brainer), easy to budget and often come with a slight discount (I now understand why they give that discount). However, paying quarterly by normal payment might actually save you just as much as the direct debit discount is worth? (ie YOU get the interest on that money)

The Regulator has stated that the utility companies are owed far more than they owe(i.e. customer's debit balances are far more than their credit balances)

Over the last few years, with ever rising prices, and normally no adjustment of the DD in the 1 year billing cycle, that is to be expected; certainly that is borne out by the many post on this forum where people are in debt by hundreds of pounds for long period - the post above yours being typical. It has to be said however that now with prices dropping this situation may change.

Some people have a fixation about lost interest on their account. Even if you had an average credit balance throughout the year of £100 - a most unusual occurance - you are talking about a loss of £4 a year(5% less tax). The DD discount for most tariffs is much much higher than this.

Unless you are with a company like Ebico who do not discount for DD payment, it is normally considerably cheaper to pay by DD(and get the discount) than pay quarterly.