British Gas won't accept my money?

Invisiblecustomer

Hi all
I have a dual fuel account with British Gas. I receive quarterly paper bills. I always pay my bill on time and receive a prompt payment discount and duel fuel discount. Fine so far. I pay my bill by using the British Gas freephone automated telephone payment system using my Barclays current account debit card. It has always been fine and easy to use. However, this time the money has been deducted from my bank balance but british gas have not received the money. So in a way, my bill has not been paid, yet the money has been taken from my bank balance.
I have investigated this a bit. Barclays have a merchant authoristion code number for the transaction. This proves some transaction took place. However, whilst the money has been deducted, the actual transaction has not been itemised in my Barclays online account, despite the time for this sort of transaction to register having passed. They seem to think that British Gas need to action my payment their end. But British gas say their automated payments have been outsourced to India and this could take 28 days and they have no record. So I have my money in limbo, but i am left with an unpaid bill.

I thought that by using an automated payment system and having the visa sign on my card and an authorisation code being produced, that my payment would have been made safely electronically. Surely if the transaction had not gone through, it would have been declined and Barclays would have that info and could then tell me why, as i had the money in my account to cover the bill.

Why did British gas reject a payment, authorised by my bank to pay my gas bill?

Any Ideas Welcome!

dogshome

If BG haven't taken the money it's no problem provided you put what they should have taken aside, so you can give it to them when they ask
But
At some time in the future BG are going to wake up to the fact they are supplying Gas & Elec that they are not getting paid for, and will then go into "Wolverine collection mode" and it matters not if the problem is due to BG or your bank - ( Standard response "Nothing to do with us, it's either you or your bank" ).

Protect your tail by writing a snail mail letter headed complaint, pointing out the problem and asking them why thay haven't collected, and importantly insisting they reply in writing. That way you have something to take to your bank and say "Why have you caused this problem"
When the Bank say it's not them but BG, insist they put that in writing

Think it's all too much bother? - Read the posts where Utility customers lives have been made a total misery by this self same problem

Invisiblecustomer

Thanks for your response to my post. What you say is so true.

The latest is that:

Barclays have let the time lapse for the payment to be made now, so the money is back with me at last and not in banker's heaven limbo.

I shall now send British Gas a letter by Snail mail and a cheque for payment. (Back to the Future Style) and I will demand prompt payment discount too, as the delay was not my fault. That is all I can do. Indeed I wouldn't have noticed the error, if I didn't do 24/7 style internet banking as I may have had to wait for a monthly statement.

So ends the story, I hope.

However, there is still the worrying question on how electronic payments can be authorised by my bank, but not completed and then disappear in to a black hole of payments . This is not good news in a world of telephone and internet banking.

Fancy not being able to pay your bills even when you try! This is new to me.

jalexa

Invisiblecustomer wrote: »

I shall now send British Gas a letter by Snail mail and a cheque for payment. (Back to the Future Style)

I strongly recommend you don't employ cheque by post. I hope you can see the obvious risk.

Other than the future risk that you wrongly enter your account number I would persevere with the debit card method.

Alternatively and better would be online banking transfer if BG provide that facility. If they do, set up the online banking bill payment arrangmemt and test it with a token amount. Once you see the token amount in your energy account you will know that the bill payment is accurately setup. From then on you are in charge and cannot accidently enter incorrect account info and will always have a payment record.

p00hsticks

Invisiblecustomer wrote: »

I shall now send British Gas a letter by Snail mail and a cheque for payment. (Back to the Future Style) and I will demand prompt payment discount too, as the delay was not my fault. That is all I can do. Indeed I wouldn't have noticed the error, if I didn't do 24/7 style internet banking as I may have had to wait for a monthly statement.

If you're using internet banking happily, is there any reason why you don't pay your gas bills online as well ? If you register with the BG website then it's a very simple process to pay your bill via their site using a credit or debit card, there's no danger of entering your account number wrongly, (which perhaps could be an explanation as to why your phone payment disappeared into the ether ?) and you get an automatic payment reference and follow up e-mail straight away as evidence of the payment being made.