British Gas Advice!!

harrynjakesdad2009

I re-joined British Gas in September and was told that they would be putting my tariff down for pay as you go electricity where I get it cheaper in day than I do at night.

At the beginning of October I hadn't received my electricity top up key so called them for it and found out that they had put me on a tariff where I pay more during day than at night. I complained and was told I needed a new meter in order to go on that tariff which was new information to me. I arranged a date for them to install the new meter.

On the date they were meant to install the new meter, my partner got a call stating they couldn't make it due to an emergency and that they would contact us to re-arrange. I then received £22 compo for them missing this date which was put onto my electricity key.

Having not heard from them I today received my annual statement which still states that my tariff is more in day than at night. I called them to complain and the person just went oh well, you need a new meter I will book it in for an engineer to come and visit you. He then made the appt for 03/01/13, meaning until then I am being charged more per kWh until they can put in the new meter.

Where do I stand with this? Is there any legal issues with them messing me about? Should I complain for compo?

Any help please.

good_advice

Cheaper in the day than in the night? I have never heard of such a tariff.
I have heard of E7 which has cheaper night time use.
I think one standard meter would be better. Then it depends on what you prefer.

harrynjakesdad2009

good_advice wrote: »

Cheaper in the day than in the night? I have never heard of such a tariff.
I have heard of E7 which has cheaper night time use.
I think one standard meter would be better. Then it depends on what you prefer.

If this is the case is there anything I can about the fact they have potentially lied to me?

I'm just completely fed up with them now and am cotemplating moving provider due to all of this.

dogshome

There appears to be a mis-understanding here, though wether it's yours or BG's remains to be seen

'Cheap' overnight Elec has to run thro' an ECO 7 meter, on which a clock switches over to a different counter overnight which records what you use overnight and charges this use at a cheap rate, which is less than 'Standard' rate.


The downside is that the power you use in the day is charged at a higher than 'Standard'' rate
To get the best from ECO7, you should have storage heaters which heat up overnight, and an Immersion heater in your Hot water tank that is also heated overnight - Without thse appliances you will gain little or no benifit from ECO7, and be disadvantaged by the high cost of your Daytime Elec

Joyful

With BG there are only 2 types of charging which are the same rate 24 hours a day or Economy 7 which is cheaper in the early hours of the morning with a higher than standard charge through the day.

If you want a cheaper charge through the day I believe you are thinking about an E7 tariff which also gives 3 hours boost during the day at the cheaper rates. I think only a couple of suppliers charge this way and you need to have the correct heating system to go with them. They have different names such as Economy 10 or comfort heating.

Do you have gas or electric heating? If gas you should be on a single rate with 24 hours charged at the same price.

If you can prove you were signed up incorrectly you can ask to be transferred back to the previous supplier as an Erroneos transfer. They will then bill you for the whole period you were away and BG would refund the amount paid.

[Deleted User]

if your prepay meter is, or was an eco 7 meter. possibly Brit Gas call centre was switching you off an expensive eco 7 day tarrif and onto a single rate day tarrif which would be cheaper. You dont want to be on an eco 7 meter if you are not using a good proportion of yout total units at night ( at least 30% ). Check your meter to see if the night tarrif has been deleted, screen "H " would show day tariff, and screen "J" would be the night. Single rate prepay would just show screen "G" as total kwhs

harrynjakesdad2009

Joyful wrote: »

With BG there are only 2 types of charging which are the same rate 24 hours a day or Economy 7 which is cheaper in the early hours of the morning with a higher than standard charge through the day.

If you want a cheaper charge through the day I believe you are thinking about an E7 tariff which also gives 3 hours boost during the day at the cheaper rates. I think only a couple of suppliers charge this way and you need to have the correct heating system to go with them. They have different names such as Economy 10 or comfort heating.

Do you have gas or electric heating? If gas you should be on a single rate with 24 hours charged at the same price.

If you can prove you were signed up incorrectly you can ask to be transferred back to the previous supplier as an Erroneos transfer. They will then bill you for the whole period you were away and BG would refund the amount paid.

I have gas central heating, but am with BG for Gas as well and am on the tariff where I have to do a meter reading every month for an accurate bill rather than a set amount each month.

Joyful

That means that you only need a tariff that is the same 24 hours a day for your electricity.

dogshome

OK - With Gas central heating, it's difficult to make savings on Utility bills with an ECO7 ( Cheap Night rate - Expensive Day rate) Elec meter

Whist your ECO7 storage radiators & hot water will cost around 6pence per Kwh when they are heating up overnight, your Gas heating will cost about 4pence per Kwh and be available at any hour you care to use it

It's probably best that you post your Annual Gas & Elec consumptions here before BG arrive to fit an ECO7 meter