British Gas - how unprofessional...

Bogof_Babe

Just opened an email from BG, which told me to view the embedded video for important information about my account. Includes the warning...

You can only access your personalised video from this email, so please keep it somewhere safe.

So I dutifully listened to the video, to be advised that because my annual payments were £68.69 (total over the year!) short of my gas usage, my direct debit needs to be increased from £35 a month to £102 :eek: . So they want an extra £804 because there was a shortfall of £68!

We have low usage as I am mostly at our other home, and my husband hardly ever puts the heating on or cooks, so the gas is only used for hot water - one bath a day. When I'm here (about 10 days a month) I use the electric shower, and our cooking is rarely more than using the oven for 30-40 mins a day, or one ring on the hob for long enough to cook a bit of veg.

I'm shocked at the huge increase, which seems totally disproportionate to our underpayment, but I'm also incensed by the 'trendy' (complete with clinky-clunky background music) way of conveying this news. At the very least they should have explained the details properly in the body of the email.

If it wasn't that I'd have to hold for about 30 minutes to speak to anyone, I'd be on the phone to them complaining. Very poor impression. Considering I have four accounts with them (gas and elec at both addresses) I'd have expected a bit more customer care :mad: .

JJ_Egan

Have you meter readings so as to estimate your annual usage and cost.

Bogof_Babe

I'm pretty sure the last few bills have been from our own meter readings, not estimated ones, so the smallish underpayment ought to be pretty accurate. I will check later, just doing tea at the moment.

Bogof_Babe

Okay - they made an estimated reading on 29th July, which was six units higher than today's actual reading that I've just checked. The last few years they've always left a phone message or sent an email asking for our readings, funny they didn't bother with that this time, just slapped their own figure in.

I've viewed the PDF bill, and it says they estimate my usage for the next 12 months, allowing for seasonal variations, to be £722, so why do they intend to take £500 more than that from me? It makes no sense.

Verging on very sharp practice I'd say :mad: . If I wasn't on a fixed tariff until 2016 I'd leave.

forgotmyname

Seems like they have not changed then. I was with them some years back.

Paying £35 a month which i said was a little low. They said if its low they will increase the DD after the 1st reading.
It would then yoyo for the next few years £35 (not enough) £45 (too much). Up and down. The bill would be £100 ish in credit or arrears before the DD changed. It carried on like that and they said the computer knows best so ingored it.

Then one month instead of them taking £35 they took £84 (i think was a while ago now) Anyway way too much.
Bill arrived a couple of days later and it said we were in arrears of £130. Except the day after the bill is issued they should have taken £35 so it was actually less than that.
I phoned and said why was i not told about the DD change. They said i can goto my bank and claim that back... That infuriated me. I can go out of my way to claim money back they should not have taken. Then they will chase me because i have not paid.. Not a happy bunny at this point.

I said £84 is a stupid amount to be taking. When the DD is £45 i am in credit in under a year from being in arrears. So why.
I got the computer knows best.. I said well it obviously doesnt.

£100 in arrears over 14 months = an increase in the DD of approx £50 a month? Where is the logic in that.
After getting the cannot do anything the computer knows best they refused to alter the DD saying they cannot alter it.
I got fed up at this stage and said fine. CANCEL THE DD. Magic words it seems. The response was what err oh... I repeat i want to cancel the DD send me a quarterly bill.
Magically the system now lets them adjust the DD down to £55.Still too much but better. 3 or 4 months later i was in credit again.. And an EDF guy in Sainsbury's got me on the right day.

I left BG. Supplied them with meter readings on the day of switching and they sent me an ESTIMATED BILL way over what the meter was showing.

Even though i cancelled the DD i was either in credit by a small amount or owed them about £10.

But a terrible service all around. Seems telling them to cancel the DD suprises them.

ollski

You can set it to what you like online and it will tell you if payments are on target or over / under.