British Gas 2 year underpayment DD

Debs1979

My husband is in charge of utilities..... There has been a problem!

Since joining British Gas, in June 2013, our DD payments have been less than our bills, every month.
We did not know this, as my husband has not looked at an e-Bill since setting up the account - fool.

After 12 months and over £300 in debt, they decreased DD payments from £23 per month to £22 per month!
After another 6 months they increased payments to £29 by which time we were over £500 in debit.
They have now increased payments to £111 and we are in debit by close to £700.
Husband spoke to them and they claimed our energy usage spiked over the winter, between the meter readings; when I looked into I discovered this spiralling debt, that has accumulated over nearly 2 years - despite 2 payment reviews and changes.

Any advice or similar reports would be much appreciated.

I am happy to pay for electocty we have used, but these seems like a ridiculous oversight on their part (oh and the husband is in the dog house too!).

Thanks in advance.

Debs

naedanger

Debs1979 wrote: »

My husband is in charge of utilities..... There has been a problem!

Since joining British Gas, in June 2013, our DD payments have been less than our bills, every month.
We did not know this, as my husband has not looked at an e-Bill since setting up the account - fool.

After 12 months and over £300 in debt, they decreased DD payments from £23 per month to £22 per month!
After another 6 months they increased payments to £29 by which time we were over £500 in debit.
They have now increased payments to £111 and we are in debit by close to £700.
Husband spoke to them and they claimed our energy usage spiked over the winter, between the meter readings; when I looked into I discovered this spiralling debt, that has accumulated over nearly 2 years - despite 2 payment reviews and changes.

Any advice or similar reports would be much appreciated.

I am happy to pay for electocty we have used, but these seems like a ridiculous oversight on their part (oh and the husband is in the dog house too!).

Thanks in advance.

Debs

You should be able to calculate your average actual usage from the previous bills. I am guessing around £65 pm. From that you can see roughly how much of the £111 pm is going to repay the debt.

Based on what you say, I doubt if you complain you will get any of the debt written off as it seems the bills were clear but unfortunately were not read.

If you ask then British Gas may reduce the monthly payment slightly, but then it will take longer to pay off the debt.

matelodave

There really is no excuse for not checking your meters when the bills either come in or are issued to ensure that they are correct and if not to get them corrected.

If they were underestimating your consumption and you didn't inform them then the first time it would come to light is when a meter reader actually comes - which could easily be two years or more - that's a lot of underestimation.

By checking bills & readings would also flag up that your direct debit isn't covering your consumption giving you the opportunity to get it sorted out before it gets out of hand.

You may consider it an oversight on their part but as you rightly point out your husband failed in his responsibility to check as well.

The only advice is to check yourself and be relieved that its only a couple of years - there are horror stories much worse than yours on this forum.

Unfortunately you won't be able to change provider and get a better deal until this debt is paid off

Nada666

Debs1979 wrote: »

Since joining British Gas, in June 2013, our DD payments have been less than our bills, every month.
We did not know this, as my husband has not looked at an e-Bill since setting up the account - fool.

Surely this is a rhetorical thread?

System

An unintended consequence of the OFGEM-granted derogation given to BG to allow them to read meters every 5 years - not 2. It follows that if estimated projected usage meter readings are being used for an annual review that 'garbage in' will result in 'garbage out.'

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/ofgem-publications/41916/british-gas-request-changes-its-meter-inspection-licence-obligations.pdf

MothballsWallet

Hengus wrote: »

An unintended consequence of the OFGEM-granted derogation given to BG to allow them to read meters every 5 years - not 2. It follows that if estimated projected usage meter readings are being used for an annual review that 'garbage in' will result in 'garbage out.'

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/ofgem-publications/41916/british-gas-request-changes-its-meter-inspection-licence-obligations.pdf

That's a very basic concept in IT systems (and life in general), also known as GIGO.

Or SISO - I'll let you work that one out for yourselves

spiro

As a customer of BG and possibly other suppliers you are required to submit meter readings twice a year. If the bills your husband didn't check were based on estimated readings thise throws the whole DD process out because it is set for the wrong consumption level.

SwanJon

While all the above comments are correct about providing accurate reads, it sounds like this is a bit more than that.

If the statement that showed the DD decrease also showed a debt it sounds an actual reading was obtained (from a meter reader ro customer). If an estimate reading was used I'd ask how this was different to the estimation used for the DD.

At the very least I would be asking for the balance to be recovered over the length of time this has ben going on - this will bring down the monthly DD, but you won't be able to switch suppliers until the balance is cleared.

Look to get on the cheapest BG tariff in the meantime (you'd need to check if this includes Sainsburys).

The BG website allows you to take control of your DD - so you may want to pay more in some months and less in others and take a month off by spreading the payment across others.
It's also very easy to put readings in on the app and I'd recommend doing this each month so that if they ever do have to estimate a reading it will be much more accurate.

Put your comments in writing (letter, email or via the website). Be brief and explain what happened (with dates etc) and what you would like to be the outcome (spread recovery over 2 years, good will gesture). If yo don't hear anything follow it up with a phone call and refer back to the date you wrote. A mention of the ombudsman and the 8 week timescale will focus them.

Good luck