British Gas Collective Fix December 2016

MSE_Dan_L

hieveryone wrote: »

Anyway, after speaking to his 'supervisor' a couple of times, he has apparently sent the account to the 'fixers' (is it just me or does that sound dodgy too?!) - and I should hear within the next 5 days. Sigh. The sooner I can leave British Gas the better.

How frustrating! But good to hear that the supervisor did eventually find the right escalation route.

We've been pushing British Gas to train its advisors correctly having had lots of users tell us they were asked to contact MSE (incorrectly!).

British Gas has told us that all its agents have been retrained and provided with steps on how to resolve problems on collective tariffs so hopefully this'll get fixed for you now.

It has also underlined that any account issue should be fixed by British Gas, either by directing to its escalations team, or at first point of contact by the agent on the phone.

DavidatRowlands

I switched from the Sainsburys offer to this tariff expecting a large refund followed by a slight reduction in my bills. Instead they ignored the start readings I sent them (showing lower than expected usage whilst on the previous offer) and then took an increased payment of over 30% more (from £63.50 to £83.80) When I complained they said they had 'set up Direct Debit payment plan for 10 months' This sounds as though they are trying to get our money quicker than they would otherwise have done. I am still waiting for a reply to my response asking for clarification but so far I am extremely unimpressed by British Gas.

b33r

DavidatRowlands wrote: »

I switched from the Sainsburys offer to this tariff expecting a large refund followed by a slight reduction in my bills. Instead they ignored the start readings I sent them (showing lower than expected usage whilst on the previous offer) and then took an increased payment of over 30% more (from £63.50 to £83.80) When I complained they said they had 'set up Direct Debit payment plan for 10 months' This sounds as though they are trying to get our money quicker than they would otherwise have done. I am still waiting for a reply to my response asking for clarification but so far I am extremely unimpressed by British Gas.

They ignored my submitted readings too, well, to be honest they never asked for them, but their "estimate" was fairly close so I wasn't that bothered. If your meter readings were lower than what you submitted that probably works in your favour actually as it's more "units" at the cheaper tariff rate.

My refund from sainsburys came through on the date the following month they would have normally collected the DD, which I've now cancelled. Did you get a final bill from sainsburys?

Ask to be switched to energysmart for your british gas tariff, they did for me and that way you pay for what you use.

DavidatRowlands

I have a bill from Sainsbury's dated at the changeover though they have used estimated readings. Since reading your reply I have managed to get access to my account online and have entered up to date readings. Hopefully, it will work eventually work in my favour but I still fail to see why they expect me to pay 30% more for what it supposed to be a cheaper tariff. My Sainsbury's refund came through slightly earlier than the payment date (from british gas, so they already know what my past usage is)

b33r

DavidatRowlands wrote: »

I have a bill from Sainsbury's dated at the changeover though they have used estimated readings. Since reading your reply I have managed to get access to my account online and have entered up to date readings. Hopefully, it will work eventually work in my favour but I still fail to see why they expect me to pay 30% more for what it supposed to be a cheaper tariff. My Sainsbury's refund came through slightly earlier than the payment date (from british gas, so they already know what my past usage is)

Your monthly payment may be "more" but what you eventually end up paying for the energy you use will be the same whether they take it over 10 months, 12, or even 1. Your account will just be in different stages of credit/debit compared to someone on a different payment plan. You'll be able to vary/update the direct debit at a later point if you're going to be massively in credit or debit by the end of the term.

Teomari

Hi, unfortunately Sainsbury's energy has charged me early exit fees on both gas and electricity. I have used the MSE collective switch and I reassured that there won't be any exit fees, but I had to pay them. What are my chances of getting them back?

assesser

please people be aware, since the switch my account has been altered several times, ie credit amounts , I have spent hours emailing their tech support, it appears that smart meters does not work when switched, yet I can see the reading when online. The problem being is every time I email you never get the same person responding, so they all have a mess with your account, they are now telling that my credit will be put back into my bank account, told them to leave as credit, but no, any BG advisors on here

Teomari

Teomari wrote: »

Hi, unfortunately Sainsbury's energy has charged me early exit fees on both gas and electricity. I have used the MSE collective switch and I reassured that there won't be any exit fees, but I had to pay them. What are my chances of getting them back?

appologies! My mistake; it turns out it's not a charge but just an information about terms and conditions.

DonnySaver

Wow - what a mess for a lot of people.

Sooo glad I chose not to bother moving from Sainsbury's to British Gas now - phew !

British_Gas_Rep_Matt

assesser wrote: »

please people be aware, since the switch my account has been altered several times, ie credit amounts , I have spent hours emailing their tech support, it appears that smart meters does not work when switched, yet I can see the reading when online. The problem being is every time I email you never get the same person responding, so they all have a mess with your account, they are now telling that my credit will be put back into my bank account, told them to leave as credit, but no, any BG advisors on here

Hi assesser, I totally understand your frustration as you shouldn’t be having so much trouble and if you'd please email your details to talktous@britishgas.co.uk, I'll knock a few heads together to see if we can't sort this out. Please just include your MSE username, along with your full address and add MSE Forums in the subject line, Cheers, Matt