Collective Switch

Scrimpstar

Hi,

I moved from Coop energy to bg in the collective fix. I submitted 4 sets of final meter readings, all of which bounced back from bg. My final bill has been issued - it charges me for 1 month the same as I would usually pay for a quarter. Co op energy say it is an estimated bill raised from the meter reading BG gave them. I disputed it but was told there is no usage information in Co op system to investigate because I am an ex- customer now. But when I emailed a complaint to BG they say I have not yet had my electricity account transferred to them. What on earth do I do now? There is no information about my account shown on the Co Op site, it disappeared the day after I complained about the bill.
Advice would be appreciated.

jeallen01

Looks like I was one of the FEW for which the collective switch went reasonably well (extended time excluded) - MSE, and Martin L in particular, to NOTE!

sniggings

what prices were BG offering? Are they cheaper than GB energy?
Must have been cheap, as my last switch to them and from them to Sainsburys was a total nightmare.

They say the right things on the phone then when they put the phone down nothing happens, my switch to them took nearly a year :eek:

jeallen01

jeallen01 wrote: »

Update on 21st April:
Checked the bank a/c from which the SP DDs are taken, and the final amount for the combined G&E bills was taken earlier today. So I am just waiting for final confirmation from SP that my a/c is actually closed, and that they will not try to take any further money from the bank a/c. (OTOH, I have now deleted the SP DD from those that can be taken from the bank a/c to make sure!).


Total time from opening the BG a/c up to now is just over 9 weeks - as opposed to the 6 it was "supposed" to take - but the changeover now seems to be virtually complete.


The only real problems occurred in the first couple of weeks from the supply changeover date with the issues about submission of the changeover date G&E initial readings to BG. Nevertheless quite a lot of time was spent ensuring that things were moving along.

Update 26th April:
My SP A/C is now shown as Closed on their website, but I have not received any formal confirmation by email or snailmail - so I wonder if that will happen at all?


Otherwise my changeover is now completed.

minimike2

BritishGasMatt:

When my account switched over I got a call to say you were setting my DD to £90 a month. I said please set it to £120 as I knew £90 wouldn't be enough and also £120 is what the total had been worked out at.

£120 went out for my first payment last month. Now, without ANY notification, only a month later, having taken no meter readings, you have changed it to £148.50, which I know will be too much.

I have already sent a message online but I want to know as a general answer why you would do this?

I would like to point out the direct debit guarantee states:

"If there are any changes to the amount, date or frequency of your Direct Debit the organisation will notify you (normally 10 working days) in advance of your account being debited or as otherwise agreed. If you request the organisation to collect a payment, confirmation of the amount and date will be given to you at the time of the request"

I was meant to be on a fixed monthly DD of £120 and I have not received any notification, so I believe you to be in breach of this.

Such a shame because the switch went so well.

British_Gas_Rep_Matt

minimike2 wrote: »

BritishGasMatt:

When my account switched over I got a call to say you were setting my DD to £90 a month. I said please set it to £120 as I knew £90 wouldn't be enough and also £120 is what the total had been worked out at.

£120 went out for my first payment last month. Now, without ANY notification, only a month later, having taken no meter readings, you have changed it to £148.50, which I know will be too much.

I have already sent a message online but I want to know as a general answer why you would do this?

I would like to point out the direct debit guarantee states:

"If there are any changes to the amount, date or frequency of your Direct Debit the organisation will notify you (normally 10 working days) in advance of your account being debited or as otherwise agreed. If you request the organisation to collect a payment, confirmation of the amount and date will be given to you at the time of the request"

I was meant to be on a fixed monthly DD of £120 and I have not received any notification, so I believe you to be in breach of this.

Such a shame because the switch went so well.

Hi minimike2, you should always be informed of any changes and I totally understand you being annoyed.
I'm sure we can get to the bottom of this for you; please just give our Collective Tariff Team a call on 08009759712. Alternatively, you can pop your details on an email to talktous@britishgas.co.uk, including your MSE Username in the subject heading. Cheers, Matt

British_Gas_Rep_Matt

Scrimpstar wrote: »

Hi,

I moved from Coop energy to bg in the collective fix. I submitted 4 sets of final meter readings, all of which bounced back from bg. My final bill has been issued - it charges me for 1 month the same as I would usually pay for a quarter. Co op energy say it is an estimated bill raised from the meter reading BG gave them. I disputed it but was told there is no usage information in Co op system to investigate because I am an ex- customer now. But when I emailed a complaint to BG they say I have not yet had my electricity account transferred to them. What on earth do I do now? There is no information about my account shown on the Co Op site, it disappeared the day after I complained about the bill.
Advice would be appreciated.

Hi Scrimpstar, we require opening readings to be submitted through a specific journey https://www.britishgas.co.uk/OpeningMeterRead/Anonymous-read/Entry/ and have had a few issues with readings being submitted through the normal process for bills.
If the opening readings been estimated, it's possible it's been overestimated or previous bills have been underestimated and that's caught up when your final bill's been sent. Although you've now left Co-Op, I’d be surprised if they no longer had any of your previous usage info as they’d need this to answer any questions you might have and make sure their final bill's correct.
I'm sure we can sort this out and you'll just need to give our Collective Tariff Team a call on 08009759712 with your current readings to hand. Alternatively, you can pop your details on an email to talktous@britishgas.co.uk, including your MSE Username in the subject heading. Cheers, Matt

British_Gas_Rep_Matt

Ellie2758 wrote: »

I switched over two accounts to British Gas. I had all the problems that have been listed earlier but I really thought things had finally been sorted.

Now I discover that despite me having given them the actual energy readings for one of the accounts more than 3 times they have given my old supplier estimated readings - greater than the actual readings.

So, I rang British Gas to find out why this has happened. I was told that they DO have the readings that I gave them - several times as I've said - but that they only have a "limited time" to pass those readings over to the new supplier. Also, the readings were only in "the notes" - not where they should have been. What on earth this means I do not know. I gave the readings via Facebook, on their website and by phone. The last time I gave the readings was 5th March and the account switched on 8th March.

Like so many others, I received repeated emails and texts from them requesting the readings I had already given. I would respond and give the readings again and be told all was now sorted. But it appears that it never was.

I urge everybody to check their final bills - especially if you only received online billing from your old supplier as I did.

What an absolute farce this whole switchover has been.

Hi Ellie2758, we need to receive your opening readings within 5 days of your switchover date and they need to be submitted through a specific online journey at https://www.britishgas.co.uk/OpeningMeterRead/Anonymous-read/Entry/.
If you've submitted your readings correctly, there's no excuse for us not using them but please try not to worry as they're not set in stone and we can agree new readings with your old supplier.
I hope this has been sorted but if you need any help, please call our Collective Tariff Team on 08009759712 and they'll be happy to lend a hand. Alternatively, you can pop your details on an email to talktous@britishgas.co.uk, including your MSE Username in the subject heading. Cheers, Matt

British_Gas_Rep_Matt

momo1 wrote: »

I had an email from cheap energy club on the 11 feb saying my switch was in progress and have heard nothing since. I've had no contact at all from British Gas. I was glad to leave British Gas some years ago and reading the pages here am regretting applying to switch. Will it happen or not?

Hi momo1, I trust our Collective Tariff Team have go to the bottom of this for you but if you need any help, just pop your details on an email to talktous@britishgas.co.uk, including your MSE Username in the subject heading. Cheers, Matt

minimike2

British_Gas_Rep_Matt wrote: »

Hi minimike2, you should always be informed of any changes and I totally understand you being annoyed.
I'm sure we can get to the bottom of this for you; please just give our Collective Tariff Team a call on 08009759712. Alternatively, you can pop your details on an email to talktous@britishgas.co.uk, including your MSE Username in the subject heading. Cheers, Matt

I think I've established what it is now.

When they called I advised I wanted the entire DDR to be £120. I think they set it to £120 for just the electric and now the gas has added another £28.50 to it.

They obviously misunderstood what I had said in the phone call.