MSE News: MSE Big Energy Switch Event 5: British Gas £300/yr saving for new &...

Bean13

My Tariff with BG was ending just as this collective came up so i went with it, I am now in arrears with my Electricity and Gas bills as they decided to not take my direct debit as normal and I only caught it when this months Electricity bill was double what it normally is.
I phoned and was told it was due to the DD not being carried forward after the switch and accepting this explanation I then set it back up over the phone with them, I have now received two emails to say my bill(s) are overdue and two to tell me my DD has been cancelled as I asked ??? Felling a little annoyed at the moment so have mailed BG so I have a record of what is said (written).

Gizmo247

Raine_E_Day wrote: »

My gas tariff has been amended. There was a 0.04 discrepancy showing online which I mentioned at same time as complaining about wrong electricity tariff. However, the electricity is still incorrectly showing day and night rates as if I was on Economy 7. I am telling myself patience is NOT a virtue, just a necessity with BG.

Edited: when I checked my account again just before 2pm, the electricity tariff had also been amended to the correct amount. By 2.10pm, it was back to the incorrect day and night rates.....:doh:

Mine have now been corrected but I'll keep an eye on them!

Axolotl

I made the mistake of trying to switch back to BG after a few years with FU and E.On because of the MSE Collective switch prices this year and it has been a confusing shambles from start to finish.

To start with BG asked me to create an online account, but that failed, because (after three phone calls to try to set it up) I found already had an account - my four year old one which BG had kept active! Why did no-one at BG realise that?

Then they pulled across an out-of-date email address and mobile number from my old BG account details, and started sending mail to that instead of my current address that I supplied via the switch form. Why? Who ever thought that using a 4 year old address instead of a current one would be a good plan? Sack that system designer / programmer!

It was only by pure luck that I found those mails and got the address corrected. Other users with an old BG account might want to check their old email addresses for missing BG mail too.

The general mess with the gas switch (again Why? who at BG agreed to the switch process without having a process in place and tested?) means that my supply that was supposed to start on 10/10/16 has only just started today I think (25/10) so I've already lost two cold weeks worth of the new lower gas price.

Throughout BG has been sending contradictory emails and texts asking for readings for both Gas and Electricity although when I phone they always say they don't need the electricity start reading because that did start on 10/10/16 using my first reading.

The only helpful information was the single email from MSE telling me there had been a problem with the gas switch. BG had not told me before then despite repeated calls to try and find out what was happening.

I gave a gas reading when requested on 14/10 and was told that I could ignore future reading requests because the switch would use that reading. Today I received another request for a gas reading via text. A phone call confirmed that they do need today's reading, so what I was told last time was wrong.

It seems I get a different story every time I call.

I have switched many times in the past but I have never had such a poor experience.

Next year, I won't continue with BG, whatever price they dream up, I value my peace of mind too much.

They don't just have left and right hands, they have twice as many hands as they have call centre operators, and none of them knows what the other is doing or has done.

Awful, awful, awful!:mad:

Danceswithhorses

I posted earlier in the thread about the hassles i've had with transfer from Eon to BG, and the shambolic 'beta' website.
Well today i had my final bill from Eon, and despite telling BG both my readings on 5 occasions, and having them confirmed to me on the phone, and in an email, my gas reading on my final Eon bill is estimated and incorrect :mad:
BG have had both my readings for 3 weeks.
Have they not passed BOTH my readings on to Eon ?

EDIT...contacted Eon who were very sympathetic, but said they can't do anything until BG give them the correct reading.
So, i need to make another call to BG this afternoon.
This transfer has caused me no end of stress and worry, and isn't fixed yet.

On another note, has the BG rep retired...haven't seen him for a while ?

Axolotl

Yesterday, they took an unexplained direct debit for the electricity account. They had previously told me that nothing would go out until both gas and electricity were transferred, and the first payment would be 15 november.

When I went online to check, my electricity account isn't even visible, only the failed gas transfer and the current gas transfer "in progress".

When I phoned to query why I couldn't see any details of my electricity account, they said it wouldn't be visible until the gas account had come across, then they would both be visible under "My Energy". That won't be until 8 November, which leaves it too late to tell me what my DD will be for 15 November.

I hope MSE is taking note of this shambles, and putting BG well down the list for next years collective bargaining.

Rilian

My first experience with BG, but my last, I think. Somehow my online account has three entries 'gas', 'electricity' and 'energy'. I've submitted meter readings, had a confirmation email, then another email saying sorry they lost my readings, please do it again.

I have no idea what they will be charging me, or if they plan to double-charge me across the mystery extra new account, or what happened to the first set of readings.

I wanted a discount, but instead have a time-sink and a worry.

EDIT: the special Collective Switch support number for this deal worked well. Everything seems OK now and they have today's readings although they couldn't work out why I had an email saying they'd lost my earlier ones. The website is a shambles.

Crinkmeister

Now they want me to book a smart meter installation!!:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Axolotl

Yes, I've got the smart meter offer as well.

I'm not touching it with a barge pole because:

1) I don't need one. The only supposed benefit would be to BG because they wouldn't need to send a meter reader out every so often. I already know what energy I use on a daily basis, and if necessary on a per appliance basis so there's no benefit to me. I easily submit readings whenever they need one.

2) The meters aren't compatible between suppliers yet, so if you get a BG one, there's no guarantee it will remain "smart" if you switch supplier later. There is a new system supposed to allow
different suppliers' smart meters to talk to any supplier, but that has already been postponed twice and is not yet up and running. No guarantee that a smart meter installed now will talk to it.

3) The current generation of smart meters don't work properly if you have solar PV panels. they show export as consumption on the monitor. Again, we are promised jam tomorrow in that eventually they'll get a monitor that will show exported electricity properly. I already have my own, thank you very much.

4) There is a high risk that the frequencies used for the meter to communicate with the monitor will interfere with my existing solar power monitor and solar water heating sender, so I don't want to risk stopping that working.

5) The smart meters have a "kill switch" that can cut of your power remotely. How long before that's hacked?

So, no smart meter for me for a few years. They've got til 2020 to meet their targets for installations anyway. I'm not helping them.

By the time they make them compulsory, hopefully, they'll have ironed out the problems, but I somehow doubt it.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Danceswithhorses wrote: »

I posted earlier in the thread about the hassles i've had with transfer from Eon to BG, and the shambolic 'beta' website.
Well today i had my final bill from Eon, and despite telling BG both my readings on 5 occasions, and having them confirmed to me on the phone, and in an email, my gas reading on my final Eon bill is estimated and incorrect :mad:
BG have had both my readings for 3 weeks.
Have they not passed BOTH my readings on to Eon ?

EDIT...contacted Eon who were very sympathetic, but said they can't do anything until BG give them the correct reading.
So, i need to make another call to BG this afternoon.
This transfer has caused me no end of stress and worry, and isn't fixed yet.

On another note, has the BG rep retired...haven't seen him for a while ?

Sorry to jump in Danceswithhorses but thought I'd just let you know, estimated final bills are automatically generated where we haven't received meter readings by a certain time following a switch away. Don't worry, we'll be happy to rebill to actual readings once they come through.

With a change of supplier, various pieces of information pass between the two suppliers and certain third parties involved with the supply. These include the energy distributors, meter operators, meter readers and national databases. This happens via a series of electronic messages. Although the actual switch date remains the same (usually about two and half weeks after starting the move), it can take longer before accounts are fully opened/closed.

One of these messages concerns the readings. They go to a third party who checks they're in line with past usage at the property. Once done, they go to both suppliers who use them as their respective opening and closing readings. It's important our closing readings match those the new supplier opens to as this makes sure you're only charged once for the same energy. When we receive the readings, we'll rebill to these and issue a revised final bill.

Hope this helps.

Malc

Danceswithhorses

E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc wrote: »

Sorry to jump in Danceswithhorses but thought I'd just let you know, estimated final bills are automatically generated where we haven't received meter readings by a certain time following a switch away. Don't worry, we'll be happy to rebill to actual readings once they come through.
Malc

Hi Malc,
You've had my gas+elec readings 5 (five) times.
My final elec reading is correct, but my final gas reading, given at exactly the same times, is incorrect and estimated.
How is it possible that one reading is late, when both readings were given at the same time, and immediately after they were requested ?