British Gas Collective Fix Oct 2017.. problems

British_Gas_Rep_Matt

BarbaraVB wrote: »

This is an email I sent British Gas explaining the big mess they've made of my switch and that is resulting in me having to pay twice every month for gas (both eON & BG).

Dear British Gas,
I am contacting you regarding our switch from eON to yourselves. We initiated this switch on 20Sep16 and even to this date (15Jan17!), and following numerous phone calls, there are still many problems that have not been addressed and that are resulting in me paying twice every month for gas (because I'm having to pay to eON and yourselves for gas). I am also really unimpressed that you are failing to call me back despite telling me you would on several occasions, so I'm having to resort to emailing and if I can't get through to anyone to finally sort these problems out, my only next step can be to escalate this to the Ombudsman.

I will start at the beginning as the issue is complex because you've really made a hash of my switch to yourselves:

We initiated the switch on 20 Sep16. The switch was for both electricity & gas to be transferred from eON to yourselves.
We were asked by yourselves to provide only our electricity meter reading on 10Oct16. We did not get asked to provide gas meter reading until 13Nov16. Both of these we provided via text, so we have a written record of our communications to you on these.

In November, we noticed that we had been charged by both eON and British Gas. We didn't worry too much about it at this stage, however, in December we again got charged by both suppliers, so I called you right away on 30Dec16. Two phonecalls to your general contact number (08001070344) and in both occasions, the advisors put the phone down mid-sentence. I used two different phones (my landline & my mobile) so I doubt it was anything to do with the line. Also, the fact that they both did it whilst they were talking (and only after they realised it wasn't a straight forward enquiry to solve), makes me think this is common practice by your advisors, that don't want to deal with collective switch problems. That gives customers no way of solving anything if you are simply going to put your phones down on us. I would like to highlight that the conversations were completely amicable, and that I gave no reason to the advisors to put the phone down on me other than the massive complexity and mess you've made of my switch.

I called again, and asked to please not hang up on me. They didn't. I was able to explain the issues fully. The advisor told me that the switch had been completed on the 10th Oct16 for both electricity and gas, and that the National Database showed that you (BG) were providing me with both fuels from that date. I was a bit surprised that gas had been also switched on the 10Oct16, since we were never asked to provide readings until the 23Nov16. So I logged onto my BG website, and lo and behold there were both electricity and gas readings for 10Oct16. The gas reading, however, I have no idea where those numbers came from. I mentioned this to the advisor and gave her the closest meter reading we had to the 10Oct16 (one that we had taken on the 14Oct16 out of pot luck).

Anyway, I called eON, and they told me they were indeed still my GAS providers, and that BG had not even made an application to transfer my gas. They checked my Meter point reference number, they checked my gas meter serial number and they confirmed that they themselves had the correct details and were providing gas for the correct meter. They suggested BG may have swapped the wrong gas meter and recommended I checked with BG that they had the correct meter point reference number and serial number.

I found the number for a dedicated collective switch customer services line. This was on 23Dec16, I think. The person I spoke to (Crystal) was extremely helpful and did do some checks that are very valuable, however, committed to follow the case herself and to call me back yet she did not, so I'm once again unable to get through to anyone that will actually solve the problems you've created and that I'm having to endure & pay for. She checked that the gas meter was the correct one (yes it was); she checked the National Database again and then called the Independent Gas Transporter (IGT) which confirmed what eON had said all along - they are still the gas providers! She said there were a lot of things that didn't add up and things that were contradictory. She said she'd call me back the next day, but didn't. I called again on Thurs 12 Jan17, mentioned to please be put through to Crystal as she was handling the case and was told she'd give me a call back as soon as she was off the phone. She did not. I called again today 15Jan willing to speak to any advisor and your lines are off. So here I am.

In the meantime, I'm paying £79 to eON, every month (on top of your dual fuel costs) because you've failed to provide a switch you initially said was completed by 10Oct16. I switched to yourselves because you have a more competitive tarif, so I am expecting a refund of all the extra eON costs that you've made me incur because of your failure to complete a switch.

I shall be calling you again and if I have to, I will escalate to the Ombudsman.
Many thanks,
Barbara

Hi BarbaraVB, I totally understand your disappointment as this shouldn't have been so difficult to sort out. It sounds like the best way to sort this out will be to submit a new request to transfer the supply from Eon, which is something our Collective Tariff Team can arrange. They're available on 0800 975 9712 weekdays 8am to 8pm & 8am to 6pm Saturdays.
If they're not able to sort this out for you, you can view our complaints handling procedure online at https://www.britishgas.co.uk/energycomplaints, detailing how to make and escalate a complaint. Thanks, Matt

British_Gas_Rep_Matt

consumers_revenge wrote: »

Does 'British Gas Rep Matt' still log onto these boards? If you do can you please let us know.


Thanks.

Hi consumers_revenge, Sorry I've been away but I'm back to help out and see from your earlier posts you've been waiting for your cashback.
You'll usually get your cashback within 3 months of the switch but it can sometimes take up to 6 months.
If you haven't already, please call our Collective Tariff Team on 0800 975 9712 and they can check the info has been passed to MSE to process the cashback. Cheers, Matt

British_Gas_Rep_Matt

BargainJunky wrote: »

What a nightmare! I was supposed to switch both from EDF to British Gas on 20th October. Electricity switched fine gas was stuck in limbo. Thought it was all sorted today and British Gas were compensating me for the additonal costs incurred. Unfortunately discovered that the costs with British Gas are more expensive not cheaper!

I am now trying to work it out as the British Gas lady has never experienced this problem. The saving was supposed to be around £300 over the year but in the period 20/10 to 14/12 I would have been paying around £12 less for gas with EDF than British Gas.

If they had not messed up the gas switch over I would have been none the wiser.

Hi BargainJunky, I'm sorry for the delay in the switch but it seems odd that it would be more expensive.
The Collective Tariff is a fixed deal and you'll be getting the same price as you were quoted when you first compared deals on MSE.
It's possible the majority of the savings were on the electricity side and if you'd call our Collective Tariff Team on 0800 975 9712 with the name of your old tariff, we can double check the difference in price. Thanks, Matt

British_Gas_Rep_Matt

1baloo wrote: »

What a nightmare. Switched over with MSE/MONEYSUPERMARKET to British Gas....was that a mistake.

They asked for my direct debit details at the time of joining via MSE sight (so they have my bank details!) in September! They requested meter readings which they have received straightaway AND my actual meter unique codes. They took over my gas/electric in October.

I then got a request for DD details and my initial gas/electric readings which I have given! They then sent me a payment card saying I needed to top this up to use my gas/electric! I sent an email for someone to contact me.......4/5 emails later nothing. Today I contacted them myself asking what was going in (via chat service). They said someone will be in contact with me within 28 days. I said if no one contacts me by tomorrow I will leave BG and pay what is owed as they are estimating my spend as they have lost my DD bank details and meter readings.

MSE why tarnish your excellent reputation by working with companies that cannot keep customer details safe. Is this the way MSE is going after Martin sold the business. If so I will not use MSE or money supermarket again.

Don't lower your standards, or do back handed deals with companies who cannot get the basics right just for a bit of commission.

I'll wait 24hours and change to a different supplier and you can take the £60 cashback for changing supplier.

I left BG many many years ago for there ridiculous prices and this is the first time I gave come back.......who hat a mistake.

1Baloo

Hi 1Baloo, I hope you've decided to stick with us but get you thinking of switching as it doesn't sound like we've made a great start of things.
I'm confident we can get this all sorted though and if you'd be willing to give us another chance; please call our Collective Tariff Team on 0800 975 9712 and we'll get to the bottom of what's going on. Thanks, Matt

British_Gas_Rep_Matt

rparry wrote: »

I have been advised that my gas switch has been completed but that MSE Cheap Energy Club is awaiting confirmation of completion of the electricity switch. As far as my old supplier (Southern Electricity) and British Gas are concerned it is complete and I am now paying BG a direct debit and have paid the final account to SE.
Anyone else had this happen. My cashback it awaiting resolution of the electricity switch.

Hi rparry, you'll usually have your cashback from MSE within 3 months of the switch but it can sometimes take a bit longer.
I hope you've since received it but if not, please call our Collective Tariff Team on 0800 975 9712 and we'll check MSE have been told the switch has been completed. Cheers, Matt

Misswol

Very late to this thread but thought I would see if anyone has had similar problems. We switched from last year's EON deal to this years BG deal because we thought it would be the best deal for us. So far it has been a total nightmare.
I signed up for the Cheap Energy Club deal in Oct 2016 and submitted my readings for gas and electricity (DD comes from my husband's bank account). I then believed everything was fine until I got an email out of the blue after Christmas telling me that only half of my switch (the gas) had been successful. I logged onto my BG account to find that I seem to have an 'energy' account and an 'electricity' account. I got my husband to check the bank account to find that there is only a direct debit for £27 per month for gas. Our direct debits to Eon ended back in October so we have seemingly been paying nothing for our electricity for 3 months and counting, and our direct debit for gas is so woefully low that when I added an updated gas meter reading, we are already showing £80 in debit for gas.
I have made several lengthy phone calls to BG but am yet to see an activated electricity account on my online account. Promised calls back to update me have not materialised. My online query was closed with no action. I was told that it must have been Eon causing a hold up on the electricity being moved across.
I accept that in an ideal world my husband might have noticed that the DD to BG was only £27, but he and I (stupidly) assumed that everything was set up correctly. Particularly as there had been no contact from either Eon or BG to tell us of any problem.


Why did it take an email from MSE cheap energy club to alert me of any issues?
What now happens with the large amount of money that we will owe for electricity because the account was not set up?
Why would BG set up a gas DD of £27 which is so obviously below what would be needed to cover our usage?
Why are BG seemingly so inept?
Why should I lose out on half of my £30 switchover cashback because of an error at BG / Eon?


So many questions. So much frustration.


This has put me off using BG ever again. I will be jumping ship at the first financially sound opportunity.
If there is a BG rep on here, I would love to hear your views.

warthog_78

It appears that while my gas transferred in oct the electricity didn't until jan. I'm guessing at this point it cocked up the system and cancelled my dd. After some very rude calls from BG chasing me I called the dedicated freephone number above just now and a very helpful gentlemen has looked through my account and reinstated my dd and made sure all is well again.

I don't often post on these things but I was impressed with how helpful he was. BG you may have terrible systems in place and horrid staff chasing money, but well done on the helpful reps you employ.

Jo

British_Gas_Rep_Matt

Misswol wrote: »

Very late to this thread but thought I would see if anyone has had similar problems. We switched from last year's EON deal to this years BG deal because we thought it would be the best deal for us. So far it has been a total nightmare.
I signed up for the Cheap Energy Club deal in Oct 2016 and submitted my readings for gas and electricity (DD comes from my husband's bank account). I then believed everything was fine until I got an email out of the blue after Christmas telling me that only half of my switch (the gas) had been successful. I logged onto my BG account to find that I seem to have an 'energy' account and an 'electricity' account. I got my husband to check the bank account to find that there is only a direct debit for £27 per month for gas. Our direct debits to Eon ended back in October so we have seemingly been paying nothing for our electricity for 3 months and counting, and our direct debit for gas is so woefully low that when I added an updated gas meter reading, we are already showing £80 in debit for gas.
I have made several lengthy phone calls to BG but am yet to see an activated electricity account on my online account. Promised calls back to update me have not materialised. My online query was closed with no action. I was told that it must have been Eon causing a hold up on the electricity being moved across.
I accept that in an ideal world my husband might have noticed that the DD to BG was only £27, but he and I (stupidly) assumed that everything was set up correctly. Particularly as there had been no contact from either Eon or BG to tell us of any problem.


Why did it take an email from MSE cheap energy club to alert me of any issues?
What now happens with the large amount of money that we will owe for electricity because the account was not set up?
Why would BG set up a gas DD of £27 which is so obviously below what would be needed to cover our usage?
Why are BG seemingly so inept?
Why should I lose out on half of my £30 switchover cashback because of an error at BG / Eon?


So many questions. So much frustration.


This has put me off using BG ever again. I will be jumping ship at the first financially sound opportunity.
If there is a BG rep on here, I would love to hear your views.

Hi Misswol, I can understand your frustration as this is certainly not the way we'd want to welcome you over to us.
However it's not unusual for a debit to build up on your account at this time of year when your gas usage is at its highest & as your usage drops over the summer, any debit will usually be cleared.
I'd be concerned about the debit building up too though & we can check your usage to make sure it is likely to clear over the summer, as well as chasing up what's happened to the electricity switch.
Please call over Collective Tariff Team on 0800 975 9712 & I'm confident we will be able to get to the bottom of this for you. Thanks, Matt

British_Gas_Rep_Matt

warthog_78 wrote: »

It appears that while my gas transferred in oct the electricity didn't until jan. I'm guessing at this point it cocked up the system and cancelled my dd. After some very rude calls from BG chasing me I called the dedicated freephone number above just now and a very helpful gentlemen has looked through my account and reinstated my dd and made sure all is well again.

I don't often post on these things but I was impressed with how helpful he was. BG you may have terrible systems in place and horrid staff chasing money, but well done on the helpful reps you employ.

Jo

Hi warthog_78, any delay in switching the electricity over shouldn't have caused any trouble and I'm sorry you've had to chase this up.
It's good to hear you go the help you needed in the end though and thanks for taking the time to post your message. Thanks, Matt

Misswol

Update: I have called BG and they have recorded a complaint which they assure me means it should get sorted quicker.
There is no record of any actions being taken after my phone calls at the beginning of Jan when I was assured the account would be sorted. I've wasted hours on the phone to BG and still don't have an electricity account set up.

How do I go about getting the other half of my switch cashback? BG have confirmed that they are providing both gas and electric on the collective fix tariff, so I should be eligible.