British Gas - never, ever again!

Susan_T

Whatever you do, please please do not choose British/Scottish Gas as your utility provider! No matter how cheap the offer! My contract ended with them on 13th December 2016 and I am still waiting on the large credit balance to be refunded to me! You have to wait 15 working days for your meter readings to be verified by the regulator, which in my case was 6th January 2017. On the 19th January I get a cheque for one third of the money due - this amount doesn't relate to my final bill for the gas or electricity. So who knows what calculation they used to decide on how much they were going to refund me - not the whole amount that's for sure! A phone call to them on the 19th and an assurance from them that the remaining outstanding amount will be refunded by cheque in 3-5 working days. Another phone call to them today to be told the refund still hasn't been done and it will take 14 working days for the cheque to be sent to me. No explanation why any of this has happened. I make a formal complaint and agree to accept £20 compensation but no matter what, they cannot send the cheque to me any quicker than 14 working days! I will never, ever sign up with Scottish or British Gas again.

GingerBob_3

Susan_T wrote: »

Whatever you do, please please do not choose British/Scottish Gas as your utility provider! No matter how cheap the offer! My contract ended with them on 13th December 2016 and I am still waiting on the large credit balance to be refunded to me! You have to wait 15 working days for your meter readings to be verified by the regulator, which in my case was 6th January 2017. On the 19th January I get a cheque for one third of the money due - this amount doesn't relate to my final bill for the gas or electricity. So who knows what calculation they used to decide on how much they were going to refund me - not the whole amount that's for sure! A phone call to them on the 19th and an assurance from them that the remaining outstanding amount will be refunded by cheque in 3-5 working days. Another phone call to them today to be told the refund still hasn't been done and it will take 14 working days for the cheque to be sent to me. No explanation why any of this has happened. I make a formal complaint and agree to accept £20 compensation but no matter what, they cannot send the cheque to me any quicker than 14 working days! I will never, ever sign up with Scottish or British Gas again.

And the irony of all this is - if you're just one day late with a payment to THEM, or there's a problem with your direct debit or something equally as trivial, they're smacking you up with late payment markers at the credit reference agencies!

SammenForLivet2

Did you cancel your direct debit to them? BG's normally policy is for the final credit balance to be returned to via BACS, it's quite rare from what I know to have a final balance refunded by cheque, unless the direct debit's been closed. The wait you've faced to get a final bill is quite normal, as all readings have to be independent validated by your new suppliers data collector, and this isn't down to BG. 28 days is the normal timeframe for a final bill to be issued, but often it's quicker.

CashStrapped

Have you been giving regular meter readings during the time you have been with them?

Are you therefore sure you are due a credit back?

Just beause a credit builds up on your account does not mean it is yours, especially if you have been relying on estimated readings. These could have been under or over estimated.

Once the final meter reading is confirmed, it could turn out that they do owe you money, or that you owe them!

It is very easy to double check their sums.

System

Susan, all suppliers have billing problems and BG are IMO one of the best and have been for years.As other posters have commented a credit does not mean that it is your money.Meter readings mean everything and a credit could disappear once a proper meter reading gets submitted preferbably by a meter reader.New occupiers move in and they can submit incorrect readings also.That is one of the main reasons why there are delays in settling up any credits.
BG can still mess it up though, like they have with me a few times but I can phone them up and they seem to sort things out pretty efficiently .I think you should revisit your post and delete the section where you implore people to avoid BG. We would have to avoid every supplier if those criteria were used all the time.Just go to Npower and you will see what I mean.
Another post which is a great advert for smart meters..All avoided with these superior meters

minimike2

Received my annual review bill yesterday and they have automatically triggered me a refund of my credit without me doing anything....