Expose them, British Gas (£500 forced overpay)

PaulCartwright

British Gas (£500 forced overpay) they are ripping off customers and legally getting away with it

The short hand version, they are switching people to higher prices by making the cheap once impossible to pay for, they cant keep getting away with this.

I overpaid by £500 approx

This may see complicated (I’ve tried to explain in detail)

A while ago (as I posted on Facebook) I wrote to complain to British Gas about them putting my bill up from £84 p/m to £144 p/m, even though i was in credit by exactly £128.15 (credit means they owed me money). if I'm in credit then surly they don't need to alter the amount upwards (they could even put it down but they don't aim for a zero account but one with a slight surplus), so I argued and asked them to explain their calculations (as I'm on a fixed price tariff so the actual cost of the energy is the same therefore the only thing that could change was the assumption I was going to use more actual energy which, granted it was the start of winter, but since i use my heating through summer (i’m cold more than most due to my disability) then they were assuming i would be using not just £60 p/m more but since i was in credit already then that £60 plus whatever I was overpaying already. I told them they was wrong due to 1) I use a lot in summer anyway, and 2) i was already in credit.

I argued that the reason they refused to put my direct debit down is because they actually wanted and was asking me to switch to their new tariff (with a lower monthly payment) but the cost of the energy was actually higher than the fixed deal i was on.
Now most people would switch to the lower tariff because its a lower payment, but NO they are actually charging more for the energy because the payment is what you pay, and if you overpay that becomes a credit balance you will get back. and by switching to the higher cost you will get less back.

So I gulped and swallowed the extra cost £495.40 (was what they have currently overcharged me on their assumed calculation). because they was wrong and wouldn't explain the calculations more than (computer says no) that at the end i would be in a high credit balance, now this is their assumption of what i was going to use which shows they have grossly over assumed the £144 p/m payment (now granted i think i’ve used more but they didn't know i was going to do that) but this was based on their inflated calculation, and how wrongly they overcharged me.

Now I'm not complaining to them because their apology means nothing since i very calmly explained how they was wrong yet they still refused to change anything when they was about to increase the prices, so instead I'm sharing this, so everyone can see how they rip their customers off and get away with it. this is like a child kicking a ball at a window and you ask them to stop before it smashes, then they refuse to stop and it smashes, the late apology is meaningless as you identified the issue before and they refuse to change given every chance to do so.

Please share this post to show others how wrong the big companies are forcing higher tariff on customers by making it too difficult to pay the cheaper ones...

System

There are many things in your post which are not too easy to sort out but one thing is for certain , anyone on a fixed deal running out, like I was, then the new best deals can be as much 25% more. Eg the 2017 BG Collective was a extremely good price , but thats all over now.Post Brexit has given the suppliers an excuse to start increasing charges, more in electricity than gas .You need to get one ot two things sorted out about prices before you start condemning any supplier.

PaulCartwright

This happened nearly 6 months ago but i had to hold out before i could prove it on my bill, at the time they was increasing my direct debit well before the end of the fix, they was all costing more to switch, but i was happy paying my fixed rate cheaper than the new deals but they wanted me to switch early to the higher rate, and to try to make sure i did, they increased my direct debit by £60 when i was already in credit. its common sense stuff, but they should accept they fixed it till the end so stop trying to move customers to higher tariffs, Kind regards,
Paul

Robin9

Your post is not easy to follow - putting aside the DD adjustments were you in credit when the tariff you were on ended?. (I am hoping the meter reads at the beginning and end were actuals.)

SammenForLivet2

I don't fully understand what's happened here, and you seem to be getting worked up for what doesn't seem like much of a big deal.

At anytime, and on any British Gas tariff, if you don't like the suggested monthly payment scheme amount you can switch to a Quarterly Variable Direct Debit, where you get a quarterly bill - to your exact readings if you follow the alerts and then pay by direct debit to the exact amount 14 days later. That way, you don't build up a credit balance or debit balance.

Cardew

Welcome to the forum.

Like the other posters I find it difficult to understand the reason why you think BG are 'ripping you off'.