British Gas switch problems

KevBristol

Can anybody advise my British Gas electricity woes?

I moved in to a brand new one bed flat in December (it was an office conversion).
I was told by the landlord that British Gas held the supply.

I duly contacted British Gas so I could switch to a more economical supplier. They set me up a direct debit for £85pm and I paid the first payment. Then after some weeks and several letters phone calls and emails saying that the supply switch had been refused/allowed/refused/allowed they said I must contact the previous supplier but they didn’t know who it was..

Anyway after much more emailing and phone calls and an official complaint it turned out that the previous supplier was British Gas "Business".
So I got hold of Business and went thru the whole palaver of registering in which I had to prove my tenancy and identity.
This went on and on with more phone calls, emails and letters and them wanting more and more documentation and broken promises that it was being sorted.


Eventually I got so fed up I threatened to make a complaint to the ombudsman.
Miraculously that day I had an account set up for me.
Now they are demanding a huge bill as I’m on the standard business tariff.


British Gas Business is now asking for £207 for December for my one bed flat. Whereas another flat in the complex is £35 pm with OVO.
Can anyone advise my rights and what I should do next?

spiro

When you move into a property you are on a deemed tariff with the existing supplier. It appears the builder who did the conversion didn't move the supply off of a business tariff so that's what you started with.
The day you contacted British Gas you could have gone on a switching site to switch to a new supplier you didn't need to wait.

KevBristol

spiro wrote: »

When you move into a property you are on a deemed tariff with the existing supplier. It appears the builder who did the conversion didn't move the supply off of a business tariff so that's what you started with.
The day you contacted British Gas you could have gone on a switching site to switch to a new supplier you didn't need to wait.

At first I was told it was with British Gas (Business/Residential not specified). So i wasted weeks going to and fro with residential until I found out it was with BG Business. I immediately tried to move but they wouldn't let me until I registered with them and jumped through hoops proving I was residential.
Today I finally signed up with another supplier. But almost 3 months wasted at a very high rate.

KevBristol

KevBristol wrote: »

At first I was told it was with British Gas (Business/Residential not specified). So i wasted weeks going to and fro with residential until I found out it was with BG Business. I immediately tried to move but they wouldn't let me until I registered with them and jumped through hoops proving I was residential.
Today I finally signed up with another supplier. But almost 3 months wasted at a very high rate.

Update - Today I got an email from my new supplier (OVO) that they cannot complete the switch because the property is still registered as a business.. Grrrrr how many times have I told British Gas Business that it is a residential flat..
And for that matter I explained it all to the OVO guy on the phone when I signed up.
Getting crosser and crosser and have now received the bill for December - £207. Goodness knows how I'm going to pay it and dreading Jan, Feb and now March's bills.

lad22

Hi, sorry to have to ask this, but I used the requisite link from this site and thought I'd requested a switch to the better tariff (I'm already with British Gas, but on the standard tariff). I then emailed BG myself from my account and they say I've not requested the switch! I also read something about cashback on this website but didn't see anything about that whilst/after completing my details. Can anyone help? Is there a time delay? Will someone from moneysavingexpert get back to me? Do I need to instruct BG myself?

Thank you!

System

lad22 wrote: »

Hi, sorry to have to ask this, but I used the requisite link from this site and thought I'd requested a switch to the better tariff (I'm already with British Gas, but on the standard tariff). I then emailed BG myself from my account and they say I've not requested the switch! I also read something about cashback on this website but didn't see anything about that whilst/after completing my details. Can anyone help? Is there a time delay? Will someone from moneysavingexpert get back to me? Do I need to instruct BG myself?

Thank you!

To get any cashback, you need to apply via the third-party referral site. There have been some issues recently so I suggest that you contact MSE CEC for advice:


If you have any queries or concerns, you can email us at energyclub@moneysavingexpert.com. Please include your full name, the email address you joined with and your postcode.