British Gas.... Can they do this??

shaftonred

Evening all, I hope you can help me with this as I have spent over an hour on the phone with British Gas today and have failed to get anywhere... this is the scenario:

• I bought our house from our inlaws who moved out of the property on the 17th March and subsequently provided final meter readings for the dual fuel to BG.
• On Sunday 22nd I switched providers through the good advice and comparisons through MSE energy club (the last 4 weeks had been manic in terms of moving everything, work, kids and changing everything else hence the delay).
• I had received a bill from British Gas on the 20th headed up to "The Occupier" and billed from the 17th March until the 13th April with estimated readings at a cost of £271 which I thought was high.
• I subsequently took meter readings and the actual v's estimated was substantially lower so didnt worry much and called BG the following day to advise them of the actual meter readings in an attempt to get the bill ammended so I could pay whilst informing them I was switching.
• During the first call they attempted to credit check me which I refused as i didnt see any reason for this especially with me leaving. They then told me that they had to set me up with an account and then explained that between that date and the final switch date I would be on a "temperary contract" and that the rates would be increased as the "standard" tariff was no longer available. I was ok with this as I expected this and tried to give them actual readings which they didnt take. Instead they told me to call back their billing team the next day.
• I spoke with the billing team who told me that they could take my electricity reading and amend but not the gas at this stage. I gave them my reading and they explained that my new bill would be £xyz. When I queried the unit cost just to make sure I was getting an ammended bill for the original bill i was amazed when the unit cost and standing costs had risen significantly from the original bill.
• Despite explaining that I only needed the original bill which was under "The Occupier" and dated 14th April ammending they kept explaining that this invoice wasnt for me and was null and void as it was an "estimated bill" and that now I had informed them that I had moved in had backdated my account based on the new higher tariff!
• I tried to explain and reason with them several times that the bill that i had received as "The Occupier" should stand and that the bill didnt say on it that "this estimated bill of £271 should be paid by the 30th April". They offered me a £5 discount but said that this bill had been cancelled and I would be billed at the new rates.

Eventually I made a complaint with the guy I was speaking with and told them I would speak with the ombudsman (hoped this would push them to change) and was asked to call back and speak with their complaints team.


I subsequently decided at this point to check what extra it would cost me thinking that if it was only a few £ then i would just pay. So having calculated my electric alone based on the tariff on the original bill and my "new bill" the difference I will be out of pocket is £32.98 on the electric alone. The gas will be even higher as their estimates were way out.


Surely they cannot decide that because I am leaving that they can cancel a legitimate bill that they raised and rebill me at an higher tariff? I am sure that had i paid the £271 as "The Occupier" that they would have had to refund me the difference when I called in the actual readings???


Can anyone offer any advice on this as no matter how many ways I look at this I believe this is completely unethical.

Cardew

When you move into a house you are placed on a legally binding deemed tariff, which is normally their highest cost tariff.

I find your post difficult to follow, but the bottom line is that they are allowed to charge at their highest rate for your consumption from moving in until the date you switch to another company. That consumption will be calculated from the meter readings the previous occupants gave(assuming you accept they were accurate) to the meter readings when the switch takes place to the new company taking over your supply.

D_M_E

When you took ownership of the property you should have read the meters on occupation then called BG - who I assume from what you say were the suppliers - and told them you were now resposible for the energy bills.

They would then have set you up with an account and you were free to switch to a supplier of your choice at any time from then on.

BG would have put you on their standard, most expensive tariff so I do not understand when you say they told you that this tariff was not available - strange as it's the one you get put on when you take over resposibility for supply when you move in.

Also, the figure you quote for the period seems extortionately high for such a short period.

You need to keep off the phone and write to them, by either email or letter (or both) with a heading COMPLAINT giving your opening and current readings and tell them your saga and ask for resolution to your satisfaction.

Have you actually switched or are you still stuck with BG?

EDIT - Cardew beat me to it.

spiro

British Gas not longer offfer a SVT, so I guess they put you on one of the alternative tariffs they offer,

keith1950

You have brought this on yourself by not trying to find out the proper procedure when changing properties.
You say that you "switched" on the 22nd but you cannot switch if you don't have an existing contract with someone.
On the 17th you should have read the meters and rang the existing supplier to open an account.
You were then free to immediately "start" a switch.
You would then have been on whatever tariff you had agreed with them until the switch went through. As it is you didn't ring them so they didn't know who was the occupier.
Hopefully everything will sort itself out but remember that anyone asking for a 'credit account' may have to accept having a credit check ( although it may just be a soft search ) or pay an upfront deposit.

shaftonred

D_M_E wrote: »

When you took ownership of the property you should have read the meters on occupation then called BG - who I assume from what you say were the suppliers - and told them you were now resposible for the energy bills.

They would then have set you up with an account and you were free to switch to a supplier of your choice at any time from then on.

BG would have put you on their standard, most expensive tariff so I do not understand when you say they told you that this tariff was not available - strange as it's the one you get put on when you take over resposibility for supply when you move in.

Also, the figure you quote for the period seems extortionately high for such a short period.

You need to keep off the phone and write to them, by either email or letter (or both) with a heading COMPLAINT giving your opening and current readings and tell them your saga and ask for resolution to your satisfaction.

Have you actually switched or are you still stuck with BG?

EDIT - Cardew beat me to it.

Yeah i know this should have been done but the move was a mammoth one and as we'd bought the house of our in-laws there was a break down in communication as to when they had contacted BG to give final meter readings.


The bill to the Occupier was charged at the higher rate which was their Standard tariff, this was already up from the tariff that my in-laws were on. My issue is that they have billed "The Occupier" one tariff which i have no issue paying so long as they amend the bill to show my actual readings, However they are now telling me this is null and void and switched me to an higher tariff... i dont understand how they can send a bill for one amount and then cancel the same bill and increase it.

spiro wrote: »

British Gas not longer offfer a SVT, so I guess they put you on one of the alternative tariffs they offer,

Yes thats right, I believe it finished on the 1st April but the bill that I originally received was dated the 22nd April and was for the period 17th March - 13th April.. I have no issue in paying the new higher amount with the temporary tariff which I am on but not for them to back date.

keith1950 wrote: »

You have brought this on yourself by not trying to find out the proper procedure when changing properties.
You say that you "switched" on the 22nd but you cannot switch if you don't have an existing contract with someone.
On the 17th you should have read the meters and rang the existing supplier to open an account.
You were then free to immediately "start" a switch.
You would then have been on whatever tariff you had agreed with them until the switch went through. As it is you didn't ring them so they didn't know who was the occupier.
Hopefully everything will sort itself out but remember that anyone asking for a 'credit account' may have to accept having a credit check ( although it may just be a soft search ) or pay an upfront deposit.

Understood but as mentioned a little earlier there was some confusion with the in-laws. In any event i did do it late due to so much happening at the time and I always understood that the tariff would be higher than that of my in-laws.


My frustration is that they have billed me X for dual duel from 17th mar - 13th April and are now wanting to backdate me and charge me even more. I asked them had i just paid the occupier bill would they have refunded me when I gave actual readings and they couldnt answer.


Surely a bill is a bill and once its raised they cannot cancel the bill and suddenly charge an higher amount. The reason I didnt pay the original bill is that the difference in what it should be and what it was is £108.


I refused the credit check purely as I was leaving anyway and I had never had this previously with any other utilities company.

Cardew

shaftonred wrote: »

Y
Surely a bill is a bill and once its raised they cannot cancel the bill and suddenly charge an higher amount. The reason I didnt pay the original bill is that the difference in what it should be and what it was is £108.

They can change a bill if there was an error; any company can.

However a different tariff for such a short period, could not cost £108 more. There must be revised meter readings.