We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum... Read More »
We're aware that some users are experiencing technical issues which the team are working to resolve. See the Community Noticeboard for more info. Thank you for your patience.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
Have I jumped the gun
Options

grocerjack
Posts: 119 Forumite


in Energy
Afternoon, I have a question - this week I received an email from BG putting my monthly dual fuel payment up by 27.5%.
It seems they did this based on predicted usage rather than actual usage. During COVID-19 it has been hard to get any response from them even via webchat (my favoured method) and when I did get through after several hours over Sunday and Monday the advisor was abysmal. No amount of logic would work which I had based on over a 18 months ACTUAL usage. In the end I lodged a formal complaint, especially as the new amount shown in the app also differed from that shown on the bill in the web portal. (a more modest 13% increase) . During the hours spent trying to resolve this I used the MSE Cheap Energy club to search a better deal and got EDF, who can use the fitted smart meters (they are v2 type so should be usable by any energy company) and it seems can deal with a Green Deal I completed a month before the government pulled the scheme.
I decided to switch and made sure BG knew I would not pay any exit fee as I recently switched to a new BG tariff communicated via MSE for existing BG customers. Since the switch request (Tuesday) EDF have set up an online account and have been very efficient.....BUT......now BG have called me, apologised, admitted the error , agreed my amount should be based on historical use as I've been with them long enough and agreed to leave the monthly payment as it is.
Have I jumped the gun? I am always the first to agree that mistakes happen and the person/company making the error should be judged on how they respond and resolve and BG seem to have done the right thing. Prior to this in the 18 months with BG they have been exemplary. I am in the 14 day cooling off period of course so can cancel the switch but wondered if anyone had similar experience of Bg vs EDF, or just experience of EDF in general. Thank you.
It seems they did this based on predicted usage rather than actual usage. During COVID-19 it has been hard to get any response from them even via webchat (my favoured method) and when I did get through after several hours over Sunday and Monday the advisor was abysmal. No amount of logic would work which I had based on over a 18 months ACTUAL usage. In the end I lodged a formal complaint, especially as the new amount shown in the app also differed from that shown on the bill in the web portal. (a more modest 13% increase) . During the hours spent trying to resolve this I used the MSE Cheap Energy club to search a better deal and got EDF, who can use the fitted smart meters (they are v2 type so should be usable by any energy company) and it seems can deal with a Green Deal I completed a month before the government pulled the scheme.
I decided to switch and made sure BG knew I would not pay any exit fee as I recently switched to a new BG tariff communicated via MSE for existing BG customers. Since the switch request (Tuesday) EDF have set up an online account and have been very efficient.....BUT......now BG have called me, apologised, admitted the error , agreed my amount should be based on historical use as I've been with them long enough and agreed to leave the monthly payment as it is.
Have I jumped the gun? I am always the first to agree that mistakes happen and the person/company making the error should be judged on how they respond and resolve and BG seem to have done the right thing. Prior to this in the 18 months with BG they have been exemplary. I am in the 14 day cooling off period of course so can cancel the switch but wondered if anyone had similar experience of Bg vs EDF, or just experience of EDF in general. Thank you.
Kind Regards, Jack
0
Comments
-
grocerjack said:Afternoon, I have a question - this week I received an email from BG putting my monthly dual fuel payment up by 27.5%.
It seems they did this based on predicted usage rather than actual usage. During COVID-19 it has been hard to get any response from them even via webchat (my favoured method) and when I did get through after several hours over Sunday and Monday the advisor was abysmal. No amount of logic would work which I had based on over a 18 months ACTUAL usage. In the end I lodged a formal complaint, especially as the new amount shown in the app also differed from that shown on the bill in the web portal. (a more modest 13% increase) . During the hours spent trying to resolve this I used the MSE Cheap Energy club to search a better deal and got EDF, who can use the fitted smart meters (they are v2 type so should be usable by any energy company) and it seems can deal with a Green Deal I completed a month before the government pulled the scheme.
I decided to switch and made sure BG knew I would not pay any exit fee as I recently switched to a new BG tariff communicated via MSE for existing BG customers. Since the switch request (Tuesday) EDF have set up an online account and have been very efficient.....BUT......now BG have called me, apologised, admitted the error , agreed my amount should be based on historical use as I've been with them long enough and agreed to leave the monthly payment as it is.
Have I jumped the gun? I am always the first to agree that mistakes happen and the person/company making the error should be judged on how they respond and resolve and BG seem to have done the right thing. Prior to this in the 18 months with BG they have been exemplary. I am in the 14 day cooling off period of course so can cancel the switch but wondered if anyone had similar experience of Bg vs EDF, or just experience of EDF in general. Thank you.
The sooner you applied, the sooner you would benefit from the better tariff you found
2 -
grocerjack said:but wondered if anyone had similar experience of Bg vs EDF, or just experience of EDF in general. Thank you.The problem with your question is that you normally get far more of the dissatisfied customers, of either company, replying. Also if you look at the many customer satisfaction surveys run by WHICH, MSE etc you will see a company near the top of the list, drop to the bottom 'overnight'; one 'abysmal' advisor that you encountered can make a huge difference.Personally I have usually had excellent service from BG, but their tariffs can be just about the most expensive on the market and then change to their current tariffs which are very competitive.
1 -
Forget the monthly payment estimate . I would want to know which has the cheaper tariff .
2 -
EDF was cheaper, not by much however BG did redeem themselves with the resolution. Wife thinks we should stick...I'm yet to be convinced. Yes, I also understand the service rating can change quickly...and that most people only say somethin when they want to complain. Thanks for the comments thus far
Kind Regards, Jack0 -
Don't take too much notice of the noise from all those dissatisfied customers. The energy industry is reasonably well regulated so, if you do encounter mistakes, you're likely to get some compensation. You shouldn't have any loyalty to these companies and should switch frequently to find the best deal. It is important to know your actual consumption (which you seem to) to get an accurate comparison. I use the cheap energy club on MSE, but there are apparently some more thorough comparison sites out there. Prices seem to be coming down at the moment so consider looking for a fix with no exit fees. I've just switched to Out Fox the Market as it is cheapest for me and I can leave at any time.
0 -
I understand loyalty bit I'd just go for the cheapest of the two, even if it's only marginal.0
-
Why not just go with the cheapest? Commonly misunderstood, but the actual gas/electricity that is delivered is the same irrespective of supplier! Who knew!0
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

Categories
- All Categories
- 350.9K Banking & Borrowing
- 253.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 453.6K Spending & Discounts
- 244K Work, Benefits & Business
- 598.8K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 176.9K Life & Family
- 257.2K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.6K Read-Only Boards