British gas took more money than expected

shaz1968

I am on british gas for both electric and gas I pay gas through pre-payment meter and I pay my electric direct debit I have been paying £30.00 PER MONTH, I was checking my bank balance and saw they had taken £57.00 with out even notifying me can they do this..

Thanks

tinkerbell84

Check your last bill.

It will either say "your direct debit amount does not need changing" or "we need to change your direct debit amount to £57.00 per month".

Cardew

They can't increase a direct debit without notifying you(note not ask you).

If they have not notified you the bank will refund the difference and reclaim it from BG under the DD guarantee.

However it is very easy to miss the notification as it is at the bottom of a bill.

Terrylw1

Also bare in mind a lot of post has gone missing or not been sifted from Oct's strike yet.

They can tell you if they have sent you a letter and you can check online.

You can ask your bank for a refund but remember, you will then get chaser letters from your Supplier for non payment so you will need to ring them about your DD anyway.

shaz1968

tinkerbell84 wrote: »

Check your last bill.

It will either say "your direct debit amount does not need changing" or "we need to change your direct debit amount to £57.00 per month".

Found my last bill and it says nothing about charging me anymore and I was only £11.00 in debt for that quarter so I dont know why they are putting my direct debit up £81.00 per quarter. Do they really no what they are doing.

Cardew

If you are in debit going into the winter period it is perhaps understandable why your DD has increased by £27 a month. Without a substantial increase you would emerge from the winter with a big debt; so the increase makes sense.

However that is obviously no excuse for not informing you of the increase.

Terrylw1

Why don't you get rid of the PP gas meter and go on DD for both as you may get a duel fuel discount as well as a DD discount. That will help you a bit.

Ofgem told Suppliers years ago that they have to do everything possible to avoid customers being in debt.

Make sure you get your readings to them and never get billed on estimates as it will make your DD's moe accurate.

Natty68

Hubby says you can claim on the DD indemnity if they haven't notified you. It is law that they have to notify you. Hubby knows what he is talking about as he handles the main gas accounts for British Gas in his bank, basically he is th Bank Manager. In his words BG can't organise a pee up in a brewery..

JohalaReewi

Technically, it is the Direct Debit Guarantee Scheme you claim under. The DD Idemnity is what the Bank uses internally.

BG should have told you well in advance (at least ten days) of how much and when they were going to take the new DD amount. If they did not, or they take too much or take it too early, you are entitled to a full and immediate refund under the Direct Debut Guarantee Scheme. You get this by containg your BANK (not BG). Make sure the bank understands you want a full and immediate refund under the DD Guarantee Scheme.

Terrylw1

Remember, they may have notified you. RM have to deliver it, not BGas so I would contact BGas and ask them first before you go to your bank. If you go via indemnity, you may just get a letter asking you to set up your DD again. Shortly after that you will become a non payer and end up in the collection cycle.

Give the benefit of the doubt first before you get your money back.

The point everyine misses here is that if £57 per month is what you should pay (we can't see your consumption) then you will have to pay it back anyway. If BGas lower your DD because they have got it wrong, you still get the extra back anyway since they will deduct it as a credit from your future payments.

At the end of the day you are still their customer and will use £27 more electric within a month based on the old scheme. So, why not just talk to them?