People's Energy to British Gas

dosh1

Hi there,

Are others having issues with the transfer from People's Energy to British Gas?  I transferred about 3 months ago and provided a reading when requested (about 2 months ago).  

At the time I did cancel my direct debit with People's Energy for safety reasons and expected British Gas to setup a new account for me with my new reading so that I could setup a DD.  I have contacted them 7 times as I have still yet to be setup.  Their customer service is appalling and they are absolutely useless.

I am concerned that it will be months before anything is done and meanwhile I get a huge bill at the end of it.

Anyone else having similar issues?

TimSynths

Wow ! What a coincidence, I have just this very second complained to BG over this very subject. They are the only energy company I have ever been with that you cant simply go online and set up a DD yourself, had to do it over webchat which means I had to do it at their convenience and not mine, although once done it was fine.

And now this week they have emailed saying I agreed to have a smart meter installed as part of joining them- absolutely did not as like you I joined them as a supplier of last resort so had no say in the matter.

TimSynths

Had an email from BG yesterday apologising for sending the wrong email out stating I had agreed to a smart meter and letting me know I will be staying on my current tariff with no need to have one installed.

peter_the_piper

Had to wait and eventually BG allowed me to set it up online, but only after I had paid the first bill for gas and lecci. They supplied the details of amount etc. Checked next day and they said the DD amount was not enough to cover the usage by the end of the contract. Having had Ovo one month saying MIL's DD of £156 needs to go up to £188 then 2 months later saying its too much and needs to be £75. I won't take any notice but keep a watch on it.

cantaffordit_2

Lost 20 minutes of my life calling BG regarding PE to BG move, received money back from PE in September, BG collected no DD payments, only noticed when I decided to submit meter readings, account shows nothing meaningful. Janet (mmm !) in the call centre reassures me problem will be resolved in February, I presume 2022.BG have a script a script prepared for call centre to read out. Chat Bot on website.... useless. Do BG hide contact numbers on website ? Will move to another supplier asap, hopefully there will be a supplier left that does customer service.

wild666

TimSynths said:

Wow ! What a coincidence, I have just this very second complained to BG over this very subject. They are the only energy company I have ever been with that you cant simply go online and set up a DD yourself, had to do it over webchat which means I had to do it at their convenience and not mine, although once done it was fine.

And now this week they have emailed saying I agreed to have a smart meter installed as part of joining them- absolutely did not as like you I joined them as a supplier of last resort so had no say in the matter.

Put in another complaint saying you haven't agreed to have a smart meter installed as you were transferred to them as a SoLR from a failed company. 
They might try to say your meter has passed its end of life use and you need a new meter. If the meter is giving accurate readings then it doesn't need replacing. A friend has had his analogue meter in for nearly 40 years, 1982 installed, and his meter is giving similar readings every month for electric to when he first moved in, only the gas varies. 

philp66

Great to read these issues re BG from people energy customers.
my query is that BG are now sending me bills and have told me today the following.
 When my old people energy contract comes to an end in April 22 I will have to pay the difference from I owe them from moving to them in November. Minus of course my old direct debit and any credit I may of had with peoples energy. Is this right as I didn’t agree to any new tariff with BG when I was moved over. I won’t give them my bank details as they are asking me to sign up till June, yet my contract with peoples energy ends in April. Very confused and really have no confidence in BG as their customer service access is very poor.

QrizB

philp66 said:

Great to read these issues re BG from people energy customers.
my query is that BG are now sending me bills and have told me today the following.
 When my old people energy contract comes to an end in April 22...

You no longer have a contract with Peoples Energy. You have a contract with BG.

philp66 said:

I didn’t agree to any new tariff with BG when I was moved over.

Your BG contract is on their SoLR tariff, and Ofgem-capped variable rate.

philp66 said:

I won’t give them my bank details as they are asking me to sign up till June, yet my contract with peoples energy ends in April.

Whether you give them your bank details is entirely up to you, but you are currnelty a BG customer and will have to pay them for your energy.

MWT

philp66 said:

...Is this right as I didn’t agree to any new tariff with BG when I was moved over.

Yes, this is what is called a 'deemed tariff', you do not have to agree to be on it, you were placed on it as the alternative would have been to cut off your energy supply when your previous supplier failed.

philp66 said:

I won’t give them my bank details as they are asking me to sign up till June, yet my contract with peoples energy ends in April. Very confused and really have no confidence in BG as their customer service access is very poor.

Your People's Energy contract ended on September 19th, your BG contract began that day so you have been running up a bill with BG at their tariff rate since then, and yes, they are going to expect you to pay for that...