Anyone else had issues getting People Energy Credit back?

noisysaver

We got forced over to British gas with over £200 credit, 4 months after this still no sign of this credit. BG are now after a bill payment but we've asked for a hold to be put on the account until this guaranteed (by OFGEM) credit lands with them. So far this has not been an easy situation to try and initiate. Despite telling us this money is guaranteed they have issued bills and are now talking debt collection, but I'm adamant I'm not paying twice as that over payment was meant to be used for our winter energy bills as part of our budgeting. Why should their bill trump my credit which is a direct result of their arrangement with People's Energy? Looking online it appears the debits have been quickly added to accounts, credits, not so speedy. BG 'have' my money and it would seem straightforward to put a hold on the account until it lands so a revised bill can be issued based on energy used and my available credit.

I'm awaiting BGs response. Anyone else having nightmares with credit as part of this switch debacle?

JJ_Egan

Administrators are always slow to release credits .

Astria

Yes you have a right to your credit and it will be applied to your account eventually. Administrators always deal with credits slowly.

However, if you don't pay BG for current usage they may apply late payment charges, debt collection fees and so on and could also place markers on your credit files. It's going to cost you a lot more in the long run.

Easier and cheaper to just settle the bill now and claim a credit later.

noisysaver

Astria said:

Easier and cheaper to just settle the bill now and claim a credit later.

if you can afford it...

Astria

noisysaver said:

Astria said:

Easier and cheaper to just settle the bill now and claim a credit later.

if you can afford it...

Well yes, but you can agree a payment plan if you can't that means you are willing to pay the bill rather than outright refuse the bill which the OP seems to be doing.

qshed

I have been trying to contact British gas about this but have so far had no luck.  My credit balance with peoples energy (live balance) has been slowly shrinking and they even took a direct debit today!!  Unfortunately this has turned into a proper mess

noisysaver

That's awful. Regards deemed contracts, if you look into it and the act of parliament, this relates specifically yo carrying on a supply when you move into a new property, there is nothing in the act to cover this eventuality specifically. They can't just take legislation for one thing and then stick it on something else because 'it's similar', that's not how the law works.

I'm not withholding payment, I have actually paid minus what I know to be credit and have just asked that the account be placed on hold and a bill be issued once the credit lands so everything is properly accounted for. The fact it has taken nearly 2 months longer than BG and OFGEM have said is not my problem. I never agreed to this situation and there's no reason why I should be bound by the rules of a company I am not properly contracted to. This is a cash flow issue as much as anything and BG should be able to accommodate under the unique situation of this enforced switch over.

MWT

noisysaver said:

I never agreed to this situation and there's no reason why I should be bound by the rules of a company I am not properly contracted to.

Sorry, but house moving is only one of the ways you can end up in a deemed contract, it applies to any circumstance in which a supplier supplies gas or electricity to a consumer without a specific contract being in place...

Try this link for more details specific to the SoLR process...

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/sites/default/files/docs/2006/06/14319-deemed-contracts.pdf

happyc84

same situation, BG holding onto our credit from peoples energy, while billing us £90 per month.
£250 in credit. Told by BG it would be sorted but not progress to date

MWT

happyc84 said:

same situation, BG holding onto our credit from peoples energy, while billing us £90 per month.
£250 in credit. Told by BG it would be sorted but not progress to date

BG are not 'holding onto' your credit, they need to be told by the administrators what the credit is and then they will be able to apply it to your account.

How long that takes is mostly up to the administrators, not BG.

spot1034

Far from holding on to anything, BG will have to fund any credit from their own resources before being able to reclaim it from Ofgem at a later date.