British Gas Welcome to British Gas

Danny16

brewerdave said:

 In view of the number of complaints on this issue, the E.O should have instructed BG to offer ALL the affected customers the same resolution

I do agree with this, there should have been blanket resolutions for seperate circumstances.

I did get confirmation from the E.O that you do not have to accept there decision and pursue in the courts, whether that is breach of conduct, or to do with codes of conduct and fair practices or something else.

I would imagine you would need to provide evidence of loses ie time, were you looking at other tariffs, can you provide evidence that would suggest this, was it a 12,18,24 month fixed rates you were looking at, what would your losses have been? the difference between paying now on SVG and what you would have on another tariff. With the way prices are going in October if you could provide evidence you were looking at 2 year fixed deals then you would have saved yourself a lot, this constitues a quantifable loss.

I understand this is probably not an option for many people, in reality it is not for me. But maybe this information can help someone that could?

Mstty said:

@brewerdave I like this to Housebuilders. Whilst some (maybe 5%) may create a snagging list 95% are happy to just get on with whatever finish and issues they are sold.

What percentage of BG customers off this board do you think are complaining.

It's cheaper for BG to just pay out to those that complain than all.

I suspect.

I believe you are right with this, and only my opinion but I believe the E.O. know this and are hoping the numbers arent too high.

I was told by E.O my complaint will take a while as they are consulting Ombudsman Services in how to respond?

jobdone1

So I have won, the poor offer of £75 resulted in deadlock, I provided all evidence of attempted switch and fix in December 21, choose not to as I was assured my price was fixed until 30 July 22, final outcome awarded £438. Keep fighting guys. 💪👍

S

brewerdave

@jobdone1 - good luck with getting BG to pay !

Danny16

jobdone1 said:

So I have won, the poor offer of £75 resulted in deadlock, I provided all evidence of attempted switch and fix in December 21, choose not to as I was assured my price was fixed until 30 July 22, final outcome awarded £438. Keep fighting guys. 💪👍

So in British Gas' appeal they only stated about it not being fixed.... This should be something the E.O should be looking more into or ofgem? using these legitimate process to just simply delay awards for the "typos" in contracts, which they have admitted to - which in itself is a "breach of contract" which has affected their decision making and resulted in material losses for a lot of customers. The crux is the information was misleading and did affect a lot of decisions for customers.

I do wonder whether BG will pay out without an issue or whether customers may have to go small claims court or similar to recover these awards?

Again goes back to what @brewerdave was saying about the E.O should offer the same resolution to all affected customers and not the hodge podge pick and mix resolutions that seems to be coming out. Which I agree seems to be only the fair and just thing.

jobdone1

So this afternoon I received an email from both British gas and the energy ombudsman, British gas has attached an apology letter and today credited my electric account with the award of £438:00. All the best to all that is fighting this 👍

Danny16

congratulations @jobdone1 ! hope this goes towards help in October

jobdone1

Danny16 said:

congratulations @jobdone1 ! hope this goes towards help in October

Thank you, with regards to my case I have always been an energy tart 👍 I always switched to cheeper tariffs hence my ombudsman win, I fixed my electric about seven weeks ago at 34p a unit plus the dreaded 48p daily charge for one year, I think I have backed the right horse looking at the situation right now. 

Danny16

So I have also had an update today.

My first decision was this.

Decision

Issue 1

Issue type: SALES - Mis-selling - online
Issue analysis:

In summary of your complaint, you have told us you were switched to British Gas as a Supplier of Last Resort (SoLR)
 when People’s Energy ceased trading. When you received your contract, it stipulated you would pay the same amount
 for your energy until 30 June 2022. However British Gas revoked this and stated the price was not guaranteed and 
that it was a variable contract.
To resolve this, you have told us that you would like British Gas to honour the original tariff or for the additional
 cost to be mitigated against the price differences on the account. 
British Gas has told us it took over your electricity supply on 2 November 2021 and the gas supply on 29 October 2021
 from People’s Energy as part of the SoLR process and the Ofgem agreed tariff ‘The Peoples Tariff was applied to the
 combined account. British Gas stated that it confirmed the tariff was a variable tariff and the prices would be
 increasing on 1 April 2022 in line with the Ofgem price cap.
In response, British Gas has told us it not able to offer the resolution requested as the rates cannot be extended
 to 30 June 2022 as per the Terms & Conditions and Ofgem price cap. 

In your evidence, you have told us that you were unhappy when after you transferred to British Gas as SoLR you
 were initially informed that your prices were guaranteed until 30 June 2022 and even after contacting British
 Gas to confirm this, you were assured that this was case and this was your primary reason for you to remain
 with British Gas.

However, during the course of the contract, you were informed that due the the increase in the Ofgem price cap, you
 would be subject to an increase in the amount you paid for your energy from 1 April 2022. 
As outlined above, based on your testimony and the information you have been able to provide, 
I am satisfied that had it not been for the information regarding a price guarantee in the welcome letter, it is
 likely you would have signed up to an alternative fixed tariff. As such, I have considered the likely impact of this.

Typically, a fixed tariff is usually agreed for either 12, 18 or 24 months. I have looked at the potential impact over
 an 18 month period as an average of these tariff lengths. At the time you received the contract information from 
British Gas, I have confirmed that the best available 18 month fixed tariff was offered by Octopus Energy. 
From this, British Gas has provided me with bills to calculate your usage patterns in order to determine your level
 of energy consumption
For gas consumption, bills provided by British Gas shows an opening meter read of 4235 on 29 October 2021 and a close
 read of 4532 on 13 July 2022. This is a consumption of 297 units over a period of 258 days and on average, 1.15 units
 per day or 12.85 kilowatt hours (kWh)
For electric consumption, using the bill information provided, shows an opening meter read of 9797 on 2 November 2021
 and 11080 on 14 July 2022. This is a total of 1283 units used over a period of 254 days or on average 5.05 units per
 day.

Using this, I have analysed your usage patterns. You typically use 12.85 kWh units per day for your gas consumption
 and 5.05 units per day for electricity. Based on this, and compared with Ofgem’s Typical Domestic Consumption 
Values, I am satisfied that you would be considered a low/medium user of energy.
Ombudsman Services has used industry data to predict what a low/medium user of energy is likely to have been
 charged on British Gas’s Welcome tariff, using predicted changes in the Ofgem price cap over the 18 month
 period. We have then compared this to what the same consumer would have paid on the Octopus Energy 18 month
 fixed tariff. Although the price of a fixed tariff at the time would have been more expensive, over the 18
 month period it is likely to have worked out to be more beneficial.
In total, we have calculated that you could have saved around £550 for low/medium user. I therefore believe
 British Gas should apply a credit for this amount to your energy account, to recognise the potential saving 
you would have made had you been aware British Gas’s Welcome tariff was variable, and as I believe you would 
likely have switched to a fixed tariff if this were made clear.
I acknowledge that this calculation is based on approximate consumption. However, due to the amount of variables
 involved I believe this calculation is reasonable and the assumptions about expected usage and price charges are
 fair. 
As a remedy, I advise British Gas apply a credit of £550 to your energy account

Outcome: Upheld

I was happy with the outcome, but I wasn't happy at the lack of acknowledgement of poor customer service, stress, poor standards etc. And prior to BGT becoming SoLR I was an average user (mitigate what I can where I can).

So call me cheeky or whatever comes to mind, I decided to appeal on factual error - the fact I was an average user and could only provide details of DD information and not usage as no longer have access to bills (peoples energy). I am a layman and sought advice and was told my direct losses are quantifiable and was told what they were.

Again this does seem inconsistent with other decisions...... And I am in a position where I am unsure what to do. The other half has already told me too accept. And I probably will, I just don't understand why my arguments of poor customer service have kind of been forgotten, or even neglected. When at the beginning of these complaints the awards were for that and "gesture of goodwill" payments were made.

Either way this is a HUGE win for me and makes a dent in the upcoming nightmare.

I am also a Monthly Variable Direct Debit customer (pay as I use), there is debate on this topic, it is something that works for me and my family for now, I understand we are going to be in for a big shock very soon, hence why we trying to mitigate what we can wehre we can.

Good luck to the rest and there is hope.

Appeal - Original Decision Maintained

The consumer has appealed the decision

Reason: incorrect decision

What was the factual error?

Since BGT took over my supply, my bills were immediately increased from "The Peoples Energy" tariff to fit inline
 with the price cap. To mitigate the increase as a household we reduced our energy usage. We used to spend 
approximately between £80-100 per month with our old supplier "Peoples Energy". Prices have spiked and we 
have dramatically reduced our usage to mitigate the price hikes. I have been unable to access "Peoples Energy" 
bills as they have ceased trading and I have no access to them, I have uploaded a screenshot of the DD setup
 and amount in £GBP with "peoples Energy" based upon our usage
The award only covers partial direct losses associated with savings I would have made had BGT not breached
 contract, it does not cover losses of total time, stress and phone billing, all of which are quantifiable.

Why does the factual error make a difference?

I believe on our old usage before BGT took over the supply I would have been considered an average consumer
 of energy, this makes a material difference to the award amount based on what I would have saved.
Once all direct losses are covered then their will be a material difference in the total award.

---

See Evidence for additional files

Appeal rejection reason

We sent our decision to you and British Gas on 21 July 2022 and asked you both to respond within 14 days.
 British Gas accepted our decision; you responded to appeal our decision.

You advise when British Gas took over your supply and your tariff was increased, you reduced your energy consumption,
 to mitigate the increase in costs. You explain you do not have access to your old People’s Energy bills but you have 
supplied evidence of the monthly payments made to this company. You say you consider your usage before your supply 
moved to British Gas, would mean you were considered an “average consumer of energy” and therefore you consider this
 makes a material difference to the amount awarded. You explain you believe you would have saved more money than
 calculated in our decision; if we had calculated this based on your usage habits from the time you were supplied 
by People’s Energy.

I cannot calculate your usage habits with People’s Energy, based on your direct debit payments to this company,
 however, as I have no reason to doubt your version of events, I consider you used more energy on average when
 you were supplied by People’s Energy, as you reduced your consumption once you moved to British Gas due to the
 increase to your prices. However, we cannot base our calculation on your usage during the period you were supplied
 by People’s Energy, as this is not relevant.
We are considering your actual usage during the period supplied by British Gas; your actual average daily usage
 was 12.85kwh for gas and 5.05kwh for electricity, based on actual readings from October/November 2021 and July 
2022. This was reflected in the charges paid to British Gas, based on your usage and the tariff. Therefore, we
 have used this same actual average daily usage when calculating the potential savings you would have made, had
 you been billed to a lower tariff. We would not consider that you hypothetically may have used more energy had 
you been on a different tariff as part of this calculation.

You say the award proposed does not cover the losses of total time, stress and phone bills, all of which you 
consider are quantifiable.

You have not provided any evidence of phone charges incurred in contacting British Gas. In addition, the company
 does offer ways to contact it without phone charges, such as via live chat or email. While I appreciate that you
 consider the stress caused and time spent is quantifiable in terms of a monetary value, I must clarify that while
 Ombudsman Services: Energy can propose goodwill awards, any such award will not be based on the level of pay a
 customer may receive on an hourly basis, or the value they place on their own time.
Also, if we make a decision regarding a financial payment, its unlikely to change simply because you disagree
 or do not think the level fairly reflects the problems you have faced. 

We are required to ensure any outcome we propose is consistent for all complainants, and if we were to base our
 decision on the value of a customer’s hourly wage or the subjective value placed on their own time, this would
 potentially result in different levels of credit being proposed for the same types of service shortfalls. 
While I acknowledge you may be disappointed with the outcome of the review, I consider the remedies to be fair
 and reasonable in line with our findings. In addition, I have not received any new evidence of identified a
 significant error that has a material impact on the conclusions already drawn, therefore I cannot see any reason 
why I should change the remedy proposed.
Our decision remains the same and you now have until 24 August 2022 to choose whether to accept or decline our
 decision. If you accept, the company will have to complete the remedies within 28 days. If you do not respond
 or decline, your case will close. 

jobdone1

@Danny16 that's a very similar response to mine from the investigation officer, well done on your win, it's all about staying strong and fighting the big companies that try to bully you into accepting a sorry £50 goodwill. 👍, As mentioned stay firm and strong all involved in this matter with British gas guys 👍💪

BZ12

After the original EO decision of keeping the electricity rates until end June, which in practice meant something like them paying me £80-100 as my heating is oil and wood, BG appealed the decision.

On appeal the EO agreed that I would have fixed the rate had I known the price guarantee was meaningless and upped the settlement to nearly £800.  BG waited until the last minute but have now credited my account.

I guess they should take some of these appeal decisions as a warning that it is often better to accept the original decision.