British Gas - storing up a nasty surprise?

caroline1973lefty

British Gas haven't adjusted my DDs in respect of the April rise. Anyone else in this boat? 
Nor can I access old bills/usage, because they switched to a new system and reset my account in April - is this happening to everyone?
I phoned them up to ask why they havent adjusted my DD, and what it should be, in light of the recent rise, to help me budget. Their answers to both concerned me.
On "why", they said, "because you've been with us less than a year, and we'll only review after a year". When I pointed out I'd been with them 3 years, they said "ah but *this* account started on April 12 2022". Which is because they changed their online systems on that day, and closed old accounts! I am just wondering if other people have had the same response.
When I tried to ask what I should be paying to avoid falling behind, it was so weird, they really didn't want to tell me, and at one point even got really shirty with me for asking! They kept deflecting with guff about how the new website puts customers in control and  I could look at my monthly bills and work it out myself (not easy because the usage obviously fluctuates month to month- and I can't access a full year of info because of their account/website changes). 
I did eventually get the figure I was looking for, but only because I am very persistent! 
Has anyone else had this experience? I'm worried if British Gas are giving people less advice on what they should be paying, than they used to (which is what the operative actually said to me, under questionning), then people who probably are just hoping for the best, understandably, are going to have a nasty surprise in a few months. Especially if this is intersecting with old accounts being switched to a new system in April - did that happen to everyone? The nasty surprise could be stored up til April 2023 and god knows what prices will be then, it will be impossible to work out whether the bills and debts are even correct, I fear.

Mstty

The best way is to track your own usage monthly and the prices you pay, what you have paid your supplier and the credit or debit left. Once you start doing this it is very easy to keep on top of any energy companies deficits in their billing system and nothing will be a shock.

If you supply the information here including annual usage in kWh and prices paid per kWh and your last bill and payments including a read today then some kind person may work it all out for you👍

Heather2012

British Gas didn't put my monthly DD up when we had the price increase in April. However, I request a new bill from them every month so that I can see where I'm up to (and to avoid any big bills at the end of the year). I find that every time I request a bill off them they recalculate my monthly DD. Last month it went up by ~£20. This month it's gone up by another £42.

My advice would be to ask them for a bill so that you know your DD is accurate now and you won't be in debt at the end of the year.

maisie_cat

Mstty said:

The best way is to track your own usage monthly and the prices you pay, what you have paid your supplier and the credit or debit left. Once you start doing this it is very easy to keep on top of any energy companies deficits in their billing system and nothing will be a shock.

Agreed, it's much easier to look after your own than rely on their systems and algorithms. If the system allows you to make additional payments then do that to help you budget. BG kept telling me that my DD was too high and I knew it wasn't, thankfully the system easily allowed me to increase it. If the system will not allow it, can you use the payment slip from the last bill you have to make a payment at the bank?

Greying_Pilgrim

Caroline1973lefty - I think that BG are absolutely trying to keep customers in the dark about their bills.  We too have been with BG for nearly 3 yrs.  We too have recently been moved to the 'new improved payment platform' - with the result that we can no longer access historical data on our account.  Our smart meter is showing a daily rate for electricity that is wrong, and BG seem unwilling to do a darn thing about it.  We are nearly up to them exceeding 28 days to switch our electricity account back to where it was - if they fail to do so, we will be taking the matter to the ombudsman.

BG chose to cancel our direct debit for June, so they are deliberately putting us into arrears to them.  I am quite sure customers in arrears cannot switch to another supplier - even if there were a plethora of suppliers awaiting our custom. Whilst i have been able to restart the DD, I was warned that the money will only be going towards our gas bill, as our electricity account is 'elsewhere' and it cannot receive payments to it.   According to press reports, the issues with transfers to the new evolve payment platform have been going on for over a year.  BG were quoted in the press in January '22 as having said they were suspending transfers to the new platform until the issues were resolved.  I was moved in May, so clearly they are still trying it on.

I fail to see how a company can have such blatant disregard for its customers.  All we want to do is pay for the fuel that we use, and not be put in a position where debts are racked up, simply because BG has tried to move customers to a billing system that is not fit for purpose.

Greying.

Coffeekup

I can agree with BG keeping their customers in th dark. Back in February or early March I was trying to help a colleague on this usage and future costs to try help him understand how much more it will cost him.
Even though he has a smart reader which sends out reading regularly and have an app.
I couldn't find the tariff he was on, how much he was paying per unit for both energy's and couldn't see how much he had used in the last year, month or even day. I tried this 3 times over the course of 10 days, I was shocked how little information could be found from the app, I ended up saying you have to call B.G. for this information if you want to work out future costs.

[Deleted User]

Hi,

set up a wee spreadsheet, and update at least monthly, then you can keep an eye on usage and cost, making an extra payment if DD not enough.