British Gas refuse to bill me monthly

[Deleted User]

Hi,

sit down, breathe.

What did your T&Cs when you signed up?

All you need is a wee spread sheet, take monthly readings and keep track of usage and cost.

Would this wee GADGET help?

Healthynotwealthy

@frugalmacdugal … thanks so much - will give it a go …
and I’m definitely switching in July 😃

MattMattMattUK

Healthynotwealthy said:

I am disgusted with British Gas- whats everyone's thoughts please  ? Am I over reacting???

Unfortunately you are over reacting, as others have pointed out the choice is change supplier or go onto variable.

cannugec5

I think that in this current climate 
the only way I could get a monthly bill would be if I were to switch to a variable direct debit. I have pointed out that i cant afford to pay a variable amount each month as like many people, i need to KNOW how much my outgoings will be each month.

So you want them to issue you with a monthly bill, but you do not want to actually pay a monthly bill? 

Healthynotwealthy

…. Yes - I want to keep track so I can monitor my energy costs .

matt_drummer

Healthynotwealthy said:

…. Yes - I want to keep track so I can monitor my energy costs .

As you already read your meter, can't you just take the meter readings, work out your usage in Kwh and multiply it by the unit rate they charge you? It will take a few minutes, if that, each month.

p00hsticks

Healthynotwealthy said:

They will only automatically bill me every six months.
They have said that because I pay a fixed DD every month, they can only issue a bill every six months and if I want a monthly bill, I need to call them every month or switch to a variable DD 

That's interesting to hear, because when I contacted BG recently (via their online chat) to ask for more frequent billing, the rep was quite happy to (apparently) switch me from a six monthly to three monthly frequency without the need to switch to a variable DD.

 I shall see if I actually get a bill in the next couple of months as promised...

cannugec5

p00hsticks said:

Healthynotwealthy said:

They will only automatically bill me every six months.
They have said that because I pay a fixed DD every month, they can only issue a bill every six months and if I want a monthly bill, I need to call them every month or switch to a variable DD 

That's interesting to hear, because when I contacted BG recently (via their online chat) to ask for more frequent billing, the rep was quite happy to (apparently) switch me from a six monthly to three monthly frequency without the need to switch to a variable DD.

 I shall see if I actually get a bill in the next couple of months as promised...

I suspect you will. 

The OP is in a fixed contract, and wanting unilateral changes within that fix…

turnitround

I'm struggling to understand what the problem is. You want to be billed monthly but then say that you cant afford to pay a variable amount. 
So if they did bill you monthly how would you pay the bill? Being on a variable DD is exactly the same as being billed monthly. 

 You say you cant have a variable DD because you need to know how much your bill is. But if they billed you monthly you would only know the amount when the bill arrived anyway.

matt_drummer

turnitround said:

I'm struggling to understand what the problem is. You want to be billed monthly but then say that you cant afford to pay a variable amount. 
So if they did bill you monthly how would you pay the bill? Being on a variable DD is exactly the same as being billed monthly. 

 You say you cant have a variable DD because you need to know how much your bill is. But if they billed you monthly you would only know the amount when the bill arrived anyway.

They want to be billed like Octopus do, fixed monthly direct debit but with a bill for what you have used each month.

So that they can see their monthly usage.

But, I think they are smart enough to work it out for themselves.