Flo Gas refusing to reduce direct debit

sarahj1986

Hello all

We moved into a property back in October. It had a Flo Gas storage tank above ground. As it was very full and an unhelpful landlord it took till January to get it sorted out. By this time we needed more gas so upon speaking to Flo Gas they put it on delivery and topped it up 40% (minimum they’d do) and since then we’ve not had any more nor should we need a top up until mid or end of summer.

when I initially rang them the gas we we getting was £409 and I had 3 options

1, pay for it outright
2, set up a direct debit of £140
3, or they would allow me to pay £100 a month direct debit if we pay for half the gas so £204

unfortunately we couldn’t afford to pay for any of it outright so I had to agree to £140 a month which I knew was a stretch for us and I told them this. I was advised that I could call back in 3 months time and credit control would look at reducing my direct debit if I wanted too

We’ve now paid 3 months February, March and April. Based on the gas we had and the standing charge we probably owe them £40. I rang them up this morning to ask for my direct debit to be lowered and now I’m told they won’t do anything for a whole year!

I know our usage because I’ve been so on it since the day we moved in. £140 is way way too much, even building up credit and getting gas they’d probably still owe us a lot of money. 

So now I feel like I’ve a gun to my head here. They won’t even let me reduce it, at all and I’m not very happy about this at all. The lady I spoke to said she would raise it as a complaint and they’d be in touch. 

What can I do here? It’s not like we are refusing to pay at all I’m just asking them to lower it, even to £100 is still more than sufficient especially over the summer months. I’m 16 weeks pregnant and have a 4 year old daughter so I’m sure we are classed as a vulnerable family (if this makes any difference)

Would appreciate any feedback 

thanks 

kazwookie

Can you ring them back and speak to someone different, or a supervisor?

What do the T&C's say about supply and payment terms, is there any thing in there that says the DD cannot be altered till 1 year is up?

I have no idea about this, but can you cancell the DD, and reset it up for £100?

Mstty

A few questions

1) How much of the £409 gas have you used
2) How full is the tank
3) Does your tenancy tank state you have to leave the tank full on exit (or have you lucked out and got lots of free gas from move in?

sarahj1986

Mstty said:

A few questions

1) How much of the £409 gas have you used
2) How full is the tank
3) Does your tenancy tank state you have to leave the tank full on exit (or have you lucked out and got lots of free gas from move in?

We had around 20% left and the top up took it to 60% and my husband checked it a week or so ago and it still had 35% left so even if we’ve used some it’s still likely to be at 30%. In the winter we were usually roughly 10% a month maybe 15% if it was really cold. Now it’s the summer months the heating isn’t on at all so that 30% will last most of the summer 

no there’s no agreement to leave it full when we leave 

sarahj1986

kazwookie said:

Can you ring them back and speak to someone different, or a supervisor?

What do the T&C's say about supply and payment terms, is there any thing in there that says the DD cannot be altered till 1 year is up?

I have no idea about this, but can you cancell the DD, and reset it up for £100?

I’m awaiting a call back from them as I’ve raised it as a complaint. I’ll be honest I’m not sure the finer details of the T&Cs. The person who I spoke to in January told me it could be altered after 3 months though. If they had made it clear it couldn’t I’d have borrowed £200 of family to do the third option of £204 upfront payment and £100 DD