British Gas cancelled our direct debit in error and we now owe £400+

mr_stripey

Bit of an unnecessary  but typical MSE pile-on the OP here.

OP asked a reasonable question, perhaps believing that the supplier's error meant there was some recourse and also having been reinforced by some unhelpful advice from citizens advice.

OP was given some strait answers which they have accepted, and hopefully lesson learnt for the future.

No need to keep hammering the point home with unhelpful comments. But it's fairly standard for these forums.

QrizB

I had a long reply planned with inline quotes but wrestling with the new forum software on my mobile is just too much faff.

To the OP:

Has BG actually billed you for the gas used, or is £400 just the total of the missed DDs? You haven't said anything about receiving a bill, or submitting meter readings. £400 seems low for an entire winter's gas, unless you have a tiny and/or really well insulated home.

Qyburn

QrizB said:

Has BG actually billed you for the gas used, or is £400 just the total of the missed DDs? 

That's a really good point, now would be the time to get an absolutely accurate bill before negotiating a payment plan to get things square again.

dunstonh

You say you are an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). Forgive me if I'm wrong, but does that not that mean providing impartial financial advice to people without judgement?

There is no judgment.  You are reading too much into the text and attaching an emotion to it.

You are not alone in not managing your bank account well.   Far too many people today fail to do it.    Ironically, managing your bank account with the access and information you can get daily has never been as easy.   Yet fewer do it than it used to be.

Would you say I was "awful at running my finances" if I was sat opposite you in person? Or is it just easier to say it behind a keyboard?

Yes, I would because that is what it is.   The bottom line is that you failed to notice that £400 was still sitting in your bank account after 7-8 months and that your utility bill was £400 short.     £400 is a lot of money, and 7-8 months is a long time to go without checking your bank account.      Is that good money management, or is it bad money management?

What if you had fraudulent transactions taken from your account (an all too common problem nowadays)?   Or a transaction had the figures reversed or a zero added.   You wouldn't know because you are not checking your bank account.  You could be hundreds or thousands of pounds out of pocket and not realise it.

matelodave

TBH unless you are pretty well off, most people would notice if they had £400 extra floating around in their bank account.

In much the same way as you'd hope that you'd notice if there was £400 missing. 

Novice_investor101

QrizB said:

I had a long reply planned with inline quotes but wrestling with the new forum software on my mobile is just too much faff.

To the OP:

Has BG actually billed you for the gas used, or is £400 just the total of the missed DDs? You haven't said anything about receiving a bill, or submitting meter readings. £400 seems low for an entire winter's gas, unless you have a tiny and/or really well insulated home.

This would be my concern. I used over £400 of gas in just December & January & I really cut back in Feb & March because I couldn’t afford another £200 a month of gas usage. & I’m a very low user (1500kwh a year), although it’s all used from November to March. I’d be ensuring that the £400 refers to the bill owed & not just the missed DD’s. For a bill to be so low over the most expensive winter for heating ever you must have an incredibly well insulated house or froze all winter with the heating off a lot. 

strandedinaber

Novice_investor101 said:

QrizB said:

I had a long reply planned with inline quotes but wrestling with the new forum software on my mobile is just too much faff.

To the OP:

Has BG actually billed you for the gas used, or is £400 just the total of the missed DDs? You haven't said anything about receiving a bill, or submitting meter readings. £400 seems low for an entire winter's gas, unless you have a tiny and/or really well insulated home.

This would be my concern. I used over £400 of gas in just December & January & I really cut back in Feb & March because I couldn’t afford another £200 a month of gas usage. & I’m a very low user (1500kwh a year), although it’s all used from November to March. I’d be ensuring that the £400 refers to the bill owed & not just the missed DD’s. For a bill to be so low over the most expensive winter for heating ever you must have an incredibly well insulated house or froze all winter with the heating off a lot. 

I agree with this - I think the most important thing is to make sure the bill is actually accurate.

You'll want to increase your direct debit payment immediately to try and address the deficit before winter when you'll likely start using your gas more. Is that affordable for you, and is British Gas still the best supplier?

I agree with others saying that £50 is reasonable compensation, but you may be able to get more flexibility in other ways. For example, if you need to move suppliers to reduce your gas price, you may be able to do so without immediately clearing your deficit given that it's partly their fault you have one. Or if you're tied into a contract, you may be able to negotiate an earlier exit. Either of those things might help in dealing with the deficit.

tim_p

Novice_investor101 said:

This would be my concern. I used over £400 of gas in just December & January & I really cut back in Feb & March because I couldn’t afford another £200 a month of gas usage. & I’m a very low user (1500kwh a year), although it’s all used from November to March. I’d be ensuring that the £400 refers to the bill owed & not just the missed DD’s. For a bill to be so low over the most expensive winter for heating ever you must have an incredibly well insulated house or froze all winter with the heating off a lot. 

It might be me, or my maths but surely £400 worth of gas buys more than 1500kWh. The two don’t add up. Even at the 10p rate and taking out a years worth of s/c it still buys around 3000kWh. 

Might be me though, it’s still early!

Novice_investor101

tim_p said:

Novice_investor101 said:

This would be my concern. I used over £400 of gas in just December & January & I really cut back in Feb & March because I couldn’t afford another £200 a month of gas usage. & I’m a very low user (1500kwh a year), although it’s all used from November to March. I’d be ensuring that the £400 refers to the bill owed & not just the missed DD’s. For a bill to be so low over the most expensive winter for heating ever you must have an incredibly well insulated house or froze all winter with the heating off a lot. 

It might be me, or my maths but surely £400 worth of gas buys more than 1500kWh. The two don’t add up. Even at the 10p rate and taking out a years worth of s/c it still buys around 3000kWh. 

Might be me though, it’s still early!

You’re correct! i got my annual electricity usage mixed up with gas. 

Electric is 1500kWH annual usage
Gas is 6500kWH annual usage

i used 1314kWh of gas in January alone. 

tim_p

Novice_investor101 said:

tim_p said:

Novice_investor101 said:

This would be my concern. I used over £400 of gas in just December & January & I really cut back in Feb & March because I couldn’t afford another £200 a month of gas usage. & I’m a very low user (1500kwh a year), although it’s all used from November to March. I’d be ensuring that the £400 refers to the bill owed & not just the missed DD’s. For a bill to be so low over the most expensive winter for heating ever you must have an incredibly well insulated house or froze all winter with the heating off a lot. 

It might be me, or my maths but surely £400 worth of gas buys more than 1500kWh. The two don’t add up. Even at the 10p rate and taking out a years worth of s/c it still buys around 3000kWh. 

Might be me though, it’s still early!

You’re correct! i got my annual electricity usage mixed up with gas. 

Electric is 1500kWH annual usage
Gas is 6500kWH annual usage

i used 1314kWh of gas in January alone. 

Relieved it’s not my morning maths brain failing!