British gas direct debit confusion

minorman

I was transferred to BG when my supplier went bust and everything seemed OK . I opted for the standard variable rates on both gas and electricity.  All payments have been done by direct debit and all done on time.  Since the gas and electricity prices rocketed they have adjusted the DD up and down as needed and I have just let them get on with it up until now.  Today I checked my online account and found that I am in debt to a sum in excess of £400 even though I have hardly used any gas all summer and kept the electricity use as low as possible.  I do not have a smart meter but I do upload readings every month myself and they are accepted..  Now, considering BG have been adjusting the DD in the past and it's summer why am I still in debt ?  Before all the price hikes I was in credit so why have they not taken steps to bring me back in credit ?  OR, are they digging a trap for me and perhaps thousands of others ? 

QrizB

No-one is digging a trap.

Check your bank statements. Have BG been taking your DDs on time as intended?

Then check your account. Do the DDs match?

[Deleted User]

Hi,

when did you get last bill? BG only bill every 6 months, £400 could be what you've used since then, though still seems a lot over summer months.

minorman

Well, I checked and they are taking the money every month.  I didn't like the numbers i saw so I increased my DD by £50 to £300 per month and today i am still £271 odd in debit even though over the summer our useage is quite reduced. I still think they are up to something !

ArbitraryRandom

You can see the payments being taken from your bank account; and you can see them being added to your online account.

If you have been giving monthly readings - can you see those readings on your account/do you have them written down anywhere? Do you know your unit rates? 

If you do, then you can work out for yourself the state of your account. 

OR you can just wait until your next bill (if it's every 6 months) and you can check the amounts paid in are equal to what's gone from your bank and that the amounts of energy used is the same as from your meter readings.... 

minorman

I will keep monitoring things and I will investigate further..  I am not happy with the way they would appear to do things . i.e. reconciling the account every 6 months. Peoples energy were much slicker than that and they still went belly up but I am concerned that BG may be deliberately manipulating the situation. I upload them readings every 2 weeks but they keep badgering me to fit smart meters and I just don't want them as I know from my work in the power industry over the last 30 odd years just how powerful things like smart metering can be. i.e enforced load shedding, timed rate changing or even switching the customer to what effectively becomes the same as a PAYG key meter.  

debitcardmayhem

minorman said:

I will keep monitoring things and I will investigate further..  I am not happy with the way they would appear to do things . i.e. reconciling the account every 6 months. Peoples energy were much slicker than that and they still went belly up but I am concerned that BG may be deliberately manipulating the situation. I upload them readings every 2 weeks but they keep badgering me to fit smart meters and I just don't want them as I know from my work in the power industry over the last 30 odd years just how powerful things like smart metering can be. i.e enforced load shedding, timed rate changing or even switching the customer to what effectively becomes the same as a PAYG key meter.  

Do you have any evidence of enforcing of load shedding , timed rate changing etc. 

[Deleted User]

Hi,

do you have actual meter readings a year apart, tariff rate and standing charge, please.