British Gas want my dd to go from £75 a month to £520!!

chubsta

And the saga continues…

signed up with octopus but apparently British Gas are refusing the transfer as they are saying I have only just signed up with them! Have been with British Gas for probably 20 years and have not switched suppliers until my attempt today.

starting to get really annoyed now as this has already taken up lots of my time and still isn’t resolved.

Gerry1

@chubsta Probably unintended consequences of your account being moved to BG's new billing system.  Similar problems have been reported with EDF.

You will be able to switch within 28 days but you may have to make a new application.

chubsta

Unfortunately within that 28 days British Gas will probably have taken £520 out of my account!

MultiFuelBurner

chubsta said:

And the saga continues…

signed up with octopus but apparently British Gas are refusing the transfer as they are saying I have only just signed up with them! Have been with British Gas for probably 20 years and have not switched suppliers until my attempt today.

starting to get really annoyed now as this has already taken up lots of my time and still isn’t resolved.

Do you think it's because BG recently moved you to their new system and therefore you are showing as a new customer. Just a thought and I haven't read the proceeding pages.

GingerTim

Can you change your payment method to variable direct debit? You will only pay for the month's actual usage - and given you plan on switching away it means you won't have a large credit balance before you do.

chubsta

GingerTim said:

Can you change your payment method to variable direct debit? You will only pay for the month's actual usage - and given you plan on switching away it means you won't have a large credit balance before you do.

Their systems are not allowing me to do anything and when I contact them they just say they are unable to help.
i am well in credit on my account do am tempted to cancel the direct debit, although that could cause problems if I eventually manage to leave and need a refund

Gerry1

chubsta said:

GingerTim said:

Can you change your payment method to variable direct debit? You will only pay for the month's actual usage - and given you plan on switching away it means you won't have a large credit balance before you do.

Their systems are not allowing me to do anything and when I contact them they just say they are unable to help.
i am well in credit on my account do am tempted to cancel the direct debit, although that could cause problems if I eventually manage to leave and need a refund

You could ask the bank to reverse the DD.  If they've notified you beforehand it might be debatable whether BG have broken the DD Guarantee, but no harm in asking.

chubsta

I have spoken to British Gas and they say I cannot transfer or have my direct debit changed for at least 28 days.

anyone know how to escalate this, it is getting ridiculous

chubsta

the only solution open to me has been to cancel my direct debit so they can't take any more money from me. Any ideas how this will affect everything - I am £140 in credit on electricity (My dd has been £75 per month) and £340 in credit for gas (I pay £55 per month)

still cannot believe I have absolutely no control over how much they want to take from me each month (beyond cancelling the dd of course) but also can't move to another supplier for 28 days when the Ofgen website says it should take no more than 5! The fact they are updating their systems should have no bearing on me whatsoever.

Gerry1

If you've just moved to a new supplier you have to stay with them for 28 days.  Unfortunately it seems that this lock-in is falsely triggered by a company changing its internal billing system.  Probably an industry wide problem and not BG's responsibility; not worth challenging unless you can show financial loss, e.g. missing out on a short-lived cheap deal.

However, do challenge BG about lowering the excessive DD amount, make a formal written complaint if they refuse.  Tell them it will mess up your finances, and get the bank to reverse it if BG don't lower it.