British Gas asking for refund to be repaid

commytommy

Hello, I was looking for some advice.

I am a British gas customer on a dual tariff and pay by direct debit. 

I had a 2 yr fixed rate between April 2021 until April 2023.

In December 2023 I received an email from British gas stating that because they never informed me about the end of my tariff my bill between April and December of that year would be would be calculated on my old fixed price rate.

When I checked my account I was over £1000 in credit. I contacted British Gas and asked if this was correct. They assured me that it was and that I could remove the money from the account into my bank account. I asked for a supervisor to check this as I didn't want end up in debt. Again I was assured it was correct.

I therefore asked for £800 to be sent to my account leaving me £200 in credit so i didnt go into debt.

I have since spent the £800( I think we can see where this is going)

I have now been contacted by British Gas stating I'm £650 in debit. I've been told this is because they have recalculated my figures until 2021 and the figures they were using were an estimate. This is despite me frequently providing meter reading and having a smart meter.

Can anyone clarify where I stand with this. I'm waiting on a supervisor calling back. But would like to know what rights I have as I've spent money only after being assured it was mine to spend and now find myself owing this cash back

la531983

Does it say it was an estimate on the bills?

dunstonh

I have now been contacted by British Gas stating I'm £650 in debit. I've been told this is because they have recalculated my figures until 2021 and the figures they were using were an estimate. This is despite me frequently providing meter reading and having a smart meter.

Can anyone clarify where I stand with this. I'm waiting on a supervisor calling back. But would like to know what rights I have as I've spent money only after being assured it was mine to spend and now find myself owing this cash back

The key is what the bills say.  If the bills were originally based on estimates and clearly show that then you don't have a leg to stand on.

If your meter isn't giving readings and your own personal readings are not being used, then that is a different complaint.   You won't get any of your bill paid but you may get a small goodwill gesture if they are feeling generous and it is a fault at their end.   

Relying on estimates often leads to this sort of thing.  You should always ensure actual readings are used before asking for money back.

MeteredOut

I believe yes, they have the legal right to ask for the monies back. Are you disputing that you were mistakenly repaid a "credit", based on your own calculations (so this is a billing issue), or are you accepting the credit was wrongfully paid to you so this is more a customer service issue?

I suspect its the latter, so you'll want to minimise what you have to pay back. Assuming so:

Do you have a record of the dates/times of the calls where BG staff told you the credit amounts were correct. Not to exonerate them, but the staff you were speaking to will have looked at the screen and said "yes, you are £x in credit".

Ask them to retrieve the call logs. Might need a subject access request. 

A good result would be £100 or so compensation knocked off what you own them.


Also check into back-billing rules - if they're trying to adjust your bill earlier than 1 year ago which means additional usage being charged for before then, they might not be able to do that:

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/information-consumers/energy-advice-households/check-energy-back-billing-rules

wild666

I always take readings and work out how much electric and gas I've used. Smart meters give electric in kWh but with gas it's roughly 11.3 kWh per unit on the meter that way you have near enough what electric and gas you've used each day/week/month, I always include the SC's with VAT added so the discrepancy will be no more than a few pounds if you use a lot of electric and gas or just pennies if you use little.

I always download my bills from my supplier but suppliers will delete old bills if they think there is a discrepancy in the bills. C will register as a customer reading  and E will be an estimated reading. 

MWT

MeteredOut said:

Also check into back-billing rules - if they're trying to adjust your bill earlier than 1 year ago which means additional usage being charged for before then, they might not be able to do that:

Back-billing is unlikely to help, the Ombudsman has ruled that the supplier is entitled to use any direct debit payments made at the time to cover use beyond the 12 month period and to reverse refunds of those amounts if any were given..

commytommy said:

Can anyone clarify where I stand with this. I'm waiting on a supervisor calling back. But would like to know what rights I have as I've spent money only after being assured it was mine to spend and now find myself owing this cash back

They are entitled to reclaim the refund and use it against the actual use at that time, regardless of back-billing rules.

The better question is are they correct, or have they made a mistake in the billing?

If they are correct then they are entitled to ask for the money back and if you complain the most you are likely to get is a token gesture for 'poor customer service'.

MultiFuelBurner

You must check you meter readings and see how they match to your latest bill.

Then raise a complaint with BG stating what you have done in this thread reminding BG they were adamant you were in credit when you withdrew the £800.

Make sure it's via email not over the phone so that everything is recorded in your emails should you have to take this to the ombudsman service.

You will have to pay some of it back but you should expect a decent goodwill gesture if you keep on at them with the facts.

commytommy

Thanks everyone. I'll let you know how I get on. I had to provide meter readings prior to the refund.

Sailbad

MWT said:

Back-billing is unlikely to help, the Ombudsman has ruled that the supplier is entitled to use any direct debit payments made at the time to cover use beyond the 12 month period and to reverse refunds of those amounts if any were given..

I have searched the internet looking for confirmation of this but the only source I can find is this forum.
If this loophole exists then surely in must be defined on Ofgem's or some other official website.
Can you point me to the source please?

GingerTim

Sailbad said:

MWT said:

Back-billing is unlikely to help, the Ombudsman has ruled that the supplier is entitled to use any direct debit payments made at the time to cover use beyond the 12 month period and to reverse refunds of those amounts if any were given..

I have searched the internet looking for confirmation of this but the only source I can find is this forum.
If this loophole exists then surely in must be defined on Ofgem's or some other official website.
Can you point me to the source please?

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/information-consumers/energy-advice-households/check-energy-back-billing-rules

Sailbad

Thanks, but I can't see where that says

"the supplier is entitled to use any direct debit payments made at the time to cover use beyond the 12 month period and to reverse refunds of those amounts if any were given"