BG Closed Account Incorrectly

ClaireBear83Sx

My pension aged parents recently received a letter from British Gas welcoming them to the property and advising that they had recently provided the gas and electricity supply there.  They've lived there for over 5 years and have been with British Gas for (I believe) the entire time.

Turns out, they're account was closed when a property with a similar address was moved out of in September last year.  Bear in mind, "similar" address, different postcode.

It looks as though they shut down the smart meter (if that's possible) and stopped taking readings, they stopped taking the Direct Debit payments and my parents were not advised until they got this random letter through the door addressed to "the occupants" or something along those lines.

My mum managed to contact them and was advised that the account would be set up again, but they would need a new tariff (slightly cheaper than what they were on so not too bad) and they wouldn't be charged for the time the account was closed.

However, when it came for the first DD to come out, it didn't.  So once again, my parents had to contact BG to find out what was happening.  This time, they set the account up AGAIN and on a more expensive tariff from what they were offered previously and they said they might get a bill for the usage while the account was closed.

My parents are now concerned that they are now going to get a massive bill that they don't have the money to pay for in one hit (they're old and didn't realise the money they spent was because the DD hadn't come out) because of an error by British Gas.

I am also concerned that their account got shut down despite it being a different address, postcode, account number, name on account etc and no communication was received to the address on the account that was closed (my parents!).

Has anyone else experienced this and is there anything I can do to protect them and argue for them if BG decide to send them the big bill?

grn99

To act for them, register yourself on their account as a nominee, ideally with a Power of Attorney (BG do accept an emailed PDF scan of the POA if it pre-dates the digital codes that can now be issued from the Gov.uk site). Based on my experience with BG, if I was you, I'd be looking to take this opportunity to migrate away from BG asap (subject to any penalties for leaving a fixed deal etc, ensuring you have the meter readings recorded; ideally photographed) as they are a nightmare to deal with.

Make a note of every conversation and only correspond via email if possible, so you have an audit trail. I'd also be raising a formal complaint asap to start the "8 week" clock ticking, enabling you to go to the Ombudsman if matters aren't resolved. I've finally got my complaint (on behalf of my parents) upheld by the Ombudsman and BG have accepted the findings as upheld in my favour. Even so they have a further 28 days to do what they've agreed to.

MattMattMattUK

ClaireBear83Sx said:

My pension aged parents recently received a letter from British Gas welcoming them to the property and advising that they had recently provided the gas and electricity supply there.  They've lived there for over 5 years and have been with British Gas for (I believe) the entire time.

Turns out, they're account was closed when a property with a similar address was moved out of in September last year.  Bear in mind, "similar" address, different postcode.

It looks as though they shut down the smart meter (if that's possible) and stopped taking readings, they stopped taking the Direct Debit payments and my parents were not advised until they got this random letter through the door addressed to "the occupants" or something along those lines.

My mum managed to contact them and was advised that the account would be set up again, but they would need a new tariff (slightly cheaper than what they were on so not too bad) and they wouldn't be charged for the time the account was closed.

However, when it came for the first DD to come out, it didn't.  So once again, my parents had to contact BG to find out what was happening.  This time, they set the account up AGAIN and on a more expensive tariff from what they were offered previously and they said they might get a bill for the usage while the account was closed.

My parents are now concerned that they are now going to get a massive bill that they don't have the money to pay for in one hit (they're old and didn't realise the money they spent was because the DD hadn't come out) because of an error by British Gas.

I am also concerned that their account got shut down despite it being a different address, postcode, account number, name on account etc and no communication was received to the address on the account that was closed (my parents!).

Has anyone else experienced this and is there anything I can do to protect them and argue for them if BG decide to send them the big bill?

This sounds like an issue with an erroneous transfer or something similar. There will have been multiple letters when the account was closed/transfered as well.

British Gas will bill your parents for the energy and standing charges covering the relevant period. Your parents will be able to agree a payment plan with British Gas but they will have to pay.