British Gas really messed up my payment plan, TWICE

triade

molerat said:

Is this paying off debt or just normal payments ?

I think the problem here is that the systems are not set up for twice monthly payments, they are generally monthly or fortnightly.  I very much doubt they will be able to change that, virtually no one actually wants to do it that way.  You may be able to get gas and electric separated but that would mean electric £90 on 10th and gas £50 on 25th. They may be able to do it weekly but it seems you want to pay in line with your UC payments rather than budget for the payments.

 I need to. Otherwise there is a high risk I'll forget about it and will run into major problems. Adhd is not fun. Lining up my bills like this is one of my coping strategies.

You gave some excellent advice here, putting gas on one date and electric on the other. Normally I could have thought of something like that... But I've been struggling with panic attacks, I couldn't think straight, and I'm sure a good customer service could have also arrived at the same conclusion and saved me a night of turmoil. 

Since I already set my water to go out on the 25th, I can line up my gas with that so I'm paying out 70 on that dya and 90 in the other. That balances out okay.

But that means I have to talk to them again.

Yes I have a little but of debt, due to the way the gas peaks in winter. I need to clear that quickly and switch supplier. So I may increase the gas payment to clear it quicker.

Scot_39

triade said:

I'm starting to feel really anxious about this,

I got switched to universal credit so now I can't pay the fortnightly payment plan I'd set up with British Gas, so I have contacted them yesterday to change my payment plan to twice per month on specific dates (i have my UC twice per month because I have adhd), £45 electric and £25 gas. I was very clear about this, I told them very clearly "Gas, £25 on 10th and 25th of each month. Electric, £45 on 10th and 25th of each month." I couldn't have been any clearer could I?

so I checked my account today and it's been set to those amounts every two weeks (fortnightly), which is exactly what I asked it to be changed FROM. so i contacted them again, and got somebody who has terrible English and I couldn't understand what they were writing half the time. I gave them the same instructions, very clear. now they have changed my account so it's £25 fortnightly and £50 fortnightly. I am just dumbfounded at how they can be messing this up so badly and the lack of clear communication is definitely an issue. I asked to speak to their supervisor or colleague, and they flat out refused. How am I supposed to resolve this if I can't understand them???
now the chat line has closed so I'm left with an absolute mess in my account and my anxiety is the worst it has been in years.
What is going on with this company?
I stuck with them because I thought they would at least be reliable, even if the prices are not the lowest. now I am scared. I need reliability.

There is a specific section on the forum to help people with debt issues.

And a real debt advisor there used to your situation might balk at this suggestion - but if your still on a credit meter - have you considered the option of paying the debt plan direct from UC / paid by the govt direct to supplier  - deducted before it reaches your account ?

For energy it is known as Fuel Direct

https://www.gov.uk/bills-benefits

You might lose control over the amount but it might  be worth considering - after a chat with a debt charity or citizens advice - to see how that might compare to your current level of payments.

The £140 pm - £30 + per week -  if purely debt seems rather high compared to others seen in some posts.

And the govt itself appear to limit pure debt component to only allow 5% of your UC per week for many debts including gas/electric supplier (rent higher).  5% = £1 for every £20, leaving you with £19 per £20. 
As above link - you can pay more - but that might leave you more likely to struggle with current living costs.

Or perhaps as a comparitive guide - a fixed £4.55 per week for other benefits. That's c£20 per month.  Not £140pm.

(But they do also allow you to pay for the current usage via fuel direct deductions too and sure BG are used to dealing with their payment schedules for debt or combination.

You appear to want to be repaying ? (Plus  paying ?)  2x25 gas + 2x45 electric (now £50 in error ?) per month. Total £140 / £150 per month. 

Just to be clear - Is this just pure formal debt repayment - or a combination of debt and actual monthly usage - or just actual usage ?

(In both later cases the £5 increase might be explained by the recently announced price rise or a change in usage rather than just communication of payment details ).

If it's purely debt - it seems to me anyway to be a lot per month compared to the 5% above to expect someone to find from a typical UC award on a formal debt repayment plan.

And were you advised to do an affordability calculation - as you say you struggle with budgeting - energy companies should do so anyway having discussed your finances  - but a debt charity (make sure you use a charity rather than a paid debt advisor) or talk to someone at your local citizens advice office - as they will normally help people in your situation navigate the options. 

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/energy/energy-supply/get-help-paying-your-bills/struggling-to-pay-your-energy-bills/

Rather than just accepting say a number suggested by your supllier that might be leaving you struggling to meet other needs. 

You might want to talk to them or a debt charity even just regarding the best way around timing issues too.

triade

Scot_39 said:

triade said:

I'm starting to feel really anxious about this,

I got switched to universal credit so now I can't pay the fortnightly payment plan I'd set up with British Gas, so I have contacted them yesterday to change my payment plan to twice per month on specific dates (i have my UC twice per month because I have adhd), £45 electric and £25 gas. I was very clear about this, I told them very clearly "Gas, £25 on 10th and 25th of each month. Electric, £45 on 10th and 25th of each month." I couldn't have been any clearer could I?

so I checked my account today and it's been set to those amounts every two weeks (fortnightly), which is exactly what I asked it to be changed FROM. so i contacted them again, and got somebody who has terrible English and I couldn't understand what they were writing half the time. I gave them the same instructions, very clear. now they have changed my account so it's £25 fortnightly and £50 fortnightly. I am just dumbfounded at how they can be messing this up so badly and the lack of clear communication is definitely an issue. I asked to speak to their supervisor or colleague, and they flat out refused. How am I supposed to resolve this if I can't understand them???
now the chat line has closed so I'm left with an absolute mess in my account and my anxiety is the worst it has been in years.
What is going on with this company?
I stuck with them because I thought they would at least be reliable, even if the prices are not the lowest. now I am scared. I need reliability.

Have you considered the option of paying the debt plan direct from UC reward before it reaches your account ?

You might lose control over the amount but it might  be worth considering - perhaps after a chat with a debt charity or citizens advice - to see how that might compare to your current level of payments.

The £140 if purely debt per month seems rather high compared to many (seen figures in single figures per week that would take several years to repay debts to energy firms ).

And the gobpvt itself appear to only allow 5% of your UC per week for many debts including gas/electric supplier (rent higher).  £1 for every £20.

Or perhaps as a comparitive guide - a fixed £4.55 per week for other benefits. That's c£20 per month.  Not £140pm.

But they do also allow you to pay for the current usage via fuel direct deductions too.

https://www.gov.uk/bills-benefits

You appear to want to be repaying ? (Plus  paying ?)  2x25 gas + 2x45 electric (now £50 in error ?) per month. Total £140 / £150 per month. 

Just to be clear - Is this just pure formal debt repayment - or a combination of debt and actual monthly usage - or just usage ?

(In both later cases the £5 increase might be explained by the recently announced price rise or a change in usage rather than just communication of payment details ).

If it's purely debt - it seems to be a lot per month to expect someone to find from a typical UC award on a formal debt repayment plan.

And were you advised to do an affordability calculation - as you say you struggle with budgeting - energy companies should do so anyway - but a debt charity (make sure you use a charity rather than a paid debt advisor) or talk to someone at your local citizens advice office - as they will normally help people in your situation navigate tge options. 

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/energy/energy-supply/get-help-paying-your-bills/struggling-to-pay-your-energy-bills/

Rather than just accepting say a number suggested by your supllier that might be leaving you struggling to meet other needs. 

You might want to talk to them regarding the best way around timing issues too.

Sorry about the lack of transparency. The payment plan is to cover debt plus usage.
My usage on the electric averages around £80 per month, and there was an outstanding amount when my previous payment plan fell just a little short of my usage. I'm not in major arrears since I set up these payment strategies.

Scot_39

OK so the £5 might just be higher usage costs, but they should still have communicated that clearly if was.

The same as they would rack up a DD payment.

Still think it's worth a chat with an independent advisor.

Have you tried any of the grant options to help with past energy debt - e.g. council or supplier ?


Again citizens advice might know local and supllier options and current availability.

triade

Scot_39 said:

OK so the £5 might just be higher usage costs, but they should still have communicated that clearly if was.

The same as they would rack up a DD payment.

Still think it's worth a chat with an independent advisor.

Have you tried any of the grant options to help with past energy debt - e.g. council or supplier ?


Again citizens advice might know local and supllier options and current availability.

Thank you for pointing that out. I'll talk with my support worker about it this week.
A grant option would certainly be very helpful and would make it way more manageable.
After all, I've just realised the usage chart on the website is woefully inaccurate. It's advising my usage as around £80 per month but looking at my bills, it seems usage is considerably more. like over £100. I'm realising that the debt has actually been increasing over time rather than decreasing. And I was even putting in £10 extra on top of the agreed amount!

well I asked my brother to phone them and set the payments for gas and electric as staggered, as was previously suggested. so now i have each one set on a different day, the 10th and 25th as I needed it. So now I feel safe and secure, I should be able to calm down somewhat.

I appreciate all the support and feedback.

Scot_39

Or could the £80 be an average - the other higher winter heating bills ?

Balance on account vs payment can be highly seasonal - if paying a fixed amount monthly.

With my electric heating last summer c£60 - Jan this year over £130.  And I have just increased my DD by c£15pm - (as Mar bill finally ran out of a small credit balance c£140 last year over winter and they had lowered my DD last Apr by c£10+ to ramp it down) - so will soon be paying c£80pm to match the new - c£50 higher at Apr rates and revised usage  - £960+ annual forecast that was sent out to me on Monday.

In past I would often add 10% headroom for usage or rate increases - but the Monday figure - for estimated was already 10% higher than the Mar bill running total.  And their online tool advised a figure in between that and my current as well.  So even the suplliers have trouble presenting a single figure to budget against these days.

Pay more than actual usage costs in summer to balance paying less than them in winter.  Makes budgeting on "fixed" income easier

triade

Scot_39 said:

Or could the £80 be an average - the other higher winter heating bills ?

Balance on account vs payment can be highly seasonal - if paying a fixed amount monthly.

With my electric heating last summer c£60 - Jan this year over £130.  And I have just increased my DD by c£15pm - (as Mar bill finally ran out of a small credit balance c£140 last year over winter and they had lowered my DD last Apr by c£10+ to ramp it down) - so will soon be paying c£80pm to match the new - c£50 higher at Apr rates and revised usage  - £960+ annual forecast that was sent out to me on Monday.

In past I would often add 10% headroom for usage or rate increases - but the Monday figure - for estimated was already 10% higher than the Mar bill running total.  And their online tool advised a figure in between that and my current as well.  So even the suplliers have trouble presenting a single figure to budget against these days.

Pay more than actual usage costs in summer to balance paying less than them in winter.  Makes budgeting on "fixed" income easier

It took me a while to figure out what was going on.

looking at the usage chart in the website, it shows average usage and monthly usage. it also has a tickbox to view it with or without the standing charge.

So I was wondering why my bill seemed to not reflect that. I thought perhaps it was displaying the balance rather than the charges... so i checked and under the usage section, it was showing around £90 in feb-mar and showing over 100 in jan-feb.  so clearly this chart does not reflect the actual data.

so i studied the page and noticed this underneath it

which I wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't been looking for answers to a discrepancy.
So if anyone is with British Gas, this is worth paying attention to.

edit: this is quite the disparity

vs