British Gas charging exit fee during cooling off period.

Katcos · 20 May 2019 at 9:12AM

I recently purchased my first home. I completed on the purchase on 03/05/2019, moved into the property on 06/05/2019 and contacted British Gas (the current supplier) on 09/05/2019 to put the gas and electric in my name.

I understood on the 09/05 that I had entered a contract. I did this by telephone and thought I'd got a good deal. He told me the tariff but it was only afterwards when I received my confirmation email that I saw the standing charges! So I started to shop around. It was explained to me verbally on the phone that I had 14 days from that day to change my mind.

Yesterday 19/05/2019 I contacted a new supplier to start my switch and sent an email to British Gas' cooling off address to advise them I had done so. I have received the following response:
"I’m sorry to know that you wish to switch supplier.

I see that we opened your energy account with us on 3 May 2019, effective this date your tariff was registered to HomeEnergy Fix Green May 2020.

The 14 days cooling period for the tariff is over. If you switch your energy supplier now then the exit fess to £30.00 per fuel will be applied to the account."

Can they do this? Can they backdate the cooling off period to before I actually agreed to enter the contract? It seems so unfair. The sellers were not the easiest people to get information from and I had to ask a few times. What if it had taken more than a few days to find out who the supplier was? Would I not have got a cooling off period at all?

I've got the following from Ofgem:
2.4. For service contracts, the cooling off period starts from when the contract is entered
into. Day 1 of the 14 day cooling off period is the day after the contract is entered into. In
Ofgem, DECC and BIS’s view, a supply contract will be “entered into” for the purposes of
the Regulations in circumstances where the consumer makes a firm commitment in respect
of a supply contract which would result in a binding contract in the event that no further
action was taken by the consumer.

Surely that's the 9th and I'm not liable to pay any exit fees?

bonus2010 · 20 May 2019 at 10:20AM

I'm no expert, but I'd read it as.
you took responsibility for the property on 3/5/19.
You would've been put on BG 'deemed contract' with no exit fees.
It was only when you phoned on 9/5/19 that you agreed to a fixed term contract with exit fees.
I'd expect you can withdraw from that contract within 14 days without any penalty.

I'd phone BG and ask them to confirm the start date of your fixed term contract.

JJ_Egan · 20 May 2019 at 1:41PM

But i read as BG started first account on 3.5.19 as a

HomeEnergy Fix Green May 2020.
Backdated from date of contact 9.5.19 to save owner paying standard price presumably .
OP is that what you agreed to on 9-5-19 as opposed to standard contract from 3-5-19 .

Standing charge what is the actual difference ??

Katcos · 20 May 2019 at 2:41PM

I have received a response from British Gas acknowledging I signed up to the contract 09/05/2019 and therefore I am within the cooling off period and can leave the contract without paying exit fees.

However, in the same email they have stated I will still have to pay the exit fees anyway to switch to another supplier from their standard, non contracted tariff. So I'm not tied into any contract but I have to pay to leave the previous occupants supplier? A supplier I never wanted. This is my first home and I've never had to deal with this before but this seems wrong. I was given the impression I had to sign up to British Gas to have the gas and electric put in my name. So regardless of whether I was going to stay with them or not I was always going to have to pay to leave someone else's supplier?

JJ_Egan · 20 May 2019 at 3:00PM

The Rules .
When you move in you are in a Deemed Contract with the existing supplier .( otherwise posible no gas and electric for weeks months )

Day one you register with them and are then free to move .
Register/ move later than day one and its a standard contract price for those days .

<have to pay to leave someone else's supplier?>

No as said on day one you are in contract with the existing supplier not someone elses contract .Its your contract not the last owners contract ,.

Fee for leaving a standard contract confused you should check that out .

badmemory · 20 May 2019 at 3:22PM

Well this is a head's up. I didn't realise that SVRs came with exit fees - thought that was one advantage of them!

bonus2010 · 20 May 2019 at 4:05PM

@katcos, I doubt very much a BG deemed contract will have exit fees. That would make it uncompetitive and most likely for that reason against some Ofgem rules.. I haven't managed to source any written info on BG deemed contracts, but I would email/phone BG to have whatever is written in your email clarified.

Pagett · 20 May 2019 at 5:25PM

Katcos wrote: »

I recently purchased my first home. I completed on the purchase on 03/05/2019, moved into the property on 06/05/2019 and contacted British Gas (the current supplier) on 09/05/2019 to put the gas and electric in my name.

I understood on the 09/05 that I had entered a contract. I did this by telephone and thought I'd got a good deal. He told me the tariff but it was only afterwards when I received my confirmation email that I saw the standing charges! So I started to shop around. It was explained to me verbally on the phone that I had 14 days from that day to change my mind.

Yesterday 19/05/2019 I contacted a new supplier to start my switch and sent an email to British Gas' cooling off address to advise them I had done so. I have received the following response:
"I’m sorry to know that you wish to switch supplier.

I see that we opened your energy account with us on 3 May 2019, effective this date your tariff was registered to HomeEnergy Fix Green May 2020.

The 14 days cooling period for the tariff is over. If you switch your energy supplier now then the exit fess to £30.00 per fuel will be applied to the account."

Can they do this? Can they backdate the cooling off period to before I actually agreed to enter the contract? It seems so unfair. The sellers were not the easiest people to get information from and I had to ask a few times. What if it had taken more than a few days to find out who the supplier was? Would I not have got a cooling off period at all?

I've got the following from Ofgem:
2.4. For service contracts, the cooling off period starts from when the contract is entered
into. Day 1 of the 14 day cooling off period is the day after the contract is entered into. In
Ofgem, DECC and BIS’s view, a supply contract will be “entered into” for the purposes of
the Regulations in circumstances where the consumer makes a firm commitment in respect
of a supply contract which would result in a binding contract in the event that no further
action was taken by the consumer.

Surely that's the 9th and I'm not liable to pay any exit fees?

bonus2010 wrote: »

I'm no expert, but I'd read it as.
you took responsibility for the property on 3/5/19.
You would've been put on BG 'deemed contract' with no exit fees.
It was only when you phoned on 9/5/19 that you agreed to a fixed term contract with exit fees.
I'd expect you can withdraw from that contract within 14 days without any penalty.

I'd phone BG and ask them to confirm the start date of your fixed term contract.

That's very much the way I read it as well.

It may be BG, out of the goodness of their hearts, said they would backdate the deal to the start of ownership of the property, but that would not detract from the OP's right to a 14 day cooling off period, from the date the agreement was formed. i.e 09/05/2019

OP - I suggest you ditch & switch as planned.
It's only £30, which you could either refuse to pay or pay under protest if included on any final bill. In the event it is on a final bill, follow the suppliers complaint procedure, finally ending with the energy ombudsman if necessary who I am sure would find in your favour.

Pagett · 20 May 2019 at 5:27PM

Katcos wrote: »

I have received a response from British Gas acknowledging I signed up to the contract 09/05/2019 and therefore I am within the cooling off period and can leave the contract without paying exit fees.

Well that didn't take them long to cave in

Katcos wrote: »

However, in the same email they have stated I will still have to pay the exit fees anyway to switch to another supplier from their standard, non contracted tariff. So I'm not tied into any contract but I have to pay to leave the previous occupants supplier?

Ignore. There's no exit fees on BG's non-contracted tariff

Katcos wrote: »

A supplier I never wanted. This is my first home and I've never had to deal with this before but this seems wrong. I was given the impression I had to sign up to British Gas to have the gas and electric put in my name. So regardless of whether I was going to stay with them or not I was always going to have to pay to leave someone else's supplier?

Sorry, I thought you did want them. You said you understood you entered into an agreement for a tariff that presumably had exit fees to leave early.
But you later changed your mind, as you are entitled to, under the cooling off procedure.

British Gas charging exit fee during cooling off period.

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