British Gas Advice

[jason]

any help appreciated

long story but to cut is short

4 years ago bg installed a new gas meter we were paying about 70ish pounds a month, 6 months later following a meter reading payment went down to £5..this isnt unusual for us it swings from one extreame to another..anyway a few month later we queried why we were still paying so little, we were reasured it would be adjusted as per reading

we have queried this with them ever since we contacted them aprox 4 times last year and were told that the new meter has never been registered by them, we asked them again to readjust our payments to be told on more than 1 occasion that the system was updating and nothing could be done at that time....

today without warning £380 disapeared from my account this is apparently our new monthly DD to clear arreas!

after 3 hours on the phone today they have refunded the money ( hasnt appeared yet) and one of the delightful customer services people calling me a " snotty nosed toerag" while she though i was on mute, we offered to pay £150 per month they are refusing saying we have to have a pay as you go meter fitted and pay off the debt whilst paying for our monthly usage
I dont want to go down this route as we will pay more for our gas and in reality this is their mistake
I dont object to paying for what gas we have used but need advice on where to go next with this

the call agent was reported and i beleive appropriate action has been taken

has anyone else had this sort of issue with BG

 

[The Great Wallsendo]

Unfortunately the way of the world these days with Gas/Electric/TV/Cable/Mobile phones etc etc etc is to keep shouting at them...it's absoluteley appalling the way they treat their customers these days and the urchins they employ on the phone don't help either

I got some gum chewing scouser the other week (I have nothing against Liverpudlians BTW) and all I could hear was the sound of her chops chewing the wad of gum..I refused to speak to her and told her why

Alternatively you could write to the main directors...my job is paying my companies suppliers and if after the umpteenth attempt of trying to resolve an issue I'll fire off a snotty email/letter to the top of the food chain airing my greivances

And if you need an example of how to complain to a big faceless multi-conglomerate...have a ganders here

Virgin: the world's best passenger complaint letter? - Telegraph

 

[Marc]

Try this fella Jason...

Centrica / British Gas Sam Laidlaw, Chief Executive.... [email protected]

I had a go at the vodafone CEO in a email, he personaly phoned me back within 15 minutes of receiving it, changed a £800 bill to £150 even though he couldn't find anything wrong but did it as a gesture of goodwill, yeah right!

 

[jason]

just recieved this from the ombudsman - will be back on the phone tomorrow to get out of the corner bg has backed me into.

I think in the circumstances the No-Back-Billing clause of the Code of Practice for Accurate Bills may apply in your case. If it does, BG will only be able to bill you for unbilled energy consumed over the 12 months prior to the bill. You will find full details of the Clause in the FAQ’s on our Billing Code Section of the ERA Website. If it does apply they may not charge you beyond 12 months.



Make a formal complaint about the behaviour of the agent and register your discontent at BG not reviewing your case against the Billing Code. If you do not receive a satisfactory answer, ask BG to refer your case to the Energy Ombudsman. It’s an easy process and the ruling of the Ombudsman is binding on BG but not you.



so have a little ammo now

 

[mark]

I've got an annual ritual with british gas now, and I really enjoy it. starts with a withheld number from a scouser in a call centre somewhere

me: hello

scouser: this a Britsh Gas debt recovery about your unpaid gas bill

me: thats nice

scouser: errr... there's a £445 overdue bill

me: Glad to her it

scouser: errrr... well if you don't pay the bill immediately we'll attend the property and disconnect the gas supply

me: smashing, what time will you be here so I can get the kettle on and some biscuits sorted:

scouser: dis is serious dis is, we will come and cut the gas off

me: good, I want you to. I really really want you to, and think you might need tea and biscuits when you get here

scouser: look sir, I not sure what de problem is der, but di bill 'as to paid or We'll cut de gas off

me: I'm not going to pay the bill, and I really want you to come and cut the gas off

scouser: could you tell me me why you us to cut the gas off??

me: its really really simple, couldn't be simpler, if it were any simpler it could get a job in call centre

scouser: errr.....???

me: you see, the thing is, we don't have any gas, never have had any gas and live in house that is 14 miles away from the nearest gas supply, so I want you to cut my gas off, because before you do you'll need to lay 14 miles of pipe and connect me up first hence the need for tea and biscuits - ergo no gas supply, therefore no gas bill, or if there is a gas bill somewhere in your possession I want British Gas to send me a copy of it

scouser: but dee dont do dat doh do dey do

scouser: but you must have gas cos there's an unpaid gas bill

me: no there isn't

scouser: yes der is

me: no there isn't

(now go back to the top and read it again 3 or 4 times)

scouser: errr....I'm gonner 'ave to discuss with me supervisor, I'll call you back





which they do, usually about 12 months later

 

[Oblickta]

ha ha Mark, that's typical of these days. We have an ongoing thing with BT at the min. There's 3 dwellings in a row and we are on the end, the pole is in our garden and the cables connected to our gable and runs through our roofspace to the other two dwellings although we are not customers. Outside, there's tree branches growing around the cables
and a nice Asian lady keeps phoning from Calcutta to ask if we've had the trees trimmed yet lol.

The best bit is when we did request a connection they told us there was no cable to the house and it would cost £145 for a new connection. Eventually, they sent an engineer out and he told me that there had been a line into the house but they had used it for a property up the road last year. So if I agree to the £145 they will have been paid 3 times to install
the same line (nice work if you can get it eh?).

Iv'e learned that there are still some strange laws in place from when BT was public (no suprises there) but, if your not a customer and your property is used to access another then you have rights and can charge rent. It's only a pittance but I'll claim it just cos I can and it'll probs cost them more for the admin and postage etc.

Dont let the b******s grind you down Jason. These people in call centers can earn big bonuses by recovering backdated money and they'll try anything. I'm sure they have to send you notice ten days before if they take money out your account if it's not the sum you signed up for, worth checking out mate

 

[davem2005]

Hi Jason.

Graham is right about the 10 days notification. See

Direct Debit - your rights

Look on the bright side...at least your dealing with a call centre in the UK and not one based in Outer mongolia staffed by people who are fully qualified to take your call by the fact they can correctly identify a red double decker and operate babblefish.com.

I think you are due an immediate refund.

If all else fails many solicitors do a "First half hour free " service ...but that could end up long winded.

Cheers
Dave

 

[Oblickta]

*Groan*..........just had a letter today saying we need planning consent for what we're doing here and may need a flood assessment survey that could cost 6k as we now live in a area that has a high risk of flooding even tho we payed a solicitor a kings ransom to ensure this couldn't happen!!! Probaly got another 6 months paper chasing before they say,
"as a gesture of our good will we approve your proposals" which is "Newspeak" for "you where right mate and we're a bunch
of f*c*ing w*n*ers. I wonder what the solicitors excuse will be?

 

[mark]

don't get me started on BT, I've got the best collection of excuses in the world from them for them being unable to fix our line:

the line isn't high enough up the pole (BT electrons suffer from vertigo??)

The pole is at a slight angle

and my personal favourite, and I kid yee not...

"the problems with your line are down to the Rhodesian copper crisis in 1963"

should be shot with 5hit the lot of em

 

[Oblickta]

Yesterday I was clearing shrubbery and chopping stuff up with me new chainsaw and I hit a metal washing pole and trashed the blade (doh) whats the chances of me hitting the BT pole when i get a new blade lol. Eyesight not being me strongest point

 

[mark]

Yesterday I was clearing shrubbery and chopping stuff up with me new chainsaw and I hit a metal washing pole and trashed the blade (doh) whats the chances of me hitting the BT pole when i get a new blade lol. Eyesight not being me strongest point

we're still looking for a mast!

 

[jason]

despite several promises of phone calls and us then ringing them i gave them an ultimatum and said the compromise i expect is only to pay 1 years gas and a letter of apology if i had not heard from them by noon today i would
1. Send the email to Sam Laidlaw CEO
2. Pass the complaint to ombudsman who even if BG (who still claim were in their rights to bill us the full amount) lost it would cost them more than the gas used.
3. take legal action by my legal team
4. go to the papers, watchdog etc.

Needless to say i had a phone call with 2 minutes to go stating that they will only back charge for a year, a letter of apology would be sent and the repayment terms will be in our favour due to the inconvenience.

result.

thanks for the advice guys.

 

[The Great Wallsendo]

A sad indictment of how these companies have to be dealt with - good on you for sticking to your guns

despite several promises of phone calls and us then ringing them i gave them an ultimatum and said the compromise i expect is only to pay 1 years gas and a letter of apology if i had not heard from them by noon today i would
1. Send the email to Sam Laidlaw CEO
2. Pass the complaint to ombudsman who even if BG (who still claim were in their rights to bill us the full amount) lost it would cost them more than the gas used.
3. take legal action by my legal team
4. go to the papers, watchdog etc.

Needless to say i had a phone call with 2 minutes to go stating that they will only back charge for a year, a letter of apology would be sent and the repayment terms will be in our favour due to the inconvenience.

result.

thanks for the advice guys.

 

[jason]

i know mate just goes to show and worries me how many people they have been able to walk all over as they have not been able to stick up for themselves.

it boils me

 

[Charlie_Thompson]

Similar result today at Ell Mansion and I agree, if you roll over you will get shafted, many people especially older folk are horribly ripped off, and that's not taking into account the amount of benefits withheld because people don't know what they're entitled to, how to claim or feel it's sponging of some sort.

 

[Oblickta]

Well done Jason. I'm suprised you got the letter of apology cos they usually take the credit and say it's a "gesture of their good will" when they give in