british gas.. can they do this

[karens25]

hi all
since i spend virtually my entire life on this site i have become the legal advisor to all my friends.. except im not, hence..

my friend has an electricity pre-payment meter, recently it was changed (by british gas) for a more advanced one..

she has just received this letter from british gas

Dear miss XXXX
As you know, we have recently changed your meter for a more advanced one. this will enable us to provide a better service with less inconvenience to you. we hope you have adapted to your new meter without any difficulties.

We previously wrote to you about thechange in unit rate on your former electricity meter. As your meter was one of the older style token meters, it could not be adjustedwithout a visit to your home. This means that although you have been purchasing credit through your meter, unfortunately you were not paying the correct tarriff for your electricity.

We have now calculatedthe amount that you had credited through your old meter, and how much you should have paid in total. As a result of the inconvenience we may have caused you, the outstanding balance has been reduced to £24.26, this is now due for payment in full.

We understand that you could not have been able to anticipate this situation. As such there are two different methods by which you can repay this deficit;

*payment in full by debit card or cheque
* balance added to your meter

blah blah blah
Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this has caused.

yours sincerely

british gas

they have already taken £5.00 from her meter, she rang them to complain and the guy admitted it was their fault.but there was nothing they could do abd she would have to pay.. at no time did they require access to her home..

does she have to pay?

thanks k

[buzby]

I can't give you chapter and verse, but the monery paid into any meter is a consideration for services supplied, and if the mechanism is wrong or in error, the consumer must reasonably make up the difference. You say they'ce made a goodwill credit bringing the bill down to £24 odd... how much had it been reduced by? I'm assuming the difficulty is due to requiring to find this lump sum. It surprises me that if their meter is that futuristing, they should be able to reprogram it to pay of this small debt in stages with the normal payments that are made using a payment card. Why not suggest this to them?

[ozzywizard]

Them not calibrating your meter is their fault for not sending somone down. However it is for electric you have used. So its kinda like 50/50.
The meter change was from token to key so the key meter can also collect debt. With it being such a small amount I would phone them and offer to pay 50% back (as this is in the ombudsman guidelines for suppliers) and have it taken through the key meter at one pound a week. Let us know how you get on with this.

[barracad]

If your friend contacts BG they will let her to make arrangements to pay it off at £5 a week or whatever she can afford. They will arrange for the meter to take this amount automatically on a set day each week.

They won't demand she pays it in full when it is their fault.

[karens25]

thanks to you all for the response its very helpful, will pass on your comments and let you know what happens.. thanks again
k

[Allyxia]

I was caught out by my gas supplier for something similar.

despite providing meter readings, they continmually estimated my bill. then in Jan this year did a catch up bill of over £1000. I now have to pay £140 every four weeks. Cant really aford it but if I dont pay it or pay less they send me threatening letters etc etc. Contacted Ofgem and theysaid that technically I am liable for the amounts and I have to pay somethign like 10% of the outstanding bill an dthey are allowed to request that oustanding amount is paid back over 12 months.

Flipping well stinks if you ask me.

To make matters worse, they just keep putting up the price of the gas, so the amount I pay keeps rising but I cant even switch to a better supplier as I have such a large outstanding debt with.

[ozzywizard]

You are liable as long as the catch up bill does not exceed 2 years. Gas should be coming down around february. If your on benifits you only gotta pay 3 pound towards the debt and your consumption.

[Allyxia]

Unfortunatelt not on bend so just gota cough up for it! Im not sure when the bill dates back to to be honest they never realy identified it! they justmade it look like a normal bill and its was only when I woke up from the shock and clled them they clarified it was for the under estimate.

Maybe I should draft a letter to them?

[ozzywizard]

Yeah send them a letter, or phone them and ask for a manager. You could even do a S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) on them so you know exactly what they have billed you for.
Thing to watch for on a catch up bill is it doesnt go beyond 2 years and also they are not billing you on the new prices what you previously used on the old prices. So like if they estimated you used 50 units a month but you really used 100 units a month. over 2 years this is 1200 units billed at wrong price. Gas has doubled in last 12 months nearly so it makes a differance of possibly 100s pounds.

[Allyxia]

thanks ozz

[kc_31]

Hi guys,

Just read this thread. British Gas recently told me that I had underpaid on a pre-payment metre. When I asked how, I was told that when they had their price increase, the rates on my metre were not changed. I said surely that was their fault not mine so I refused to pay the outstanding £114. When my next bill came in (I got rid of the pre-payment metre) I was in Credit!! I phoned and asked how I was suddenly in credit not debit, they said the £114 had been removed from my account as it was a mistake on their part not mine!!

Don't know whether or not this is of any help, but thought I'd let you know. I think it's worth arguing with them, they seem to give up after a while.

[Allyxia]

Thanks for the advice, I even got Offwatch onto my case, all its did was get £140 knocked off (beta than nothing I suppose), notideal but we gone be remortagaing in Dec and Im just gona get rid of the debt to free up my money outgoings!!!!