Jump to content

rafob

Registered Users

Change your profile picture
  • Posts

    14
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Reputation

1 Neutral
  1. I am a customer of British Gas and have an online account. Recently as my existing deal was due to end I was searching their website to see what their best deal was. If you are an existing customer they give you a link to "Your Tariff Check" which shows what they call "YOUR TARIFF CHOICES". This lists a choice of just 2. First is their Standard Tariff which they call "OUR CHEAPEST DEAL" + another Fixed Price Tariff to 2016. However, if you look elsewhere on their website (not that easy to a computer novice) you can find other tariffs as well, and at least one is up to 15% cheaper than their Standard Tariff so it is not their "CHEAPEST DEAL" I phoned them to check this out and was told that there were cheaper tariffs which didn't show up on the tariff check but they didn't seem to know why that would be. I told them on the 'phone that by not showing ALL available tariffs on the tariff check link, then they were misleading existing customers into believing that they only had a choice of two. Furthermore, it was a downright lie that their Standard Tariff is their cheapest deal. I then wrote by email to ask them about this and they did admit in writing that the website is wrong and they would work to put it right but, despite several emails back and forth they have done nothing to change it so far and it is now over 3 weeks since I pointed it out to them. I also tried contacting my MP - no reply!! Channel 4 News- No Reply!! I am getting frustrated that their existing customers will be logging on and possibly signing up to what they think is the cheapest one on offer and end up paying a lot more than they need. It is a grossly misleading practice and they should be brought to book - has anyone any helpful suggestions??
  2. I am currently running Avast anti virus (the free version) which has been great and very easy to use but it expires in the next few days and I keep getting a "prompt" from Avast warning me that my current version is "obsolete" and giving me 2 alternatives. Option 1 is to renew the "free" version or Option 2 is to pay what they say is half price of about £26 giving a much better level of protection. As I'm unemployed and hard up I have to think long & hard before shelling out money and am wondering what to do. Being a relative novice on these matters I'd appreciate any helpful advice from more experienced/savvy caggers. I have heard from a friend who was using "AVG" free anti virus but said it wasn't very good and if you look on Google the choice is mindboggling so if anyone can point me in the right direction I'd sure appreciate it!
  3. I have been on their Websaver 1 tariff which ended on 31st March. Prior to this they sent me an email to warn me that after 31st March my account would revert to their Standard tariff. So I phoned them and was told I could switch to their Websaver 6 tariff which I did online and got an acknowledgement email on 29th March to tell me I was beong switched to Websaver 6. Yesterday 9th April I got an email from them to say my old tariff had ended and I had now been put on Standard tariff (much higher rates)!! I have phoned them but couldn't get anyone to speak to me other than to say they will try & ring back later today but couldn't comment on the particulars of my case. Since then I've been on the British Gas Website and find that Websaver 6 is no longer available (surprise surprise), and Websaver 7 had replaced it on 9th April. The main difference seems to be that on Web6 you could cancel without penalty after Aug this year but on Web 7 you can't cancel without penalty before 2011. Can I insist on staying on Websaver 6 as I have their email telling me on 29th March that I was being put on it??
  4. Thanks for such a clear explanation Buzby! Completely sets my mind at rest. Thanks very much:D
  5. Cheers Yorky - that's what I thought but wasn't sure. You've put my mind at rest - thanks a lot!!
  6. I subscribed to Talktalk in July 2008 on 18 month contract for 'phone & broadband "Talk Global Anytime" which has now expired, and they are now asking me if I would like to renew for a further 18 months and, if so, they'll offer me a "loyalty bonus". When they rang me it wasn't convenient for me to talk so they said they would ring me again to discuss details. Now I'm wondering if there is any onus on me to renew or can I just let things stay as they are. Apart from 1 issue with them on overcharging (resolved thanks to CAG!) I'm reasonably happy. Can I just leave things as they are without tying myself up for 18 months? I'm wary of being caught out by an apparent "good deal" which may turn out to be not so good after all. Any advice would be much appreciated - I'm currently unemployed and on very low income and can't afford any "Nasty" expenses!!
  7. Thanks a lot slick132! I do appreciate your advice and will act on it. The trouble is these people trade on people's fears and probably exaggerate the dangers. Also many thanks for responding so quickly!
  8. Can anyone please advise me on whether or not it is worth paying out for Insurance against Identity Theft? I have recently cancelled my Barclaycards after 25+ years due to several issues/problems with them and have opened a new credit card account with Natwest where I bank. When validating the card over the 'phone I was offered this from an organisation called CPP (Card Protection Plan) as a safety feature at a cost of £79+ and said I'd consider it. I had been told in the conversation that I had a 14-day "cooling off" period during which I could cancel the protection with no cost. I was told to hang on at the end of the call and listen to a pre-recorded message outlining the T&Cs. In this I heard the price of £79+ broken down as something like £12 to the actual Insurance company and £67 to CPP and am now wondering:- A) Is it worth paying for? B) Can I go direct to the Insurance Co. and cut out the middle-man? Am out of work (age 63) and very little income until State Pension in 2 years time so every penny helps! Any helpful advice would be much appreciated
  9. Congratulations! To say I am amazed would be an understatement but glad you got it sorted out so quickly. I was told by Age Concern that the time taken depended to a large extent on the area office handling your claim. The office which dealt with mine was in Leicester which I was told has one of the worst reputations for long delays. Every little helps in the situation you and I are both in. To be honest the Council Tax benefit I hadn't originally been aware of and it was a pleasant surprise to have that paid. I don't know if I mentioned it before but in November the "Savings Disregard" threshold rises from £6,000 to £10,000 which effectively means that you/I should get an extra £8 per week. I assume this increase will be applied automatically and it will certainly be welcome as far as I am concerned! Thanks for letting me know the good news.
  10. Hi Raydetinu Yes - I did get my claim backdated - eventually!! When I claimed last year(July) the rule was that you could get claims backdated for 12 months but last October that was reduced to 3 months which I think is the case now. When you do get your claim finalised watch that your local council do apply the Council Tax credit as it should be automatic as soon as the Pension Service award comes through. However, in my case I sat back for a month expecting to hear from the council, which they are supposed to do, but heard nothing. I then 'phoned them and was told that until I advised them nothing would have been done. The Pension Service said otherwise and had written to the Council who denied any knowledge of receipt. In the end I got it sorted but it was another 3 month battle of countless visits to Citizens Advice etc so don't be fobbed off. By the way, I don't know if you are aware of this but the threshold on personal savings for Pension Credit is currently £6,000 but is going up in November to £10,000 so this effectively should mean that whatever they award should be £8 per week more than what you would be entitled to at today's date. You probably know that they reckon for every £500 of savings you have over the threshold it equates to £1 per week in income - what a joke! Who can get 10% interest these days? Best of luck anyway;)
  11. Had similar problem with them when paying by direct debit and ended up having to pay over £200 - it was very difficult to get any help at all. Left them about a year ago and went back to British Gas & been ok. Sorry I can't offer any helpful advice other than to ditch them when you can. Best of luck!
  12. I am in exactly the same position and know exactly where you are coming from! I don't think there is any way around it. Don't know if you realise it but even if you only get a reduced amount you should get ALL your Council Tax paid.Hope you have actually got your claim finally approved as I started my claim in July last year (2008) and it took until April 2009 before it was finalised - 9 months!! I had been told it could take up to 12 weeks when I started my claim so expected some decision by end Oct. Local Pension office handling my claim were useless and every time I 'phoned they just kept fobbing me off and saying "it's still being considered & no final decision has been made". No-one there would give me anything other than a first name and I got a different person every time. I emailed the manager of the local office and got no replies! I ended up contacting my MP, Age Concern, Citizen's advice and kept getting nowhere. I'd sent in "Original" bank statements - photocopies not accepted! and was told they would return them. I never got them back and they now admit they have lost them!! Then they asked me to send in ALL receipts for the past 12 months which I did. Still got nowhere. Eventually in desperation I wrote to the Chief Exec of the Pension Service in London and "hey presto" things started to happen and a troubleshooter 'phoned and sorted it all out in a matter of days. As they say "it's not what you know but who you know that counts". What really galls me though is having worked all my life and paid my dues, never claiming for anything. Then having to divulge loads of personal information and being told it has been lost, then being asked to prove every penny I've spent by sending in receipts as if I'm trying to con' them. Hope you do better than I did!
×
×
  • Create New...