british gas- suspect bills

[lolly371]

hello can anyone help, a month ago i sent british gas a letter and have not heard a thing back. the letter says this:

'dear sir/madam
please find enclosed a letter from yourselves addressed to MR MAKE BELIEVE and Mr and Mrs Lolly371. i would like to inform you that there is not, and never has been a MR MAKE BELIEVE living at this address. i am becoming increasingly concerned that in spite of several requests to remove this name from our account, including a complaint via Energywatch, it still seems to be firmly in place. i have been informned on numerous occasions that this name is not showing up on your system, but that it will be looked into and removed. this never happens.
also as you will see, the amount on the letter is £405.78, which is quite a surprise, considering that the statement you sent out on the very same day had the amount of £519.80. this does not feel encouraging as to the reliability of your company.
what is most worrying is that in addition to this, i have an excessively high electricity bill, and not much of an explanation for it. i accept that many of my first bills with you were estimates, but i have made regular payments which to my calculations should have covered my electricity consumption. when i first questioned this fact to one of your advisers, i was told that the only reason they could think that this debt could have occurred on top of my payments would be if i joined you with an estimated reading. i contacted my previous provider and was informed that i left with an actual reading. i dont believe my meter is faulty, as i have kept a close eye on my usage and all seems to be fine.
i do believe something highly suspect has occurred somewhere along the line and i would like this thoroughly investigating, otherwise i will reinstate my complaint with energywatch and take it further. this account has now been in dispute for over a year, and im sure you can understand my concern and impatience to resolve it once and for all. i have given british gas ample opportunity to resolve my complaints, and am not prepared to undergo any more stress at the hand of your company.
i also request that you look through all of my statements since joining you 2 years ago, and provide me with alist of all payments received from me. in addition to this, i would ask that you look at this total amount of payments and consider how, in a two bedroomed terraced house of average electricity consumption, we have managed to accrue a debt of over £400 in that time.'
i would appreciate anybodys suggestions as to how to proceed. the problem is, i have lost the details of my complaint with energywatch, so i would have to start it up as a new complaint.

[tiglet]

Hi Lolly

Have you checked yours and this mysterious person's meter numbers to see if they are the same?

[lolly371]

hi tiglet, there is no meter number for the other person, the name is just grouped in with ours as if we're are all one account holder.

[tiglet]

In taht case, sounds as if it is an administrative error on their part.

I would ask them to tell you when this person was added to your account. if they don't, send off a S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) and that should give you the information.

I would also refer the matter back to energywatch.

[lolly371]

thanks for the advice. i will S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) them and contact energywatch as you say, but the name seems more than simply administrative. is seems suspicious to me that after requesting on so many occasions (and trust me when i say, i have asked them sooo many times), and involving energywatch who also asked them, they still havent discovered a way to remove this name. it isnt even registered anywhere in their system, and yet it always appears on my letters and bills. this is why i sent them a copy of a letter, as they wanted to see it for themselves. what started alarm bells ringing was about a year ago somebody phoned from british gas asking to speak to this person. i said they dont exist, they just keep showing up on my letters. british gas asked who i was, so i told them and they said they didnt have me registered on the account! the only time anybody has ever acknowledged the name and they didnt know who the genuine account holder was. its just wierd!

[lolly371]

quick update. i applied to the british gas energy trust for them to clear the debt, which they have done. this leaves me free to move my account away from british gas, but i have no idea where to move to. i have heard not to rely on u-switch as they receive a commission which varies from company to company, which, in turn, has an impact on the recommendations they provide. what is the best way to make an informed decision?

[lolly371]

i have now received a letter from british gas saying they want to exchange my meter. should i be suspicious? i know this is something they generally do when a meter is getting old, but the timing seems a little coincidental!

[chelseaboy]

I'd be suspicious of anything those muppets say/do, as far as i'm concerned they go on special training courses to teach them how to make things up, either that or their IT systems were designed by Bodgit & Scarper IT Systems Ltd and nobody has wised up to this fact yet..... If you read the 'us vs a bunch of muppets' thread you'll see that they've been just as ridiculous with us, what with the IT system coming up with mistry customers & telling people they've moved, if I was a director i'd be asking for my money back!!!!

[lolly371]

Originally Posted by chelseaboy

If you read the 'us vs a bunch of muppets' thread you'll see that they've been just as ridiculous with us

oh my god! i cannot believe after two years of battling with these clowns they can still surprise me. i know where you're coming from about the stress, there have been times i have dreaded the post coming to discover what their latest screw-up is, because i know i will then be on the phone for the next hour and a half being passed from pillar to post and being given conflictiong advice from every different department. i have never been messed around so much by one company.

[lolly371]

Originally Posted by lolly371

quick update. i applied to the british gas energy trust for them to clear the debt, which they have done. this leaves me free to move my account away from british gas, but i have no idea where to move to. i have heard not to rely on u-switch as they receive a commission which varies from company to company, which, in turn, has an impact on the recommendations they provide. what is the best way to make an informed decision?

BUMP! i really need to change my suppliers, and seeing as my bills have been really erratic since i have been with British Gas, i have no way of making a price comparison. I just want a honest company who dont charge the earth. any suggestions?

[PI Guy]

go with utilities warehouse, i swapped over to them and have been happy ever since.

John
[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']The Point Blue Network Limited
Authorised Distributor
The Utility Warehouse
Part of the Telecom plus Plc Group of Companies

Utilities-direct.co.uk
Generate-income.co.uk

T: 01452 535657 (Club Phone)
T: 0800 0933 083
F: 01452 541522[/font][FONT='Times New Roman','serif'][/font]
[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']M: 07970 794 764[/font]

[alexteh]

I've been with Utilita for a few months now and no problems - they are cheap, environmentally friendly and their customer service seems excellent so far - I emailed them and they replied withing a few hours with a helpful response.

[mree]

I switched to EDF about 2&1/2 years ago, and haven't had any problems. Admittedly, I work for them, but I didn't when I switched, nor did I have any idea I would be working for them in the future. TBH, most (not all!!!) of the problems people have listed with EDF on here tend to be the customer's own fault, not paying bills, not contacting the company when they're in difficulties, etc. Plus, working there means I can say with complete confidence that their staff training is geared towards helping the customer as much as humanly possible.

Don't get me wrong, I don't plan to spend the rest of my life there and I'm not getting paid to advertise, I'm just working there to pay the rent while studying to be a nurse, but from a customer point of view I wouldn't change suppliers even if it was cheaper.

[tr03bor]

Yep EDF and Powergen

[lolly371]

thanks for all of your suggestions- i am now going to have a think and get away from british gas as soon as i have made a decision. i cant believe i am finally free!!!