Disputing british gas direct debit hike

[s_gres]

How can I dispute their direct debit increase without changing supplier?

 

I have argued that what they are trying to charge me will incure me financial problems and that it is estimated not actual, so how can they charge me something that I have havent had yet?

 

My gas bill for May to August £174 they want me to pay £96 per month over the quater?

My electricity same period £125 they want me to pay £59 per month over the quarter?

 

Advice please!

[rebel11]

Hi s

 

Welcome to CAG

 

The guys will be happy to advise as soon as they are available.

 

Tell them it's not realistic give them the current readings, from your previous readings you should be paying £58 for gas and £42 for electricity per month.

Tell them straight, you not happy, sort it out. If your family and friends are with them tell them they won't just be losing you.

[MrHandyman]

Hi S

 

As Rebel has said, you should tell them that based on your previous usage your direct debit should not be increased to this amount.

 

I reviewed my direct debit a few days ago, and reduced it by 50% and they were only too happy to do so.

 

You most likely got a crap agent on the other end of the phone....it seems to be hit or miss with BG agents these days. Try again, and if unsuccessful ask to speak to a manager.

 

If all else fails, refer the matter to Ofgem and they will raise a complaint to BG head office on your behalf.

 

Mr H

[s_gres]

Hi,

Thanks for the advice, i agree that i got a dud agent!

 

He said that if they add up my usage over the last year it would come to more at the end of the 12 months and i would have a debt owing to them?

 

My answer was simple you cannot charge me for an estimated bill before I have even used it!

 

He spoke with his supervisor and she advised that they wouldn't be able to reudce the amount at the moment. (I wasn't able to speak with her myself) The problem that he was saying is that i moved in to my property Sept last year and had quite high usage, I explained that we were getting used to living in a bigger property, but this would not be happening this year. I also asked him to tell me what the average usage for a property of my size should be using and I am using just under what they say i should be using??????

 

I will try again as you have suggested, but at the moment I have cancelled my DD as i refused to let them take that amount.

 

Can't believe how unhelpful they were!

[MrHandyman]

I would be asking the agent and his supervisor to borrow his crystal ball, as clearly they can see in to the future to force you to keep your DD the same.

 

It may well be a better use of your time just to switch supplier...I hear there are some great deals around just now with other suppliers

 

Mr H

[mrannon]

Hi,

The amounts seem to be a bit high per month, Yes and true sometimes it can depend on who you speak with

Also BG does not carry out any reassessments on an account in the first year as it just does not know the customers usage but you can ask them to do a manual reassessment as long as you have submitted a few meter readings beforehand.

With the matter of estimated readings BG should reverse that meter reading back to where a proper reading was last given and bill it to date using your recent reading and reverse any bills that had previously been created using that estimate.

Do you know what your annual usage is by any chance?? if you can get this i will work out what you should be paying would also need area ie:Yorkshire,London, etc as not all tier prices are same for every area and also your tariff.

Have you ever thought about going on energy smart BG will send you a free electricity monitor so you can monitor what your are using not only in KWH but also real money terms and puts you in control best of all you pay for exactly what you use each month and no more, Example: BG will send you txt message each month then you will have 5 days to txt back your meter readings, BG will then bill you to your readings you sent and debit the amount from your bank 14 days later.

Energy Smart can also be set at a fixed amount each month as well and i do recommend to take the online saver 4 tariff which is only compatible with Energy Smart and gives you a 4% discount on both tier 1 and tier 2 Best bit there are no cancellation fees if you want to change tariff or go from Energy Smart back to a payment plan or leave altogether

Or Energy Smart just not for you check the online tariff Websaver 12. you must be managing your account online and getting paperless billing in return Websaver 12 Gives you a 6% Guaranteed discount against BG Standard tier 2 rates. To register for paperless billing and managing the account online you can easily register by going to there website or ring BG but they wont change tariff for you it has to be done by yourself online.

 

On a final note you should ring BG back armed with an up to date meter reading and ask them to reverse the estimate Meter Reading and reverse any bill that has been created using it, Explain you have an up to date meter reading and want them to bill you to that reading and send you a bill once this has been done ask them to review your payment plan based on the meter reading you have given them today and the fact the account is now up to date and accurate.

To avoid a BG bad apple once your account has been amended with the correct meter reading ask the agent what the balance is.

If they cannot tell you then they have not bothered doing anything as there billing system does it almost straight away for them.

BG now has to log any dissatisfaction a customer expresses even if its just a phrase like i not happy with my bill, Agents hate doing this process and it means extra work eating in to call handling times or after call work. So do make sure that you get them to note your dissatisfaction and explain that getting things right with your direct debit amount would make you satisfied and would resolve the matter if they refuse to look at your direct debit amount or wont change it again politely ask them not to close the dissatisfaction process they have raised and ask them to escalate this as a stage 2 complaint to there manager.

Then see how fast they are to sort it out My guess by the end of the call

 

Hope you get things sorted.

[s_gres]

Thanks for the advice, I will let you know how I get on!!

[Always Struggling]

Hi S,

I have been in the energy industry for nearly 12 years and it's all as clear as mud to consumers, not your fault but purely the energy companies and the way they have confused the situation and prices.

If you have been with BG for a year then they will only work from the usage you have used in that time as an estimate for the next 12 months. The size of the property tbh matters little.

 

You have said that you were getting used to living in a larger property and your usage won't be as much this year. Can you post or pm me your last 12months usage in k/wh for gas and electric?

 

Can you also post the tariff you currently have with BG- websaver? standard? fixed? etc. as this will determine any cancellation fees there might be involved also.

 

Don't just jump into a tariff until you are sure it's the right one. Personally I think you'll find substantial savings by leaving BG and choosing EDF at present with a fixed rate as their prices are the last to be hit with the current rises.

 

If you want any help then just let me know. Hope you get things sorted out to your satisfaction.