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British Gas and Moorcroft hell after Ombudsman


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Hello everyone.

Following a divorce around 10 years go, I was left with some bad debt and several defaults.

Since then i have worked to clear as many as possible and all my defaults today have dropped off.

I actually have 'good credit' again.

Unfortunately British Gas have put a spanner in the works. 
They supplied my electricity 2014 - 2017.

My monthly payment amount was initially £78, rising to £100.

Then out of the blue they demanded £275 a month!

 

I live in a two bedroom flat with no central heating!

I queried this and they made me do several burn tests and arranged for an engineer to check the meter.

This look forever as the engineer missed several appointments.

In the interim BG had instructed me to pay whatever i could manage, so I kept it at £100 a month via standing order.

 

The situation was not resolved as their customer services often did not call me back,

at one point i received a letter from Moorcroft demanding money.

 

I would remind British Gas that the complaint was still in progress and they would take the account back and leave me alone while scheduling their next set of tests.

I got so fed up i went to the Energy Ombudsman and raised a complaint about the shoddy customer service.


While the ombudsman was investigating, I decided to change my energy supplier.

BG issued me a final bill of £600 and i was upset, telling the ombudsman this was incorrect

- as BG had told me upon issuing that bill that their tests had shown my day/night readings to be back to front, and to expect a revised bill that should significantly reduce the balance.


in the middle of the ombudsman investigation (and within three months of my new supplier)I received a revised bill alright, for £1900!

I complained, the account was frozen due to the ombudsman investigation.

 

The final outcome was that the ombudsman though the balance was probably correct, but called out British gas for shocking customer service and serving erroneous bills. They demanded BG pay me £200 compensation, write a letter of apology, offer a reasonable payment plan and remove any negative markers that may appear on my credit file.

I told the ombudsman that while I am committed to a resolution I still thought the balance was incorrect, as i pay only £108 a month with my new supplier.

I also informed them that I suffer from anxiety and take medication for it, and this process was negatively affecting my health.

I asked them to have someone else look into the amount.


I received (about a couple months later) an email from them stating that someone else looked into it but could not recommend differently, that their original recommendations were no longer binding and it is up to BG and i to reach a resolution. I was provided a copy of their original recommendations in writing.
Foolishly i got distracted with.. life and waited assuming BG would contact me. They didn't.

 

About a year later which brings us to yesterday I received a letter from Moorcroft demanding £1900.

I contacted them and they said they had no information about the ombudsman process and just the balance, that the debt was not purchased by them and that they were working on behalf of BG.


I called BG and they refused to speak to me, stating everything should go through moorcroft and that they were unwilling to even raise a complain for me.

I asked if they had added a default to my credit file (i was working so hard to repair it and buy a house next year) to which they replied

- 'probably' and could not confirm.

I have checked my file on credit karma, experian and equifax and nothing shows. However im scared they will serve a default.

 

Note i received no notice or even communication from BG since the ombudsman decision.
I contacted the ombudsman again who claimed that when I grumbled further about the balance it was taken as declining their recommendations, therefore they are no longer binding, and that there was nothing else I could do via them as the case was closed. I couldn't even open a new case.

I contacted BG again and really argued, I said I wanted to complain that BG made no attempt to liase with me, and went straight to moorcroft.

I asked that the debt be returned to them and that an arrangement made based on the ombudsman decision.

After a long hold I was told that the debt had returned to them and to expect a call on Tuesday while their system refreshes.

Where do I stand with this and how do I avoid a default that would set me back 6 years!

I have worked hard to repair my file and my various other accounts are in excellent order,

Do you think BG will accept a full and final to make this go away?

(i'll pay the original £600 bill upfront but can't shell out £1900 up front).

What should I ask for?

I fell lost angry and confused.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions

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This is all a bit involved and I don't fully understand it yet.

What I do understand was that there was a day and night metre reversal – which is not uncommon. This was discovered but instead of providing you with a lower bill as one might expect, they provide you with a higher bill. You haven't commented on this or explain why this might be. It is contrary to any logic.

While we try to work out what the story is, you should begin by sending an SAR to British Gas and also to the ombudsman. Get them both off in the post tomorrow.

Follow the SAR link to see how to deal with the papers when they eventually arrive

 

Also, although you say that they were supplying your energy from 2014 to 2017, can you tell us when the bills started to become unreasonably high?

Presumably a new meter  had been put in place because you don't seem to be suggesting that the bills have been wrong throughout the period.

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Frankly it would be a helpful if you could restate the story again but this time in a bullet pointed chronology – missing out a lot of the narrative.

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Hi.

Thanks for replying.

I have no idea why the other bill was higher , I still think its incorrect.

BG claim it was a catchup bill because my new energy supplier gave them my latest meter readings on the switchover date

 

. I argued with the ombudsman that BG never did fix the reversed readings issue (hence the continued high bill) however they claim they did.

 

I do have the Ombudsman report. Should i attach it? It's quite comprehensive.

 

The bills became very high from late 2016. No new meter put in place, but my new supplier charges me £108 a month and i give regular meter readings.

 

Im certain BG had the readings swapped around but never implemented the correction.

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Please could you address the request that I made in post number three.

Also, send off the SAR's. These are essential.

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  • Moved into current home in 2014. quoted £74 per month in electricity charges which was paid via DD.
  • May 2016 charges jumped to £250 per month which i disputed.
  • Provide numerous meter readings to BG and arrangement for engineer visit.
  • June 2016, BG stated balance was £1,161 which translated to a payment of £223 per month  I disputed and set up a Standing Order Mandate of £100 to cover charges until matter resolved.
  • June 2016 Engineer confirmed that meter readings were ‘probably’ transposed  and could not install a second test meter  (in case of fault) because of lack of space.
  • July 2016 I chased BG on status. BG claimed complaint had been closed, was told it would be reopened with a deadlock letter sent immediately due to being messed around, so I could go to ombudsman should I choose. Was told another engineer visit was necessary as previous left inadequate notes.
  • October 2016 - second engineer appointment scheduled but did not show up. I gave up on chasing the complaint as I was diagnosed with stress and anxiety at the time. BG did not contact me further.
  • September 2017 I began complaint again, asked to do a burn test and told by BG that meter reedings were indeed transposed and as result had been overcharged. I informed that I wished to change energy supplier and a final bill would be provided. BG confirmed balance to be £1106.22 prior to readjustments. When i received final bill it was for £660 which I assumed was the readjusted amount.
  • December 2017 - Opened case with energy ombudsman as i thought final bill was still too high and customer service dreadful.
  • December 2018  - Ombudsman case continuing, BG send a revised Final Bill for £1963.83. I add this to my ombudsman complaint.
  • April 2018 - Ombudsman reaches decision claiming second BG bill is ‘likely correct’ and recommends..
    • They agree a reasonable repayment plan
    • £200 Compensation
    • They remove any negative markers from credit file
    • They write letter of apology

 

  • April 2018 - I tell ombudsman i still dispute bill of £1963 and want it looked into by someone else. I inform my stress/anxiety worsening and ask for my partner to be copied into future correspondence.
  • May 2018 - Ombudsman email my partner and state that their position unchanged, they attach pdf of their original recommendations and state that as I dispute amount, their decision is no longer binding and up to me to resolve with BG when they get in contact.

 

  • Long gap i know, but.. life.
  • 26th June 2019 - Letter received from Moorcroft demanding £1951.83. Moorcroft they have not purchased debt from BG but acting for them.
  • 27th June 2019 - BG initially refuse to discuss case with me and refer to Moorcroft. Cannot provide straight answer as to whether my credit file has been adversely affected. After some pleading they agreed to take the debt back from moorcroft and somebody will contact me on Tuesday to discuss a payment plan.

 

  • Still no confirmation regarding my credit file. No default notice received to my address, and file looks clear on credit karma, experian and equifax. I fear a looming default and want to prevent this as have plans for a mortgage next year.

 

So that's a SAR to BG and the Ombudsman?

What about Moorcroft?

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Thank you. That's very helpful.

Could you just tell us which date the account was closed and you move to a new provider. Which is the new provider?

No point in sending an SAR to Moorcroft. British Gas and the ombudsman should be all you need.

Are you aware of the back billing rules which prevent an energy supplier, attempting to bill retrospectively further than 12 months. This is come up in another energy case which I am helping on this forum somewhere although I can't remember where. I have suggested there that implied in the back billing rules that the billing must be accurate and that if they attempt to impose bills which are inaccurate for any reason, and that does not interrupt the passing of the 12 months.

Although there are other reasons for objecting to the bill which you have received, I think it would be reasonable to call in aid the back billing rules and to say that there hasn't been any valid bill. However, we will have to get the evidence which shows that they accept that the bill was incorrect.

How much of this do you have in writing?

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Little tip

ignore moorcroft!!

 

powerless to the end

 

Dx

please don't hit Quote...just type we know what we said earlier..

DCA's view debtors as suckers, marks and mugs

NO DCA has ANY legal powers whatsoever on ANY debt no matter what it's Type

and they

are NOT and can NEVER  be BAILIFFS. even if a debt has been to court..

If everyone stopped blindly paying DCA's Tomorrow, their industry would collapse overnight... 

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Please check through this thread to see if I discussed back billing rules in relation to an implied provision that the bill be accurate

 

 

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September (22nd I think) 2017 was the date of the switch.

New Provider is Flow.

First Final Bill was sent then, and the 'revised' one February 2018

 

Not much in writing at all.

I have the two bills in writing,

 I have notes from phone calls and

I have what the ombudsman deduced was correct

- they even say the billing was misleading.

 

Problem is the ombudsman claim BG revised bill was correct  

Question about SARs, do I have to send a fee with my letter?

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So you don't have the admission that you referred to earlier of British Gas agreeing that the bill was incorrect? How was this admission made?

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So presumably you never record your calls. Big fail.

Please read our customer services guide and implement the advice there

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I didn’t then but I do now.

none the less the ombudsman seemed to verify and confirm in their report that those calls took place

 

British Gas have agreed to take the date back from Moorcroft and will call me Tuesday to discuss a payment plan (I recorded that confirmation).

 

so any tips on how to deal with them then?

i basicly want the £200 compensation and the removal of any credit file markers as the ombudsman recommend, however I still don’t believe the full balance is correct.

 

should I offer to pay the original £600 amount there and then as a full and final? I can do it, just not any higher.

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During that 2014 to 2017 period, did you have an immersion heater permanently switched on to provide constant hot water on demand ?

 

if you did, with all other electricity usage, then your monthly usage would be quite high ?

 

Do you ever have someone look at your electricity usage ? Did they check what appliances you were using ?

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sar is free

please don't hit Quote...just type we know what we said earlier..

DCA's view debtors as suckers, marks and mugs

NO DCA has ANY legal powers whatsoever on ANY debt no matter what it's Type

and they

are NOT and can NEVER  be BAILIFFS. even if a debt has been to court..

If everyone stopped blindly paying DCA's Tomorrow, their industry would collapse overnight... 

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9 hours ago, unclebulgaria67 said:

During that 2014 to 2017 period, did you have an immersion heater permanently switched on to provide constant hot water on demand ?

 

if you did, with all other electricity usage, then your monthly usage would be quite high ?

 

Do you ever have someone look at your electricity usage ? Did they check what appliances you were using ?

 

Yes, these are very important questions. Maybe you can comment.

I think that you really need to get the information which will be disclosed in an SAR. I'm not sure it is possible to move forward without getting a much better picture – hopefully the full picture of what has happened.

 

Is at this thread that I saw a note saying that Moorcroft had returned the file to British Gas for the moment? I don't seem to see it any more

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Yes this is the case.

I convinced BG to return the debt to themselves.

Probably truth is it was always with them as Moorcroft claim the debt was never sold off.

 

16 hours ago, BankFodder said:

During that 2014 to 2017 period, did you have an immersion heater permanently switched on to provide constant hot water on demand ?

 

if you did, with all other electricity usage, then your monthly usage would be quite high ?

I Don’t buy this because I’ve been with my new supplier for a year and have gone out of my way to give regular readings, it’s been £108 a month which is much more reasonable than BG suggested towards the end 

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Okay. We are  just into speculation now. Send the SAR's.

In the meantime, now that you are recording your calls I suggest that you might start having regular telephone conversations with British Gas simply to steer the conversation around and see what is revealed. You will speak with several different customer service people – none of them will know the history of your case – or even care about you – but you will tend to find that they say different things and maybe you will get some useful evidence.

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I have just received an email from British Gas pretty much rejecting the SAR request!  Telling me the debt is with Moorcroft and I should chase them!

 

 

Edited by syfodyas
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what does your comment pretty much mean?

copy it here minus pers info please

 

you ignore Moorcroft and only deal with their stated client.

please don't hit Quote...just type we know what we said earlier..

DCA's view debtors as suckers, marks and mugs

NO DCA has ANY legal powers whatsoever on ANY debt no matter what it's Type

and they

are NOT and can NEVER  be BAILIFFS. even if a debt has been to court..

If everyone stopped blindly paying DCA's Tomorrow, their industry would collapse overnight... 

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so did you simply email? our sar template or did you adapt it?

 

you've obv moved since then so did you include a CTAX copy too?

 

 

please don't hit Quote...just type we know what we said earlier..

DCA's view debtors as suckers, marks and mugs

NO DCA has ANY legal powers whatsoever on ANY debt no matter what it's Type

and they

are NOT and can NEVER  be BAILIFFS. even if a debt has been to court..

If everyone stopped blindly paying DCA's Tomorrow, their industry would collapse overnight... 

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They are nuts.

 

 

 

 

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where did you send that?

sounds like they didn't understand what an sar was..

please don't hit Quote...just type we know what we said earlier..

DCA's view debtors as suckers, marks and mugs

NO DCA has ANY legal powers whatsoever on ANY debt no matter what it's Type

and they

are NOT and can NEVER  be BAILIFFS. even if a debt has been to court..

If everyone stopped blindly paying DCA's Tomorrow, their industry would collapse overnight... 

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