british gas bringing in penalty charge from 1st March

[JonCris]

This involves a solicitor & I understand may yet be appealed......also it's doesn't set a precedent

 

http://www.expressandstar.com/2008/03/29/grandmother-loses-bt-charges-case/

[MARTIN3030]

Anyone know what the result was for the case taken against BG for non dd admin fees ?

It was on the news that the case was due to be heard and then nothing ....wonder if they paid up ?

Virgin media now make Telewests charges look tame...its a tenner for late payment...a fiver for non DD admin fee and a charge for paper bills (presumably there is because they are offering a discount for ebilling)

so thats another 16 quid potentially every month.

Am getting ready to do my part 2 claim...I totted up and its about 300 quid...wouldnt mind but VM are not the best around....theres a lot of competition now.

 

oops just remembered.....this is all bout Gas penalties

[JonCris]

Martin look above you:p (post 51)

[ploppy27]

Hello I wonder if anyone can advise me on this.

 

My girlfriend moved house a few months ago, when she moved she paid off an existing arrears on her gas and also told them that she was moving (so they could settle her account).....3 months down the line she gets a letter from BG saying she had to pay for the gas INCLUDING the 3 months since she moved out. She called BG and disputed this and they sent a new bill out a few days ago. The bill includes a £14 charge which is apparently an admin cost (how much are stamps these days?) for sending out lots of letters......they had sent them to her old address. Can we get them to cancel this charge as it is clearly BG fault for sending the letters to the wrong address?

[gooner07]

Hi,

 

I am new to this. Need some help!!!! Can you claim your British Gas Peno Charges the same way you can claim your Banks Charges , if so who do i need to write to??????

[xuenilom]

How about you make sure you pay your Bills Ontime?

[JonCris]

Pay your bills on time mmmmmmmmmmmm now who would have thought of that;) Now you know what to do you naughty debtors you PAY YOUR BILL ON TIME

[Surfer01]

How about you make sure you pay your Bills Ontime?

Oh no not another BGAS troll!

[xuenilom]

Oh no not another BGAS troll!

A What?

 

Nope just someone who doesn't understand how people can moan when a Company charges you for making a late payment.

[DonkeyB]

It's not just about paying on time, BGas troll - I'm disputing a single £14 surcharge with BG from a couple of years ago and I've refused to pay that portion of the bill ever since.

 

And why £14? Their MD said in early 2007 that late payment cost them £5! And their web site says clearly that BG does not charge for late payment.

 

When I don't pay the late payment penalty (sorry, telemessage charge) part, they add another £14 for another 'telemessage'. And another. And another etc. Up to about £80 quid in 'telemessage' charges so far.

 

So they are continuously penalising me for not paying the, er, fine. Can they do that?

[seville]

Hi

Ive read all these messages with great interest.I can see loads of frustration by BG customers ---and rightly so!!

My ex boyfirend died recently and I'm executor of his estate and I am amaze that his outstanding BG gas bill of £1100+ is made up of over £500 worth of charges.(BG told me that today on the phone)

His electric with BG is over £1770 and I assume includes tonnes of charges too

Ok, he didnt pay his bills but nearly 50% of the gas bill is charges!!

I'm getting a SAR issued after nearly and hour on the phone with BG and just getting told " its due and should be paid" ---not on their NELLY until I am satisfied that the bills are correct!!

 

Has anyone challenged & won against BT re charges?? I'm interested because when I get a full anlaysis of the bills/charges I'd sure like to have a go at them.

After reading someof the messages above --BG are behaving just like the DCA that this site has fought tooth and nail with and WON

[buzby]

A SAR wouln't be appropriate AIUI only the data subject can request this, and it doesn't extend to executors. However, with the requirement to sort out the affairs, you simply want copy bills to substantiate BG's figures and this shouldn't be a problem.

[JonCris]

seville Yes you should make sure the utility bill is correct as, although only anecdotal at the moment, there does appear to be a pattern of utility companies submitting what turn out to be on closer scrutiny greatly inflated final bills

[JonCris]

An executor is for all intense and purposes & LAW the deceased therefore can make a S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) although you shouldn't have to as the utility should comply with any request to provide information failing which tell them they won't be paid until they do

Edited October 18, 2008 by JonCris

[seville]

Thanks Busby & Joncris

I've cooled down a little after the marathon telephone call with BG.

Think I will just write to BG for an analysis of the bills/charges and hold off with the SAR(if they get stropy I'll pay the £10 for the SAR).Why the hell should I pay £10

I'm due to get probate in about 10 days (I was at the probate court yesterday)which gives me more power to demand information.

 

Once I get the analysis of the charges/bills I most probably will be back on the site for advice of what I can claim back. ----if anything.

If you know what I can claim back or know of any links that give advice then ---I'll sure be grateful.

Anyone know anything about claiming the charges/what charges you can get back from BG ??

[NPower Green Energy]

Well what you need to do, is contact British Gas and tell them you will go to the papers about their service.

 

If you get no joy, then contact consumer direct , who are a watchdog for consumers. Provided you have raised issues with your supplier already then you will find they can help.

 

You can then take your complaint further to the ENERGY Ombudsman

 

NPower Green

[Surfer01]

I cannot let the above quip go without a response. I was with Npower because they were the supplier for the previous tenant and I inherited them and they have to be the most inept and useless supplier on the market as they cannot even get a simple request correct.

Prior to taking occupancy in May 2008 I gave Npower a reading and also requested that they remove a redundant related meter. I phoned on three different occasions requesting they to remove the metering as I did not want to incur unnecessary standing charges. Eventually through Energywatch I got the metering removed. In tne meantime it prevented me changing suppliers and moving to a cheaper tariff due to the fact the meter showed up as a related meter and a supplier is obliged to register both and who is going to register a meter than is not going to give them any income.

Despite giving Npower an opening reading on three different occasions, Npower still got the opening reading wrong by over 400 units. My final bill in October was in the region of £218 but on challenging Npower on this it was agreed that the bill was incorrect and that they would have to issue a new bill. Again they were given an exact closing read and this was verified. The new bill will take up to 6 weeks due to the huge backlog. I worked out my bill in about 10 minutes and it is less than £70! I doubt very much whether they will come up with the same amount and the saga will continue.

If Npower had not been given millions of customers on a golden plate, they would have gone out of business years ago.

[chris600uk]

So to keep it simple for my remaining overworked brain cells:

 

The "telemessage" is a letter warning of late payment, and the charge of £14 is therefore a "penalty charge" which recent case law (bank charges) says is unlawful.

 

Have I got that right?

 

 

and can I quote: OFT v Abbey National PLC and 7 others

[buzby]

For the first part;

 

A 'Telemessage' was BT's replacement to the Telegram. It allows firms (and a dedicated BT call centre) to send a message electronically to someone who only had a physical address. It was branded 'Telemessage' with the letters being printed off in bulk and posted 1st Class in distinctive yellow window envelopes.

 

Since is was nothing really like a Telegram, more like posting a letter, it didn't really catch on. Utilities and debt collectors started using it as a way of making their clients contact them, as the identity of the sender could be concealed. I understand that the service (from BT) now no longer exists, and was quietly dropped. So 'real' Telemessages are no more.

[chris600uk]

Sadly British Gas still use them.

[buzby]

Sorry to be pedantic, but they don't exist anymore (Telemessage. not BG). Here's a quote from BT's online Price Guide;

 

 

BT Price List

 

Section 23:Telemessage

 

Part 1:Usage Charges

 

Subpart 1:Product Information

 

BT no longer provides a personal greetings telegram service. For further information on Telemessage, please visit the following website:

 

Btaccurate.com - btaccurate Resources and Information. This website is for sale!

 

Not only that, the website given as a point of contact has similarly been discontinued. The use of the term 'Telemessage' is therefore a gross misrepresentation - a [problem], in other words - and aimed to make their communications to seem more important than they really are.

Edited March 8, 2009 by buzby

[chris600uk]

Don't doubt you for a minute, but what about British Gas?

[buzby]

As for BG, they make it up as they go along. I had to involve my MP before they backed down.