Useless British Gas twats

[weepiper]

I noticed that my British Gas account was suddenly showing a huge credit balance in the middle of February so I did a webchat asking what was going on. The operator asked me to do meter readings a week apart and take photos of them so they could correct the bill which I duly did. Then radio silence has occurred since and meanwhile they've taken my normal direct debit twice and my credit balance is now £2400! I've done several more webchats trying to find out what the fuck is happening and got fobbed off with 'the case handler will be in touch' and then of course they are not in touch. Here's my latest this morning



Then I said I was thinking about cancelling my direct debit until they sort it out and she said it would be resolved 'by the end of this month '. It's already been five fucking weeks! What the actual fuck is going on? Anyone else got this happening?

 

[moochedit]

I left BG years ago when their gas boiler engineer failed to show up on the agreed date twice and i had wasted booked holiday twice waiting in for them. I remember they took ages to awnser the phone as well. Think i remember reading once that they get more complaints than any other uk company.

 

[danny la rouge]

I noticed that my British Gas account was suddenly showing a huge credit balance in the middle of February so I did a webchat asking what was going on. The operator asked me to do meter readings a week apart and take photos of them so they could correct the bill which I duly did. Then radio silence has occurred since and meanwhile they've taken my normal direct debit twice and my credit balance is now £2400! I've done several more webchats trying to find out what the fuck is happening and got fobbed off with 'the case handler will be in touch' and then of course they are not in touch. Here's my latest this morning

View attachment 416681View attachment 416682

Then I said I was thinking about cancelling my direct debit until they sort it out and she said it would be resolved 'by the end of this month '. It's already been five fucking weeks! What the actual fuck is going on? Anyone else got this happening?

I had a similar problem a couple of years ago. The amount I supposedly owed in the app kept changing! To horrific amounts. It took ages to sort out. I demanded paper bills (they don’t change in front of your eyes). I had to get my MP involved and threaten to tell Martin Lewis. (The MP was actually quite helpful).

I photograph and keep my monthly readings. And I will never get a smart meter.

 

[danny la rouge]

My advice is make a formal complaint now. This gives you a reference number that you can use. You have more leverage with a formal complaint. But it still takes ages. Help & Support - British Gas

 

[danny la rouge]

Oh and too right it's a "known issue". I had it two years ago, and it KEPT HAPPENING after I thought it was fixed.

 

[weepiper]

Oh and too right it's a "known issue". I had it two years ago, and it KEPT HAPPENING after I thought it was fixed.

What an outrageous way to run a business.

 

[cupid_stunt]

I left BG years ago when their gas boiler engineer failed to show up on the agreed date twice and i had wasted booked holiday twice waiting in for them. I remember they took ages to awnser the phone as well. Think i remember reading once that they get more complaints than any other uk company.

Yeah, they are the worst rated in the 'Which?' survey, out of 16 energy suppliers, they've had a bad reputation for years, I am amazed people stick with them TBH.

Best energy suppliers for 2024 - Which?

Find out what thousands of customers think of their suppliers and use our research to choose the best energy provider for you

www.which.co.uk

weepiper - as the end of the month is near, I would be inclined to wait until then for now.

If it's not resolved, escalate it by putting in an official complaint by e-mail (not web-chat) pointing out how long you have been waiting for it to be resolved, that you now want them to escalate the complaint, and that you are giving them the required 8 weeks notice before you will put in an official complaint to the ombudsman. This normally works as it's expensive for these companies to go down that route, they have to pay hundreds of pounds in fees for every complaint to the ombudsman's service, plus normally £100 compensation to the customer.

It didn't work for me with OVO, so I went down the ombudsman route, it's free and easy, and I found the staff to be very understanding and all round nice, amazing service. They are very busy, so it does take a bit of time, but they will get it sorted, and as my case was very bad, I ended up with a £150 compensation instead of the standard £100.

Home | Energy Ombudsman

The Energy Ombudsman provide a free and impartial service that aims to resolve disputes between consumers and suppliers in the energy sector.

www.energyombudsman.org

Feel free to tag or PM me if you need any help.

Once sorted, change supplier, as a final two fingers to them.

 

[RevolutionSound]

I had a dispute recently with British Gas, took it to the ombudsman and won. British Gas have a new computer billing system which is causing no end of problems.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

just to help you feel warm (with rage)

British Gas sees profits increase 10-fold

The company managed to recover losses of £500m it made during the height of the energy crisis.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[equationgirl]

I had a similar problem a couple of years ago. The amount I supposedly owed in the app kept changing! To horrific amounts. It took ages to sort out. I demanded paper bills (they don’t change in front of your eyes). I had to get my MP involved and threaten to tell Martin Lewis. (The MP was actually quite helpful).

I photograph and keep my monthly readings. And I will never get a smart meter.

Same.

I stopped my direct debit when I noticed a sizeable credit had built up near the end of last year and moved back to quarterly billing.

I will absolutely never get a smart meter.

 

[equationgirl]

just to help you feel warm (with rage)

British Gas sees profits increase 10-fold

The company managed to recover losses of £500m it made during the height of the energy crisis.

www.bbc.co.uk

Yeah, no shit. They're sucking our money dry to keep their shareholders happy.

 

[spudulike]

I'm with Octopus. My fixed Direct Debit tended to build up a surplus once in a while. Rather than claim it back I switched to a variable Direct Debit.

Advantages:

• To pay a bill, they take money from any credit balance first (i.e. it goes down eventually to zero)
• Each month they give 14 days notice of the amount they will take by direct debit
• Works well for most people who pay ten lots of council tax by DD as they don't pay in February & March so that can go towards fuel
• Works well for pensioners who get a fuel payment in the winter

I always owe them money and I don't need "budgeting help" to spread payments evenly over the year as higher winter fuels bills helped by the fuel payment and the "no council tax" months.

 

[StoneRoad]

Yeah, they're privatised ripp-off shysters ! Especially when it comes to energy supply.

We had [have?] their boiler servicing contract whotsit for some years ... as it was actually a good deal.
I think we've had our money's worth !

First couple of years was OK, apart from one small detail.
When booking the annual service / tests I would remind them that the fitter needed to be an LPG qualified engineer [as the house is on a tanked supply not mains gas] - more than once I refused entry when checking what would be the "gas safety" qualification !

For many years, and including when we had the boiler updated, everything was fine [after we fixed the diverter valve].
But a year or two back we started having a few problems, and therefore a procession of fitters attempting to fix things.
Eventually the one fitter changed out the heat exchanger and that seemed to cure the main problem. He's locally based and knows his onions - but is willing to ask the manufacturer to help if needed.

 

[equationgirl]

Also, if I had kept up my direct debit over the course of 12 months they would have had the better part of £2k of my money as a credit. As I was unemployed for most of last year that £2k would have been better in my own bank account not theirs.

 

[muscovyduck]

I managed to play British Gas at their own game for a few years and landed an agreement I could build up arrears over winter and pay them down over the year, rather than pay in advance to build up credit to "cover" the next winter after I expertly timed a complaint about their direct debit calculations. Now I'm on a fixed tariff so it's gone out the window unless they dick me about again