British Gas join at your peril

[dylanisabaddog 4,987]

I won't bore you with the whole sorry story but I'm (hopefully) nearing the end of a protracted dispute with British Gas which the Ombudsman tells me is par for the course with this company. 

Please avoid at all costs. I have now moved to Octopus who are absolutely fine. 

If any of you use Facebook have a look at the group for disgruntled customers of British Gas. It has an extraordinary 18,000 members. 

[KiwiScot 1,461]

Energy is a very simple thing in principle, but very complex in practice and part of that are companies like BG having no interest in making things understandable for the customer. Add in the archaic way the whole industries systems works under the hood(factor in protections against fraud and disputes) and it makes something so simple so stressful.

I'm not a fan of BG. Having been both a customer and working for them. Terrible company and I've not had anything gone that wrong with my energy while with them. They just make any small interactional or thing difficult.

@dylanisabaddog - Were you asked if you had been using a hot tub?

Edited November 4, 2023 by KiwiScot

[Well b back 3,280]

To be fair, again without writing a book, I would say don’t touch OVO, so maybe they are all rubbish.

[TheGunnShow 6,006]

Another Octopus user here. Agree that they're fine.

[dylanisabaddog 4,987]

3 minutes ago, KiwiScot said:

Energy is a very simple thing in principle, but very complex in practice and part of that are companies like BG having no interest in making things understandable for the customer. Add in the archaic way the whole industries systems works under the hood and it makes something so simple so stressful.

I'm not a fan of BG. Having been both a customer and working for them. Terrible company and I've not had anything gone that wrong with my energy while with them. They just make any small interactional or thing difficult.

@dylanisabaddog - Were you asked if you had been using a hot tub?

Yes, the first month I was with them I got a bill for £1,000 and they suggested it was a hot tub. It wasn't, it was a simple error on their part. It didn't really bother me because I knew it was wrong. They eventually suggested £76 which sounded about right. 

The rest is a very long boring story but in short they changed computer systems in February and sent me 4 bills within a week, all of which were different. In despair I left to go to Octopus in June and BG sent me a final bill which showed a credit of £200 which was repaid. I cancelled my direct debit immediately at the suggestion of my bank. Four weeks later they sent me a second final bill, this time asking for £480. They say this is because of the change in computer systems. I'm quite lucky in that I can afford it if I have to pay and I have a lot of time but for some that's not the case. I've read some of the stories on the Facebook group and they are horrifying and heart rending. 

The Ombudsman has told them that in their opinion the word 'final' means exactly that which is what I told BG when I received the 2nd final bill. It looks like they've backed down. 

I exchanged 20 emails with them which was more than necessary because halfway through they started to talk to me about someone else's complaint. 

What is really striking is that they have replaced a computer system that didn't work with something worse. 

It may sound like I'm ripping off BG for £480 but it's not that simple. The lady at the Ombudsman isn't satisfied that £480 is correct but can't obtain the information she needs to check it. Oh dear. 

 

 

 

[Well b back 3,280]

2 minutes ago, dylanisabaddog said:

Yes, the first month I was with them I got a bill for £1,000 and they suggested it was a hot tub. It wasn't, it was a simple error on their part. It didn't really bother me because I knew it was wrong. They eventually suggested £76 which sounded about right. 

The rest is a very long boring story but in short they changed computer systems in February and sent me 4 bills within a week, all of which were different. In despair I left to go to Octopus in June and BG sent me a final bill which showed a credit of £200 which was repaid. I cancelled my direct debit immediately at the suggestion of my bank. Four weeks later they sent me a second final bill, this time asking for £480. They say this is because of the change in computer systems. I'm quite lucky in that I can afford it if I have to pay and I have a lot of time but for some that's not the case. I've read some of the stories on the Facebook group and they are horrifying and heart rending. 

The Ombudsman has told them that in their opinion the word 'final' means exactly that which is what I told BG when I received the 2nd final bill. It looks like they've backed down. 

I exchanged 20 emails with them which was more than necessary because halfway through they started to talk to me about someone else's complaint. 

What is really striking is that they have replaced a computer system that didn't work with something worse. 

It may sound like I'm ripping off BG for £480 but it's not that simple. The lady at the Ombudsman isn't satisfied that £480 is correct but can't obtain the information she needs to check it. Oh dear. 

 

 

 

Blimey, with ovo that’s nothing. We had a bill of £24,000 where they managed to put the whole areas electric through our metre when trying to fit a smart meter. When we moved we had one in excess of £10,000 where they took the new house meter reading from our old house, rather than the new one. Took months for them to believe us. 
It’s their direct debits as well how they just add more and more money every month ( despite being in credit ) until you build up so much credit they have to bring it back down.

Clearly need to look at these Octopus people

[dylanisabaddog 4,987]

29 minutes ago, Well b back said:

Blimey, with ovo that’s nothing. We had a bill of £24,000 where they managed to put the whole areas electric through our metre when trying to fit a smart meter. When we moved we had one in excess of £10,000 where they took the new house meter reading from our old house, rather than the new one. Took months for them to believe us. 
It’s their direct debits as well how they just add more and more money every month ( despite being in credit ) until you build up so much credit they have to bring it back down.

Clearly need to look at these Octopus people

When I called Octopus I got a delightful young lady who told me it was her first proper day so she had a colleague to help her. 

She asked me why I was leaving my previous supplier but before I could answer a voice in the background said "you don't need to ask that if it's British Gas"! 

I find myself singing their praises but they actually just do a very simple thing without any problems. With the advent of smart meters it really shouldn't go wrong but it is extraordinary how many companies (and Government organisations) don't invest sufficiently in software that works. 

[keelansgrandad 6,679]

They are all the same. Error strewn. We changed from British Gas to EDF and they still cannot accept that my monthly DD is a matter of negotiation and not a prediction by a computer algorithm. Consequently I am giving them at least £50 a month too much.

Again its to do with hot tubs. When I first got one just before lockdown, I had it on regularly. In fact I think Mrs KG said 63 consecutive days. Of course my bill was higher and I had no argument. But now they assume I still use it when in fact it has been folded up down the shed since the energy problems. I keep teloling them that they only have to look at my usage to see it is way lower.

Still no movement except they have just refunded me £359 as I was that much in credit but have since raised my DD even more.

[FenwayFrank 2,467]

I'm with octopus too, I was transferred over when bulb went bust. As others have said, they're pretty good, apart from the prices obviously 😀

[KiwiScot 1,461]

20 hours ago, keelansgrandad said:

They are all the same. Error strewn. We changed from British Gas to EDF and they still cannot accept that my monthly DD is a matter of negotiation and not a prediction by a computer algorithm. Consequently I am giving them at least £50 a month too much.

Again its to do with hot tubs. When I first got one just before lockdown, I had it on regularly. In fact I think Mrs KG said 63 consecutive days. Of course my bill was higher and I had no argument. But now they assume I still use it when in fact it has been folded up down the shed since the energy problems. I keep teloling them that they only have to look at my usage to see it is way lower.

Still no movement except they have just refunded me £359 as I was that much in credit but have since raised my DD even more.

What I've found is the more you try and control and manage your own energy account the more the system fights you, making unscheduled changes in your DD or random bills. When you get humans involved they make mistakes and the computer goes further bananas. Smart meters stop working randomly and bills are impossible to understand and don't even attempt trying to understand one that's been cancelled and re-issued.

They fleece you with the DD, taking huge amounts out each month and most of the time raising it especially if you try to manage your money. They have all the usual excuses, but it's to take more than they should to protect themselves and here is the real fleece point. If you cannot stand this constant DD changing and go to pay on demand they charge you more money for it. Standing charges should be banned and extra charges for billing method should be banned.

I think someone said to me Octopuss do DD's that take the amount on the bill only.

Edited November 5, 2023 by KiwiScot

[FenwayFrank 2,467]

3 minutes ago, KiwiScot said:

I think someone said to me Octopuss do DD's that take the amount on the bill only

One of the things I like about Octopus is I'm in charge. I can log into my account and make extra payments or change the amount paid by DD

[KiwiScot 1,461]

3 minutes ago, FenwayFrank said:

One of the things I like about Octopus is I'm in charge. I can log into my account and make extra payments or change the amount paid by DD

I think this is the day and age to try them. When I was looking around and before all the covid stuff and you could find deal I found they were always more expensive despite the good reviews. Of companies I've dealt with. Eon, EDF, the long departed Ebico and even a short lived British Gas Evolve brand the only company I've had problems with is full on British Gas. Who I am still with. Circumstances mean I'm not ready to deal with them for a switch, but everything they've done is just terrible.

One wee point to make about British Gas. When they had the British Gas Evolve brand they wanted more of their customer base using that model and they were actually moving regular BG customers onto it without their permission. Based on critieria that made them low impact i.e. didn't complain much. Since the evolve brand stopped they have redone their online platform to one more similar to Evolves. Replacing the awful bloated system with one that is the right idea, but just plain badly designed and contains less information on your account so is not an improvement. For example...Refunds don't show on your transaction history. Also You'll find the phoneline closed more often than you'd expect.

[TheGunnShow 6,006]

36 minutes ago, FenwayFrank said:

One of the things I like about Octopus is I'm in charge. I can log into my account and make extra payments or change the amount paid by DD

Yep. They will change the DD on occasion from my experience but you can always change it around provided you give them enough notice. They're not always the cheapest by any means but generally they're pretty competitive and also - all their energy is from green sources.

Definitely find them much more transparent than British Gas.

Also, if you do decide to switch to them, ask your friends if they use Octopus - they should have a code for £50 of free electric if you join up via the referral links. £50 free for the new user and £50 for the existing customer doing the referring.

Edited November 5, 2023 by TheGunnShow

[TheRock 171]

On 04/11/2023 at 10:40, dylanisabaddog said:

Yes, the first month I was with them I got a bill for £1,000 and they suggested it was a hot tub. It wasn't, it was a simple error on their part. It didn't really bother me because I knew it was wrong. They eventually suggested £76 which sounded about right. 

The rest is a very long boring story but in short they changed computer systems in February and sent me 4 bills within a week, all of which were different. In despair I left to go to Octopus in June and BG sent me a final bill which showed a credit of £200 which was repaid. I cancelled my direct debit immediately at the suggestion of my bank. Four weeks later they sent me a second final bill, this time asking for £480.

 

I can sympathize,  it sounds very similar to my multiple run-ins with BG. The company is run so poorly and full of incompetency. Their company is purposely set up to be a disaster to try and interact with: hoard the money and then don't give it back.

But then reading the other viewpoints of the other suppliers on this thread sounds like they are all as bad as each other. Parasites.

 

The only thing I would suggest to anyone who can afford it is DONT use Direct Debit with Energy suppliers. Make them bill you and then where you are happy pay via BACS, that way you have the control (even though DD supposedly 'saves the customer money', the whole idea of 'saving money' by giving them DD is flawed as when they f*ck up, they will start playing games). Interacting with them is ten times worse when you are trying to get your money back.

Edited November 5, 2023 by TheRock

[Daz Sparks 1,184]

I agree with the premise that BG are not a great energy supplier to deal with, I had problems with elderly parents account with them. They are now with Octopus, via Bulb and the experience is a whole lot better. 

Personally, I am with Eon Next, and I can only take as I find, they are OK, and allow you to alter the DD within parameters. However, I am still quite a bit in credit, so did ought to have latitude.

[Canary Wundaboy 1,360]

Another happy Octopus customer here.

[Satriales 696]

And another Octopus customere here.

[canarydan23 4,060]

I got moved onto Shell Energy when my supplier Green, went bust. I've heard pretty bad things about them but thankfully to date I haven't had to do anything put pay them. The onboarding process was pretty smooth.

Prior to that, when I left the now defunct Utility Point with a £300+ credit, it took months to get my money out of them and they were impossible to contact. It wasn't until I threatened them by contacting my bank and initiating a chargeback request (essentially roll back sufficient months direct debit to settle the amount owed) that they did anything. I sent my bank proof of what was owned, copied in the Utility Point address that no one was responding to and within two days I had the money, plus £30 compensation.

[Google Bot 3,318]

Thinking of moving to Octopus as their EV plans look quite nice.  Never had a problem with British Gas, but we were £400+ in credit due to the estimated monthly payments, and where you used to be able to click a button to pay it back into your bank account you have to contact them now.

When I contacted them (August) they asked why I wanted to transfer the money with winter approaching, and starting harping on about Smart Meters and whether I wanted to speak to advisor.  I got put on hold, and then disconnected.

I don't know why such a simple task should be so complicated, really.  So good to hear that you get additional control with Octopus.

Edited November 6, 2023 by Google Bot

[canarydan23 4,060]

3 minutes ago, Google Bot said:

I don't know why such a simple task should be so complicated, really.

Because they're earning interest on your money. It serves them to make it difficult for you to get your money back. 12 million homes use British Gas, if each of them has £200 in credit in their account, you do the maths.

[king canary 7,678]

My mum is dealing with them at the moment and they've made a simple home move so much more complicated than it needs to be. Extra stress is added as she's finding it impossible to actually talk to a person and instead being directed to live chat all the time.

[hogesar 9,746]

Wait till you deal with Scottish Power. Had an untenanted property with no real electrical usage resulting in a £5,000 + bill over 18 months. 5 months of fighting and providing every bit of information possible and it turned out the reality was approx £1,000.00 

[Google Bot 3,318]

Has anyone actually gone to someone like Ofgem and made a complaint against one of these companies, and if so did they actually do anything?

[canarydan23 4,060]

10 minutes ago, Google Bot said:

Has anyone actually gone to someone like Ofgem and made a complaint against one of these companies, and if so did they actually do anything?

Ofgem won't deal with individual complaints, it's the Energy Ombudsman who you need to go to. They are inundated and customers generally get their money back plus a bit of chicken feed compensation in some cases. It costs the energy company £500 on top of any settlement for cases that get accepted by the Ombudsman too, but I think the energy companies just chalk it up as the cost of doing business rather than actually spending that money on stopping complaints becoming a thing.