I'm fuming - so this might sound like a rant.

Long story short: British Gas have just told me my monthly payments for Gas and electric is going up from £135 (which was through the roof anyway!) to £199 per month!!!! (end terrace before you ask if I live in a mansion)

The guy on the phone said 'the only advice I can give you is that there are lots of 'deals' on our website loads cheaper than what you're on'

Me: 'Well why aren't I on one of them then?'

Him: 'You have to do it yourself on-line'

Me: 'But I set it up online. It was the best deal going. It was called Websaver

Him: 'You haven't been on that deal since August 2010

Me: 'what?...'

Him: 'An email was sent to you telling you that that deal was ending'.

(Quick check of my emails - i save everything) I told him I didn't receive one one. All this time I thought I was on a web deal!!

I asked him to produce the email. He couldn't. I asked him to send me copy of this 'taped' conversation before I go to OFGEM. He couldn't. I asked him to give me his manager's name. He couldn't (well actually he could, but he couldn't remember her sir name!)

He told me sorry you didn't received it but, hey-ho, your payments are still going up.

I want them to back-date my account and re-calculate my payments. They might even owe ME money! Am I being unreasonable?

Where do I stand?

I feel a bit sorry for him now i've calmed down, I kind of ripped him a new one.

What do you lot reckon?

get on Uswitch, and vote with your feet. loyalty doesn't count for anything with these types of companies.

Have you had any bills from them since August 2010? When you started the websaver tarriff was it for a limited time?

I'm fuming - so this might sound like a rant.

Long story short: British Gas have just told me my monthly payments for Gas and electric is going up from £135 (which was through the roof anyway!) to £199 per month!!!! (end terrace before you ask if I live in a mansion)

The guy on the phone said 'the only advice I can give you is that there are lots of 'deals' on our website loads cheaper than what you're on'

Me: 'Well why aren't I on one of them then?'

Him: 'You have to do it yourself on-line'

Me: 'But I set it up online. It was the best deal going. It was called Websaver

Him: 'You haven't been on that deal since August 2010

Me: 'what?...'

Him: 'An email was sent to you telling you that that deal was ending'.

(Quick check of my emails - i save everything) I told him I didn't receive one one. All this time I thought I was on a web deal!!

I asked him to produce the email. He couldn't. I asked him to send me copy of this 'taped' conversation before I go to OFGEM. He couldn't. I asked him to give me his manager's name. He couldn't (well actually he could, but he couldn't remember her sir name!)

He told me sorry you didn't received it but, hey-ho, your payments are still going up.

I want them to back-date my account and re-calculate my payments. They might even owe ME money! Am I being unreasonable?

Where do I stand?

I feel a bit sorry for him now i've calmed down, I kind of ripped him a new one.

What do you lot reckon?

ring back and insist on being put through to complaints.
take it up with them.

Have you had any bills from them since August 2010? When you started the websaver tarriff was it for a limited time?

I've always paid by direct debit. The payments have been gradually rising but I always put it down to using too much.

This last hike really got me angry because I haven't (like everyone) used the heating for most of the year and gas it the main cause of the increase! I haven't b****y used any... and what I have used, i've obviously been paying through the nose for!

As for time limits... none of my paperwork says anything about it. I assumed they'd notify me when It was time to change/when the contract was up.

Look for a cheaper deal and then switch. I think that there are going to be loads of customers in for a shock over the next few weeks. The majority of the deals have now finished and the average 20% increase announced by all the gas companies have been put in place. It seems that the billing section has just added this increase to your direct debit. Most companies will now guage your bill on how much gas they expect you to use over the year (so yes u are paying for gas not yet used)

Just before the price hikes EDF had a really great fixed deal until 2014 but that offer was soon used up. As advised try a comparison site like uswitch and u will get a better deal than BG

You can't really expect them to back date your account just because you insist you never received an email from them. I know it's frustrating, but it all sounds very 'he said she said' and I doubt you'll get far with Ofgem with this. Basically you can't prove you never received the notice and they can't prove they sent it, but it's most likely that they did.

Ultimately it's your responsibility to keep an eye on these things, so when a bill comes, actually read through it to check the details. You say your payments were gradually rising, so most people would have been checking to see why rather than assume they were just using more. It only takes a few minutes to check your account.

I'm surprised they didn't inform you via letter that the websaver was ending, other suppliers do it that way. But was there nothing in your online account indicating what package you were on? Did you ever check what the current unit prices were that you were paying? Is that possible from your online account? Did they not tell you the plan end date when you originally signed up?

Of course, giving grief to a random customer service rep rarely works out too well. Better to be ultra-polite and they tend to bend over backwards for you.

Anyway, if you say you haven't used much anyway, I reckon now's the time to head over to energyhelpline.com and switch - chalk it up and make sure in the future you make a point of always spending 10 minutes checking your bill each quarter.

http://www.uswitch.com/gas-electricity/ppc-rev/dual-fuel/?ref=ppcgoogle~gen~3047663&gclid=CMjUr6XCp6wCFYEZ4QodPWUoAA

get it changed, click on the link above, it's easy, we've changed a lot over the last few years, large 3 bed semi out direct debits are £60 with EDF plus we got £100 credit, changed to them last christmas.

I was on the websaver plan, and DID get the email, although by my recollection probably wasnt titled well enought to warrant a second look (I must have been bored at work enough so that i actually saw it)
I am still with them on a websaver deal (with a £30 a service buy out clause), but found using uswitch that EON were cheaper.
The good thing about BG is that you can get your annual usage figures and use these in Uswitch to calculate a new price.

Like others have said, vote with your feet - I know i will when the contact on my current web saver ends!!!!!!

http://www.uswitch.com/gas-electricity/ppc-rev/dual-fuel/?ref=ppcgoogle~gen~3047663&gclid=CMjUr6XCp6wCFYEZ4QodPWUoAA

get it changed, click on the link above, it's easy, we've changed a lot over the last few years, large 3 bed semi out direct debits are £60 with EDF plus we got £100 credit, changed to them last christmas.

I think im on the same deal. The credit is paid this december if i understand correctly. I recently got a letter telling me that in the new year im put back onto their standard tarrif (about a 30% cost increase although the way they describe it- unit price rises from 9p to 12p would make some people think ahhh its just a few pence!). Im hoping that my £100 credit isnt voided if I switch straight after i get it- ie, will they pay it into my bank account, or does it stand as a credit on their books and I'll only benefit from it if I stay (on their expensive standard tarrif that they are switching on to)..hmmmm

Just changed from British Gas at the end of my last deal to a supposedly better deal with Scottish Power.
I was notified that my deal was coming to an end and that unless they heard otherwise I would be switched to a "standard tariff"
This is the bit that annoys me.Having had experience of my consumption for the last 2 years,why don't they recommend the best deal available to me.
I know the answer is that they all rely on inertia to catch a proportion of customers out,which seems to be what happened to the OP.
Over the last 5 years I have had 3 different suppliers but you do have to keep an eye on them as all their information is designed to deceive.
The watchdogs keep talking about a simpler pricing structure but it never happens.

I would never use BG again at any cost, even if they paid me to be a customer. I would advise everyone else to do the same.

You can't really expect them to back date your account just because you insist you never received an email from them

He can if British Gas can't find it in their own records; and they've already admitted they cannot.

He can if British Gas can't find it in their own records; and they've already admitted they cannot.

British Gas haven't admitted it, some poor phone support guy was put on the spot and asked to provide things he doesn't even remotely have the ability to provide, like email server records and recordings of a phone conversation.

How are they going to prove it either way? Companies don't keep email server logs for events that happened 15 months ago (6 months is the voluntary code requirement), and if it was sent by royal mail, there'll be no record either (unless sent via 'recorded signed for' - unlikely). Assumption is always going to be that it got sent and the OP either lost it, went to his spam folder, forgot about it etc. Onus will be on the OP to prove otherwise (IMO). Not fair, but realistic.

As the OP says, he barely uses gas, so it seems pointless getting in a strop about something you'll never be able to prove for what must be a rather small sum of money.

We all know all these energy companies have confusing tariffs and cannot be trusted as far as you can spit, which is more reason to keep more alert on your own situation and continually check your bills and consumption. This way you pick up mistakes quickly, rather than discovering 15 months later when there's nothing you can realistically do about it.

What is wrong in waiting for a bill to arrive before paying it? Why have a set amount going out from your bank on on a regular basis for fuel that you may or may not use?It is a no brainer to me, and i understand lots of people do it.

What is wrong in waiting for a bill to arrive before paying it? Why have a set amount going out from your bank on on a regular basis for fuel that you may or may not use?.

Because it's cheaper, as a rule.

What is wrong in waiting for a bill to arrive before paying it? Why have a set amount going out from your bank on on a regular basis for fuel that you may or may not use?It is a no brainer to me, and i understand lots of people do it.

You usually get a % discount annually or quarterly by paying by direct debit, plus sometimes the entire plan will have per unit prices lower than quarterly billing plans (before any DD discount).

You usually get a % discount annually or quarterly by paying by direct debit, plus sometimes the entire plan will have per unit prices lower than quarterly billing plans (before any DD discount).


Shadow, why do I think you're an employee of a large gas company?......

Cameron really must have given these energy companies a good talking to....:(

OFGEM all the way.

You usually get a % discount annually or quarterly by paying by direct debit, plus sometimes the entire plan will have per unit prices lower than quarterly billing plans (before any DD discount).

Direct debit is fine. You have the bill amount debited from your account. What i posted about refers to standing orders. No brainer like i said. A standing order is for a set amount each debit. Who uses the same amount of fuel every month of the year

You pay for what you get. If British Gas have hiked your payment, that may well be because gas is going to cost more. Much more.

No it isn't wholesale gas prices have dropped in the last few weeks

I'm fuming - so this might sound like a rant.

Long story short: British Gas have just told me my monthly payments for Gas and electric is going up from £135 (which was through the roof anyway!) to £199 per month!!!! (end terrace before you ask if I live in a mansion)

The guy on the phone said 'the only advice I can give you is that there are lots of 'deals' on our website loads cheaper than what you're on'

Me: 'Well why aren't I on one of them then?'

Him: 'You have to do it yourself on-line'

Me: 'But I set it up online. It was the best deal going. It was called Websaver

Him: 'You haven't been on that deal since August 2010

Me: 'what?...'

Him: 'An email was sent to you telling you that that deal was ending'.

(Quick check of my emails - i save everything) I told him I didn't receive one one. All this time I thought I was on a web deal!!

I asked him to produce the email. He couldn't. I asked him to send me copy of this 'taped' conversation before I go to OFGEM. He couldn't. I asked him to give me his manager's name. He couldn't (well actually he could, but he couldn't remember her sir name!)

He told me sorry you didn't received it but, hey-ho, your payments are still going up.

I want them to back-date my account and re-calculate my payments. They might even owe ME money! Am I being unreasonable?

Where do I stand?

I feel a bit sorry for him now i've calmed down, I kind of ripped him a new one.

What do you lot reckon?

Have you got a leak ?.:D

Direct debit is fine. You have the bill amount debited from your account. What i posted about refers to standing orders. No brainer like i said. A standing order is for a set amount each debit. Who uses the same amount of fuel every month of the year

No-one but it's an easy way to budget..the same amopunt goes out every month..at the end of summer you're in credit and this is used to pay the higher winter bills..monthly direct debit payments usually mean you get cheaper gas...I think I get a 5% reduction for paying dd..more than I'd get if I put the cash in a bank..

No it isn't wholesale gas prices have dropped in the last few weeks

The enegry companies paid for the gas you're using now a long time ago..or at least set the price they would pay if not actually passing the cash over...

Look for a cheaper deal and then switch. I think that there are going to be loads of customers in for a shock over the next few weeks. The majority of the deals have now finished and the average 20% increase announced by all the gas companies have been put in place. It seems that the billing section has just added this increase to your direct debit. Most companies will now guage your bill on how much gas they expect you to use over the year (so yes u are paying for gas not yet used)

Just before the price hikes EDF had a really great fixed deal until 2014 but that offer was soon used up. As advised try a comparison site like uswitch and u will get a better deal than BG

what most people are not aware of is the fact that if you are in arrears and try to switch, your old supplier will make your new supplier aware that you have arrears in order to stop the switch going ahead.
these evil cartels started this some years ago when suppliers deliberately set direct debits too low so that customers went into arrears, so much so that when customers wanted to move, they suddenly discovered they had huge debts they could not pay off to enable them to move, and thus had to stay put.

No-one but it's an easy way to budget..the same amopunt goes out every month..at the end of summer you're in credit and this is used to pay the higher winter bills..monthly direct debit payments usually mean you get cheaper gas...I think I get a 5% reduction for paying dd..more than I'd get if I put the cash in a bank..

I know how it works. The thing is the OP is not happy with how it works even though that is how that system is supposed to work.

Quote OP

Long story short: British Gas have just told me my monthly payments for Gas and electric is going up from £135 (which was through the roof anyway!) to £199 per month!!!!

Would not & could not happen with ordeinary billing even DD.

If you have household insurance you most likely have access to a free legal advice line - make use of it :thumbsup:

It's utterly scandalous that we get ripped off if we don't spend half our lives swapping service providers for all manner of things. Modern life is stressful enough without the ludicrous faffing about this all takes :rant:

I live in a two bed semi and pay B.G just under £100/month for gas and electric. Recently they wanted to reduce my payments even though thecprice of both utilities are going up.

I know how it works. The thing is the OP is not happy with how it works even though that is how that system is supposed to work.

Quote OP

Long story short: British Gas have just told me my monthly payments for Gas and electric is going up from £135 (which was through the roof anyway!) to £199 per month!!!!

Would not & could not happen with ordeinary billing even DD.

No,they'd just have a larger lump sum to find every quarter..you can always challennge the amount on the DD and not agree to what they want to take out..

I live in a two bed semi and pay B.G just under £100/month for gas and electric. Recently they wanted to reduce my payments even though thecprice of both utilities are going up.

My payment to Scottish Power has just been reduced by 25%..

No,they'd just have a larger lump sum to find every quarter..you can always challennge the amount on the DD and not agree to what they want to take out..

How can you challenge the amount on the DD unless it is an estimate:huh:
Are you getting confused with standing orders?

How can you challenge the amount on the DD unless it is an estimate:huh:
Are you getting confused with standing orders?

No you can say that you disagree with the amount they say they'll take out...I've done this before when I was with BG..argued my case with regard to their estimate of my useage..