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Alfs 1:13 Sat Sep 4
The Dodgy Practices of British Gas
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A couple of months ago we got a letter from a debt company demanding £84 within 7-days. It was for arrears that we'd never cleared when we left Britsh Gas a year ago.
Though surprised, we were about to pay it, but something didn't sit right. My wife called the debt company and they said it was for a series of tiny underpayments when we used a pay-as-you-go card meter from 2011 - 18.
At the back of my mind, I remembered a ruling being made that energy companies couldn't charge arrears that were more than 12 months old. I checked on Google and I was correct. Then I got angry as not only were BG breaking OfGen rules but were hiding behind a debt collection company to (illegally) chase these debts.
I contacted a journo mate on The Sunday Mirror and he looked into it. After speaking to OfGen and the debt company, this morning he called British Gas.
Within minutes we were called by the Executive Office of BG. The representative apologised profusely, admitted it was a mistake, have called back the debt, and we will "of course be financially compensated".
It seems that they have done this to tens of thousands of households who use pay-as-you-go meters and could find themselves with a hefty fine coming their way from Ofgem.
It shows the power of the press. I'd have been fobbed off if I'd called myself.
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Replies - Newest Posts First ( Show In Chronological Order)
BRANDED
1:20 Tue Sep 7
Re: The Dodgy Practices of British Gas
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They fired up a COAL fired power station today.
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jimbo2.
1:16 Tue Sep 7
Re: The Dodgy Practices of British Gas
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Firstly, British Gas arent even British anymore. Secondly they are very untrustworthy & expensive in my opinion. Don’t ever get them to fit a new boiler for you. They will overcharge and send in a local man whom they pay less to. He will likely be wearing a BG tee or sweat shirt, thereby giving the impression that he works directly for them, but he doesn’t. This is my experience of BG a few years ago and I sent them packing!
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Mike Oxsaw
8:58 Sun Sep 5
Re: The Dodgy Practices of British Gas
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Gas was supplied free to my apartment in Muscat. Electricity was dirt cheap, too. Even the water was cheap and potable from the tap.
Rip-off Britain.
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goose
8:48 Sun Sep 5
Re: The Dodgy Practices of British Gas
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They emailed the other day to inform me they’re putting up their prices again.
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mallard
1:30 Sun Sep 5
Re: The Dodgy Practices of British Gas
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With respect, I don't think you would have got anywhere without your journo MATE
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Iron Duke
12:56 Sun Sep 5
Re: The Dodgy Practices of British Gas
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In that case, they didn’t deserve anything anyway.
I’ve always found British Gas to be the worst of the lot.
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Irish Hammer
12:42 Sun Sep 5
Re: The Dodgy Practices of British Gas
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Nice work Alfs. Lovely to catch these cunts out.
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Alfs
12:32 Sun Sep 5
Re: The Dodgy Practices of British Gas
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Mike Oxsaw 6:46 Sat Sep 4
It was a miscalculation on their part. So, for example, for every £5 of gas credits we put into the meter, BG gave us £5.02 worth of gas, realising this ten years later.
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Iron Duke
12:32 Sat Sep 4
Re: The Dodgy Practices of British Gas
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Sounds like you didn’t pay your bills and got off on a technicality.
Power to the People.
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Mike Oxsaw
12:32 Sat Sep 4
Re: The Dodgy Practices of British Gas
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joe royal 11:26 Sat Sep 4
No - I've always paid off in full, but it seems I was unavoidably late with a payment a month or two ago, hence the interest.
If I can do a DD for the full amount each month I might look into it.
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Willtell
12:12 Sat Sep 4
Re: The Dodgy Practices of British Gas
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Yes - them bastards at BritGaz paid £1/2billion ransom to terrorists.
I saw it all exposed on SAS: Rise of the Black Swan...
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joe royal
11:26 Sat Sep 4
Re: The Dodgy Practices of British Gas
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Mike.
Don’t you have a DD set up to cover the minimum payment?
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joe royal
11:26 Sat Sep 4
Re: The Dodgy Practices of British Gas
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Mike.
Don’t you have a DD set up to cover the minimum payment?
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Mike Oxsaw
6:46 Sat Sep 4
Re: The Dodgy Practices of British Gas
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How can you underpay on a "Pay-as-you-go"? From my recollection, if you use any emergency credit, whatever you use is subtracted from how ever much you then load the card/key with, so you're only likely to be in debt a few days.
If you simply empty the emergency credit then do a moonlight, that's another matter.
On a similar note, I've noticed a couple of "late" debits on my credit card. They've only been 6p, but late enough to trigger non-payment a penalty if not caught and cleared.
They're labelled "Merchandise Interest", which is something I've not seen/heard of before and will be chasing up this week.
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