I bought my first house in May 2007. I had heard lots of nightmare stories from friends about incorrect bills due to companies using the wrong meter readings, and I knew that the house I was buying had been unoccupied for some time so I wanted to get it right. So on the day I got the keys, I went out of my way to discover the gas and electric supplier. When I realised it was British Gas I contacted them immediately. I gave them all my details and the opening meter readings, along with bank details to set up a direct debit.
Two weeks later I got a letter addressed to the occupier stating if I did not contact them and provide my details they would cut off the power. Feeling slightly annoyed, I did this.
A week later a representative from Npower knocked on the door and offered me a much better deal. I snapped his hand off and he began the proceedings to change providers.
When I received my final gas bill, I was shocked to see that it was for £1007. I had only owned the property for a few weeks, and it was uninhabitable, and so it stood empty while I renovated it. This meant it had no hot water, no radiators, no gas oven or fire - nothing that would use gas at all - and the meter had not changed since the original meter reading. This bill was also addressed to the occupier - they still hadn't managed to input my details on the system even though they had been given them twice. I immediately phoned them and was told not to worry about it as they would sort it. I took them at their word.
Fast forward 8 months - I arrived home from work to find a letter from a group of debt collectors asking me to contact them regarding an outstanding bill. I had recieved no correspondence at all from British Gas in this time. Again this was addressed to the occupier - three conversations and they still hadn't managed to input my details on they system. I contacted the debt collectors immediately and they were very helpful, putting the account on hold while I phoned British Gas.
British Gas, on the other hand, were not so helpful. The lad on the other end of the phone was awkward and stubborn, insisting that their final meter reading was the correct one, even though my meter still didn't read that high 8 months later. He refused to send someone out to check the meter now, to see that their reading couldn't possibly be correct.
I complained online, hoping to get a satisfactory response. 7 days later I still hadn't heard from them, so wrote out to them again stating I would contact Energywatch if I had no reply. 7 days later I still hadn't had a reply, so finally, in exasperation, I contacted Energywatch and let them know the situation. They wrote out to British Gas on my behalf, stating my concerns and demanding an apology. It then took just over 9 weeks for British Gas to finally issue an amended final bill. They offered to write off the bill and pay £20 compensation to cover the cost of phone bills. I felt this was completely inadequate for the amount of time and stress I had suffered due to their incompentance. Not only this, but they offered to use it against my future account - seemingly unaware that the fact they had issued me with a final bill meant I no longer had an account with them.
I felt throughout my experience that the staff on the other end of the phone had no interest or empathy with my situation. The training that they received was obviously not to a high enough standard, and they appeared completely incompetent. I have since heard many similar nightmare stories from other people.
Not only are British Gas more expensive than other suppliers, but the principle of customer service does not seem to exist. Steer well clear!
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I think the annoying cold callers that call to your door eventually get jobs in the british gas call centres and thats why they have the aggressive sales attitude and just care about getting as much money out of you as possible, You did a good thing by contacting the energy watchdog but i agree, I don't think you were compansated enough.
Jul 11th, 2008
very helpful by (100%):
