Britsh Gas should be investigated by the police !

[eldersis]

PLEASE PLEASE send this viral as I am SURE there are many people affected more badly than I am.

My situation. up front. I am disabled (partiallt sighted) I am 62 and have my mum 92 living with me. I have an average work pension that means i am £.2.30 a week too RICH to get gateway benefits.

My gas boiler went kaput in march this year. Still paying the standing charge each month, In credit paying (£150 as of this morning) 50 a month for F** all standing charge.

Electric I am £459 in credit but they are still trying to increase my monthly direct debit from 150 to 180, You CAN NOT change this amount online "COMPUTER SAYS NO" !!

I have been cooking on a camping gas stove since march. ZERO gas used, but the website will only let me put in a DOUBLE sum. I have refused to do so,

I HONESTLY feel that unless you kick up a stink British gas (ie the shareholders) are quite happy to rake in the profits,

People will die !

PLEASE people. i KNOW prices are rising, i pay my debts but they are making you pay double so the big fat profits are earning THEM even more.

Please. pay your debts but refuse this racketeering. Dont accept their inflated "algorithms"

Thanks for reading this far. Sorry but this is all really wicked. Illegal and wrong.

Take care ALL

Have you made a formal complaint following their complaints procedure? After you've exhausted that route you can go to the ombudsman.

You should put this on twitter
It is shocking

Hi I have started an official complaint, This came to a head TODAY, i have tried to get help for over 3 months by phone. I went with the "bot" as i could download a transcript as proof. Its getting scary for me so god help others. Official complaints take YEARS. Not really sure you understand the reakities

Hi thanks for your comment, I dont really know about how to work twitter (it took ages to work how to post on mumsnet lol)

Its just WRONG and so many people are being fleeced !

I pay my debts but when prices go up 10% and they force you to pay 20% that surely wrong,

Thank you, I am glad that someone else is as outraged as I am.
Take care

Can you ask them to disconnect your gas if you don't use it?

Also, have you tried changing your payment on the app? It seems to let you change to whatever you want then warns you if you're expected to be in debit, but you can still click to change it.

If you do not intend to use the gas supply, speak to them about getting it capped but also look into getting an electric cooker. Cooking on a gas burner in a house with poor ventilation by a partially sighted person and a very elderly person doesn't sound very safe.

Are you saying you're trying to reduce your DD from 150 but it'll only let you go up? Or they've put it up and you're trying to get it back down?

We are registered with British Gas for "Priority Service" because we're old. You should do the same because of your mothers age. It should get you prompt service for breakdowns etc.

www.britishgas.co.uk/priority-service-register

(worked for my neighbour last week. Boiler stopped working; BG offered to send an engineer "the week after next as we're very busy". She said " I'm 80, I;m on the priority service register". Instant result; "Engineer will be there at 8am tomorrow".

Hi , no it will not let you lower it to below THEIR decided minimum.

Their minimum is double what that the standing charge actually is.

If I default and reuse to pay then i am looking at the circus of county courts etc when I am simply angry and lets face it little peple suffer

Have you tried phoning them?

If you've gone down the route of formally complaining to BG and got nonwhere then make a complaint to the ombudsman. We had to take our case with British Gas to the ombudsman when our dual rate electricity meter broke and charged all our electricity use on the day rate. We were on a dual rate tariff so this resulted in us being massively overcharged but they couldn't understand that it was impossible for us to not have used a single unit of electricity overnight in six months... the ombudsman have a time limit to come to a resolution and BG have to stick to what the ombudsman decide. It won't take "years" I promise!

Have you tried phoning them?

I really feel for you, but it sounds more like problems with the website than snything else.

As someone has suggested, if you don’t intend to use the supply, tell them to disconnect you and then you won’t have the standing charge any more.

Sorry, you say 50 a month standing charge? Is that gas and electric or just gas? Doesn’t sound right either way. What’s your daily standing charge?

Change to monthly variable direct debit, that way you pay the exact amount you use each month and not a fixed amount. I changed ours earlier in the year, it was quite simple to do.

Why are you paying by DD for a Mickey Mouse amount set by them

I've never paid DD

I pay quarterly for what I have actually used.

Cancel DD and submit meter readings and either pay monthly or quarterly

100% the DD nonsense all energy companies use is a scam.

Sorry I should of said I'm also with BG.

Does that mean you don’t have heating or hot water? I hope you don’t mind but please look at this organisation who may be able to help. I saw an article about it in the DM after Hugh Grant made a donation. www.depher.com
Also, are you sure that you and your mother have all of the benefits you are entitled to including carer’s allowance, attendance allowance, pension credit?

Direct debit for fuel is always based on the previous years use, gradually it will get less. Also you could just quarterly when the bill arrives and put money aside for this.

British Gas is basing this on the previous price cap projections without the government support scheme, I think. I hope.

Despite being in £££ credit, using way below the standard current price cap figure, BG say I'm not paying enough and that I should increase my variable DD. 🤔

How is this theft allowed? If I were to steal £££ off a company/person, I'd be charged and fined/jailed. Why are this useless government allowing this criminal activity to continue? Because they are spineless, greedy, slimey toads who only care about kissing big business arse. Trickle down effect - more like siphoning off self-serving effect.

Have you tried contacting your mp about this?

Just come off the direct debit?

When I worked at British Gas years ago, any complaints that involved MPs went straight to the top of the pile. Just saying! Complain to your MP.

This. I'm with BG and have been for years. Each month the DD pays the Gas and Electric used the previous month. All I have to do is enter the meter readings online at the end of each month.

Of course, you have to budget for the expensive winter months, but I much prefer this way than paying the same every month.

We had the same problem, I just spoke to them and told them what I was going to pay, the customer service person put me on hold for a minute, came back and said that was OK. They had wanted to increase the monthly DD payment by 80%, so based on what prices were going to be before the new cap and ignored the £400 that is being given

Agree with PP about the priority register. Anyone over the age of 65 can be put on it, so I would suggest ringing them and asking to be put on that. Also get your MP involved.

The police will just laugh at you, it's in their agreed terms that they can alter your direct debit.

Just go on pay monthly.