O/T British Gas!

[Phoenix]

Checked my bank account earlier, the British Gas DD for my Gas account has just gone from £30 to £47 per month and they haven't even bothered to tell me, not even through their own online messaging system. Not bad for someone £48 in credit (and £54 in credit with them for Elec). Anyone else been stung by them?

I've asked them not just for a reduction in payments but a reasonable explanation. If I don't get the explanation, I'm off to uswitch.

<rant over>

[Sammy h]

I have noticed at work that everyone seems to be paying more too BG, they very rarely let the customer know it is going too happen.

[Shire Shrimp]

I switched from BG around 12 months ago, when asked why the reasons were simple - poor customer service, one of the more expensive suppliers, why on earth would I want to stay with them. Get yourself on uswitch!

[Phoenix]

Sadly uswitch shows them as a good deal, if I switch to a new tarriff. Luckily there's a few incentives to go elsewhere which will swing the decision.

[HALMA 1983]

Were with Scottish Power and they changed my DD from £84-50 to £115 per month even though i'm in credit, seems to be the way thesedays

[mounse mk2]

Yeah we're with Powergen and they put our payments from £55 to £73, which almost made me choke on my pork scratching.

British Gas are a set of bar stewards, me and the wife rent our place and when we moved from our last place to the place we live in now with all the palaver of moving your account we did actually pay a week under British Gas, who in all their money grabbing-ness tried to sting us for £200 of electricity in a week. I did have to explain that a two bed roomed terraced house that doesn't grow cannabis was hardly likely to ring up such an amount. Happy days

[pompeyred]

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/

In my own opinion this guy brilliant. And if you're willing to wade through the online literature you can save quite a bit of money on almost all of your monthly outgoings.

[Phoenix]

Martin Lewis is anything but brilliant. What he's learned financially has been from the people who post the money saving tips on his forum. Imagine Keith taking all the rumours from this forum and when they materialise, take all the credit for them. All Martin has done is learn how to use google and with the right contacts, a few TV appearances make him a financial saviour.

Nothing on his web site is unique.

[Plain Peter]

We started with British Gas (BG) just over 2 years ago when we returned to UK, and lived in rented in Bare.
We had nowt but trouble with them, and their customer service was diabolical.
5 months later we bought on Ashton Road.
Uswitch recommended sticking with BG, and to transfer to their clickenergy tariff.
We switched, and while the bills were lower, the customer service remained awful.
8 months later we sold up, and moved darn sarf.
Uswitch again recommended BG, and their clickenergy tariff.
And I've got to admit, that in the last 12 months we have had no trouble whatsoever. I needed to contact BG once, by e-mail on their website. I got a proper bespoke reply in two days, and have been completely happy ever since.
So for me, BG have greatly improved their act in the last 2 years.

Fwiw, our energy usage is always low. We are careful, and while we don't sit around shivering, we'd rather put on a jumper than be in shirt sleeves with the C/H going full blast. We leave nothing on stand-by either.
As we pay by DD, have dual energy with BG, opt for paperless billing, and use their least expensive tariff, we don't really notice the cost.

[Phoenix]

My energy use is so low the incentives offered to switch such as cashback deals are worth more than the saving in annual costs. I've changed a few times, got the incentive then switched again. There aren't so many incentives these days so I've stuck with BG longer than I thought I would but a 56% increase, without warning, is too much.

[MikeB]

We were with United Utilities for electric and gas when I moved here in Decmber 2002. Since then I have swtiched to British Gas, then to Scottish Power, and then last month to Scottish and Southern Energy. I do not pay by direct debit, simply because of the stories as above. I just ring them every three months, read the meters and pay over the phone. That way I have control over MY money.

[Sammy h]

Martin Lewis is a keithing keither.

[Plain Peter]

I do not pay by direct debit, simply because of the stories as above. I just ring them every three months, read the meters and pay over the phone. That way I have control over MY money.

Which tariff is that you're on?
Unusual for an energy supplier to accept payment after you've consumed the product unless you are prepared to pay well over the odds.

[Number 1]

Martin Lewis is anything but brilliant. What he's learned financially has been from the people who post the money saving tips on his forum. Imagine Keith taking all the rumours from this forum and when they materialise, take all the credit for them. All Martin has done is learn how to use google and with the right contacts, a few TV appearances make him a financial saviour.

Nothing on his web site is unique.

I think that's very harsh. As well as his journalistic qualifications and experience, he started the site over 5 years ago, and, to a certain extent, you're right about people posting money saving tips, although that's because of the knock on effect of how things have worked out. People's outlooks are changing nowadays and they are used to trying to save money, so when they do, they post on message boards and the MSE site. You have to give him enormous credit for the initial groundwork though, and a lot of it is him and his team collating what people say. In the same way as the analogy of Keith taking rumours etc, you could say that an award winning DJ has no talent because he's just playing someone elses records and doesn't sing himself! (or herself)

[Plain Peter]

Eloquently put No.1
Super site.
Even simple things like getting the best value for your holiday £sterling.
I was talking to a couple just returning to UK at Dover a couple of weeks ago. They told me they'd just got 1.47 changing their euros back to sterling at Travelex. How thick is that? When I tried to explain the best I got was "Well we only got 1.19 when we bought, so we're quids-in!" Totally and utterly wrong!
I was at Pompey Ferryport last Tuesday and there were poor lambs queing up for the slaughter.
Get a Nationwide Flexaccount ffs, and buy your dosh locally in bongobongoland with a Nationwide Debit Card. It costs nowt.

Ditto with APR and AER, let Martin Lewis explain it all in thicko's language. It'll save you a fortune.

[Phoenix]

Last year a colleague used advice from MSE to put a P87 claim in, sent in the paperwork along with all the evidence. The P87 says not to send anything but the claim. A year later they are still checking the detail and they've not got their money. I followed the advice on the P87 itself and my adjusted tax code came 3 weeks later.

a lot of it is him and his team collating what people say

Precisely my point but it's not just what people say on his site but trawling the 'net for other people's advice.

[Aspers]

I pay Energy Australia $55.00 per week.(20.00 pounds)

[Phoenix]

They've emailed to explain why, all down to the price rise in gas. Unfortunately their figures don't hold up to scrutiny. Even with their over-inflated prediction of gas I'd use, they'd still owe me £100 in a year's time. Switched to E-On, £120/year cheaper and £45 cashback.

[morecambe mick]

Just had a "yearly review" letter from EDF regarding the gas bill.

We have been paying monthly direct debit.

"The result of the review shows that your account has a balance of £161.29 that is now due for payment. We will debit this amount from your bank on 17 July."

That's great, I get 10 days to find £161.

They're putting the direct debit up by £16 per month from Aug too. That's nice.

[morecambe mick]

I've been on USwitch


I aint going nowhere


Almost all the companies where it says "saving" has a little - before the figure!!

[Posh]

I've been on USwitch

I aint going nowhere

Almost all the companies where it says "saving" has a little - before the figure!!

I'm surprised. I've switched three times in the last 12 months at three properties and every time ended up with Atlantic Gas and Electric. EDF have been one of the more expensive.

I hate to say it but things are going to get a lot worse come the winter. If we have a very bad one don't be surprised if prices don't go up a lot more. I would also expect power cuts in a bad winter.

[morecambe mick]

I've been on USwitch

I aint going nowhere

Almost all the companies where it says "saving" has a little - before the figure!!

I'm surprised. I've switched three times in the last 12 months at three properties and every time ended up with Atlantic Gas and Electric. EDF have been one of the more expensive.

I hate to say it but things are going to get a lot worse come the winter. If we have a very bad one don't be surprised if prices don't go up a lot more. I would also expect power cuts in a bad winter.

To be perfectly honest I was surprised too, I did it twice to make sure

Stocking up on firewood currently for the power cuts.
Electric pump moves the water heated by the gas boiler, before some smart arse comes on....

[Phoenix]

I moved mainly for BG's poor service and lack of a decent explanation. The cashback will be coming from www.greasypalm.co.uk. If anyone's thinking of becoming a member, let me know. I get something back for recommending people