www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14505027
I prefer my gas delivered by pipe not like the milk...any thoughts
Last edited by: R.P. on Fri 12 Aug 11 at 22:02
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'Those customers, the company said, no longer regarded it as a "preferred or trusted" way to consider their energy arrangements.'
i.e. told them to 'go away' in no uncertain terms. I have a very short threshold with people who come knocking on the door trying top flog me stuff.
It's marginally longer than the threshold I have for people who ring up trying to sell me stuf, though.
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Maybe if they adopted the policy of ensuring their long term solvent customers were being treated in the manner they should be, valued and given the best deals possible, they wouldn't need to go door to door cap in hand.
As it is they like others take the P out of their best customers, the ones that pay, by overcharging them for years.
They like some others will never see another penny from me.
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Just dumped BG, dont suppose that will stop the bleeders phoning me up twice a week tho.
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I had a 'thank you for coming over to us' type letter which I fiercely contested. I suspect it was a sales type ploy to get me to 'phone them.
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>> I had a 'thank you for coming over to us' type letter which I fiercely
>> contested. I suspect it was a sales type ploy to get me to 'phone them.
>>
About 4 years ago I had gas from BG and electricity from Powergen.
A BG representative rang up with the usual "would you like to save money on your electricity" guff. I said "send me the details and I'll consider it properly".
He said they couldn't do that, but if I agreed to switch then I'd get all the details and I could cancel if I didn't like it. I told him to forget it, and hung up.
Subsequently, I had a letter from Powergen saying they were sorry I wanted to move my account. I went "ballistic" with BG, eventually got it all unravelled, and then took the gas account away from them.
As GB says, they will not see another penny from Casa Dugong.
What they did is sometimes called 'slamming' and it's a well known fiddle by the commission-based sales people. It's not unique to BG unfortunately.
Last edited by: Manatee on Sat 13 Aug 11 at 08:05
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I am in the process of switching from B.G. to a 2 yr. price-capped price deal with Eon, via Age UK.
Correct notice has been given, hopefully the argument re "leaving fees" settled (we shall see!) and my new suppliers start on the 25th. August.
Yesterday I received a letter from B.G. saying , I paraphrase, "Thank you for choosing to stay with us following our price rises"!
A phone call to their helpline - which didn't understand the customer reference number printed on the letter - a puzzled advisor, after ages spent checking the national database, rather than my account as shown on his computer, did agree that I was indeed, leaving.
Worzels - their right hand does not know what their left hand is doing.
Let's hope Eon is better, but I doubt it!
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In my opinion they were a dreadful company to deal with years ago when one had no other choice, and from what I gather nothing much has changed. I must have been one of the first to escape their clutches.
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BG are entirely operated by a bunch of expletives. They cannot do basic things right. A house I moved into was unfortunately supplied by them for electricity. It took weeks for them to turn it back on and they tried to cheat me by charging me for the previous occupants unclaimed usage! Then I had an endless stream of threatening letters. I had to write to them in the and pointing out how they had just been taken to court and had to pay thousands in compensation to someone for doing exactly what they were doing to me now ie illegal harassment. The letters stopped quite quickly. I moaned about them on twitter and got a free leccy monitor from them. It didn't work!! Sent it back and got a replacement. That did work but has stopped keeping note of previous usage for the last few months which is pretty indicative of the half baked service they provide.
Severn Trent water are the same. I don't know how many of these utility companies are even allowed to keep any of their profits, they're so incompetent. Moved house and they bogged up the bill paying so badly I ended up having massive arrears in the new place. More threatening letters. Then they failed to do what they said - twice. Had to write them a nasty email too pointing out how their staff LIED to a customer and said they had done something when they hadn't. Disgusting company. Can't even get another water company, it's maddening. Have to move house to get away from them.
Last edited by: VxFan on Sat 13 Aug 11 at 18:39
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However bad they are - and they ARE bad - they are paragons of virtue compared with Telefonica, now known as Movistar and Sevillana (telecoms & electricity) in Spain.
These outfits are not only breathtakingly incompetent they are literally larcenous.
Not so long ago, for instance, Sevillana increased prices and collected the increase on electricity supplied in the pre-increase month of their bi-monthly billing cycle.
After huge protests the government made them pay the unlawful charges back.
Telefonica have a legal duty to provide telephone service to anyone who requests it, backed by fines for non compliance. Spain is a large rural country and the costs involved for supply to remote locations is very high. Rather than incur this legally imposed duty, Telefonica decline to supply; fines are imposed. It's OK, though - they take the view it's cheaper to pay fines for breaking the law, than to incur the costs of line installation!
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>> A BG representative rang up with the usual "would you like to save money on
>> your electricity" guff. I said "send me the details and I'll consider it properly".
>>
That is what happened to my Mum, tried to switch her electricity, she also stopped getting gas from them.
My Dad (parents are divorced) had them trying to take him to court because according to their estimated bill he owed them money, he had supplied actual readings but they didn't use them. In the end he had someone from CAB explain to them, very slowly I'm told, that they are going to look very stupid taking him to court when he had overpaid by £300.
Mrs Nut and I switched to a different supplier because for some unexplaied reason they were charging us what seemed to be ridiculous amounts, switching almost halved the bill. I can't believe that there would be that much difference in price so I have to assume they had us on a special tarrif for people who they think will just pay up, no questions asked.
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british gas - borasport
