BRITISH GAS - CUSTOMER SERVICE ???DOESN'T EXIST. (British Gas)

Member Name: LAURALILIA

Product:	British Gas
Date:	17/01/09 (207 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: NONE

Disadvantages: TOO LONG TO LIST

BRITISH GAS

This is my story of British Gas. A long time ago (about two and a half years in fact), in a place not very far away, I lived with my family and received my gas and electricity from British Gas. So far so good. Then one day, my next door neighbour cancelled her contract with British Gas and went with EON instead. This is when the saga began....

I had heard of other people's nightmare experiences - but not me. Well, British Gas cancelled MY contract and my neighbour started to receive bills off both companies. Never mind, a simple phone call would sort it out - wouldn't it?

Well no, British Telecom did very nicely out of my endlessly useful conversations with customer service - sorry customer disservice. Each conversation ended with "Sorry about that - yes it will get sorted" or "We are just changing our billing system - please be patient" Patient! 20 months later I still had no bill, despite going the same story every couple of months or so.

We did get close once- they even read the meters. Hurrah - surely a bill would follow? No, don't be silly. Here we were trying our best to pay our bills, but they just wouldn't take the money.

I was in Tesco one day and EON tried to get me to switch. Switch I laughed can't even get a bill as it is. The salesman persuaded me to switch, because then he said they would be forced to give me a bill. So switch I did and sure enough, customer service were hot on the phone from British Gas. "Why do you want to leave" cried the assistant. The phone was hot with my rant, as I poured out the sorry saga. The assistant said she would look into it. Yeah - right.

Anyway, this time they did phone and agreed to waive £996, which was twelve months of bills, they would only charge us for the last 8 months. Feeling slightly, better I accepted this, paid the bill and moved to EON. Phew, over at last.

Don't be daft, I started to receive red bills for the £996, and then red hot bills giving the matter to a debt collection agency, and mentioning words such as court and solicitors. I almost cried with rage. I then spent the next few months battling with high up people from accounts, who said don't worry your balance is zero; there is no cause for concern. No cause for concern - they weren't the ones getting threatening letters. How would and old lady go on, trying to sort out a similar mess. It is wrong.

I kept asking for letters confirming this, but they never came and then it was finally sorted, after July last year we received no more demands. Then we moved house just before Christmas. The mail was redirected and a week ago, I receive a nasty letter from a debt recovery agency demanding £380 on behalf of British Gas. Arrrggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!

I was furious; we rang customer services and spoke to the original assistant in accounts. Sorry she said, she had been off sick and don't know why this has happened. Sick? For how long? She said she would look into it and get back to me by Thursday or Friday at the latest - if she needed more time she would ask. Well it is Saturday today and guess what? No phone call. At all.


What now? What about my credit rating? Do I just pay it to close the matter once and for all? Or perhaps I hand it to a consumer column in a Sunday newspaper. I am sure my experience is not isolated and do not understand how a company can be so sloppy and survive in the current economic crisis.

***OPINION***

Guess what? I DO NOT RECOMMEND BRITISH GAS and advice everyone to steer clear of them at all costs. Their customer service is none existent. By the time I have finished I will probably pay £380 in phone calls. If anyone has any advice of how to clear up this mess, from similar experience I would be most grateful.

Summary: IF THIS IS THE BEST OF BRITISH - THEN WE ARE FINISHED!!