Energy News

British Gas provides emergency Direct Debit helpline

Tuesday, 2 December 2008

By hazel.cottrell@consumerchoices.co.uk

British Gas extended helpline opening hours to deal with Direct Debit concerns following numerous complaints about increased payments.

British Gas (www.britishgas.co.uk), Britain’s largest energy supplier, this weekend extended the opening hours of its helpline, calling in 300 staff to address concerns with Direct Debit energy payments, following customer complaints.

Many people who pay their energy bills by Direct Debit receive discounts for doing so, as the payments are easier to process than others paid by cash or cheques. However, The Mail on Sunday was recently contacted by 1,500 readers concerned about an increase in their monthly payments.

Energy companies claimed the increase was to cover winter energy usage, however many customers believed they were already in excessive credit and were unhappy at being forced to maintain unnecessarily large credit balances on their accounts. Furthermore, readers complained to the newspaper that refunds from overpayments were taking up to five months to be paid.

In response to the complaints, and to help customers get to grips with their bills, British Gas opened their helpline on Sunday from 10am to 8pm

Speaking to The Mail on Sunday, managing director of British Gas Phil Bentley disputed estimates that the average customer has a credit balance of more than £100, and claimed that British Gas customers go into winter with an average credit balance of £6.50.

Bentley said that by the end of next year customers would automatically be sent a cheque if the surplus on their account topped £200, and claimed that most customers who complained about their Direct Debit simply did not understand the increase in underlying energy costs.

Chris Eagle, commercial manager at EnergyChoices.co.uk said: “The fact that British Gas made the effort to open its helpline on a day when it is normally closed shows commitment to its customers' needs and should have helped clear up any issues faced by Direct Debit customers who were concerned about their bills.

“Paying by Direct Debit does offer significant discounts, but customers should be kept informed of exactly how and why their monthly payments may change.”

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