You are 247 in the queue (British Gas)

[monabri]

I was moved from "Together Energy" to BG at the end of January this year. I contacted BG on Friday as to (1) why I had received no bills since joining and (2) to verify that I was on Economy 7. I was a mere 220th in the queue for that call! I eventually got through to " Valeria" and she said that I will only get a bill every 6 months and one is due now and "yes" you are on Eco 7".

Monday...Bill duly arrives. Bill is not correct. All units have been charged at a single rate. So, when I tried to resolve it this morning, I find I'm 247th in the queue.

I think I'll write to them instead ( send an email...how? )

[XFool]

...Or try using the Internet instead?

Not that I am recommending BG's website, or can confirm it will help. Certainly not!

But it is the standard way of doing these things nowadays. I'm afraid the phone really is the 20th century solution. When I tried to contact the local police by phone earlier this year I found it was simply no longer possible (OK they had originally contacted me by SMS). I could of course presumably still have rung '999', but it wasn't an emergency.

[88V8]

I'm afraid the phone really is the 20th century solution. When I tried to contact the local police by phone earlier this year I found it was simply no longer possible ,,

I live about 2 miles from our County HQ, and I had vaguely assumed that I could call them if needs be, but looking at the website, you are right; the only local phone no is one that they describe as for calling from abroad.
'Allo allo'.

V8

[moorfield]

Phone the emergency number for gas leaks if you need to speak to someone. Then feign apologetic tim-nice-but-dimness and try and get transferred to the appropriate dept. Has worked for me in the past.

[pje16]

Great reference
Tim nice but dim - hilarious, had forgotten about him
https://www.theoldie.co.uk/article/olde ... ce-but-dim

[Dod101]

The infamous Centrica. If anyone still holds shares in them the talk is about a resumption of dividends.

Dod

[didds]

I live about 2 miles from our County HQ, and I had vaguely assumed that I could call them if needs be, but looking at the website, you are right; the only local phone no is one that they describe as for calling from abroad.
'Allo allo'.

V8

so what happens if you call the number when NOT abroad ?

didds

[Watis]

I live about 2 miles from our County HQ, and I had vaguely assumed that I could call them if needs be, but looking at the website, you are right; the only local phone no is one that they describe as for calling from abroad.
'Allo allo'.

V8

so what happens if you call the number when NOT abroad ?

didds

I was wondering that too.

I suspect that the 0800 and 0330 numbers resolve to the landline number given for calling from abroad.

Watis

[kiloran]

You might get some alternative "backdoor" numbers here: https://www.saynoto0870.com/search.php

--kiloran

[pje16]

Love that site
it has kept my phone bill right down over the years

[Adamski]

I'd register for an online account. Once that's set up, have a look round.

Then can do a 'live chat' online. Might be quicker than phoning. Good luck!!

[GrahamPlatt]

I recall Private Eye often inserted a random number in brackets after someone’s name, poking fun at the way the dailies would indicate someone’s age. One particular article on British Rail included the BR slogan of the day: “This is the age of the Train” (147).

Maybe someone at BG has similar humour?

[Dod101]

Has monabri realised that 247 in the queue could of course mean 24/7 in the queue which effectively means for ever?

Dod

[monabri]

Has monabri realised that 247 in the queue could of course mean 24/7 in the queue which effectively means for ever?

Dod

What comes first, the CNA dividend or getting through to the helpline?

Your call is important to to us.....

[Dod101]

Has monabri realised that 247 in the queue could of course mean 24/7 in the queue which effectively means for ever?

Dod

What comes first, the CNA dividend or getting through to the helpline?

Your call is important to to us.....

They are already getting stick for even considering a dividend given the price of gas..............

It would seem that it is fundamentally down to ofgem for not regulating all the new players coming into the market in the first place, because of course as they went bust customers were farmed out to existing players who in some cases at least did not have the infrastructure to handle them. To that extent it may not be the fault of Centrica but, like many others in the same position, they are the ones getting the stick. And we are all paying.

Dod

[woolly]

We had this exact same problem after being transferred to British Gas – infuriatingly long wait times and no alternative means of contacting them.
As our request was slightly out of the ordinary (we need a 3-phase meter installing) I sent an old-fashioned letter, neatly typed on laid Conqueror paper, thinking it would be bound to get things moving... Not a bit of it!

Some 12 days later I did receive a letter from them, which opened with: "Thanks for your letter – here's how we can help you much faster" and went on to say they couldn't write responses to enquiries and detailed the exact same 0333 number and chat/help page options. Aaargh! Back to square one!

In fact it took them so long to reply that in the meantime I switched both our accounts to Octopus, who respond quickly and personally to emails and have real, helpful people who answer the phone – and their tariff worked out cheaper too. So thanks, BG, for giving us the extra push we needed to get up and find a better energy provider!

[pje16]

The bigger the company the less an individual means to them
a sad fact of life.....

[Dod101]

Never having switched to one of the more competitive new players, I stayed boringly with SSE and now OVO. Unfortunately, I am tempted to say, that inconvenience is the price some are paying for chasing the cheapest quote and, as I have already said, we are all paying to bail them out.

Dod

[stevensfo]

We had this exact same problem after being transferred to British Gas – infuriatingly long wait times and no alternative means of contacting them.
As our request was slightly out of the ordinary (we need a 3-phase meter installing) I sent an old-fashioned letter, neatly typed on laid Conqueror paper, thinking it would be bound to get things moving... Not a bit of it!

Some 12 days later I did receive a letter from them, which opened with: "Thanks for your letter – here's how we can help you much faster" and went on to say they couldn't write responses to enquiries and detailed the exact same 0333 number and chat/help page options. Aaargh! Back to square one!

In fact it took them so long to reply that in the meantime I switched both our accounts to Octopus, who respond quickly and personally to emails and have real, helpful people who answer the phone – and their tariff worked out cheaper too. So thanks, BG, for giving us the extra push we needed to get up and find a better energy provider!

Wow! Things have certainly changed! For anything important, I always send a letter (recorded) or at the very least an email with a few others in cc.

The thought of doing this sort of thing via phone or online chat is ridiculous.

Simply write/email that you are not allowed to use chat pages etc as it it against your safety/security/privacy/alien attack policy and you are only permitted to send and receive communications in writing.

Steve

PS So many posts on TLF are about 'how many hours I spent waiting on the phone'.... blablabla.. For Heaven's Sake! Who is paying whom???

[sg31]

With companies who are difficult to contact I usually resort to social media. A post on Twitter complaining about the difficulty in contacting the company and hashtag their name usually gets a response within a couple of hours. It works maybe 75% of the time and is usually more effective with the larger companies

Most large companies monitor social media and protect the companies good name with some vigour or at least try to stop news of how poor their customer service is from getting out.