Unless you live in a tent, I probably have the same bills as you for the essentials – gas and electricity, water, and telephones, and I include the internet in the latter.
So, when I saw a stall in Rye’s Thursday market in late May giving away light bulbs I was curious – and it proved to be promoting the Utility Warehouse which can supply all the services – apart from water. But my saga (below) is about my existing suppliers.
However I had heard about Utility in Which?, the Consumers Association magazine, and Utility, a comparatively new and small supplier, had got good write-ups.
But my main concern was that I was very fed up with any company with British in its name, and British Telecom and British Gas in particular.
BT was in the news this week as profits were down, and they had lost 268,000 customers – but apparently this did not matter as they still had around 25 million other accounts. BT had been Post Office Telephones, which evolved from the Royal Corps of Signals, and like many customers, I never left it despite repeated price rises alongside cut price terms for new customers.
But I’d tried various other energy companies before ending up with Sainsbury’s Energy which then proved to be part of British Gas, vaguely disguised.
So I was paying £50 a month for BT, virtually not using the landline at all other than for very poor internet services from antiquated equipment.
And I was paying £59.65 a month for gas and electricity – as a single person in a modern (2012) mid-terrace two-up two-down. And my mobile cost about £20 a month (pay as you go) as it is definitely not smart and apparently is popular with drug dealers because it is so old it is untraceable.
However, after I struck a deal with Utility, British Gas wrote to me in early June saying my monthly payment would be cut in July by £10 to £49.65 from the current £59.65. The same letter also quoted the Direct Debit Guarantee that says any changes will be notified 10 working days in advance.
However that did not stop British Gas taking £87.32 from my account instead of the usual £59.65 without any notification or explanation either before or after.
But two mysterious amounts of £40, described as miscellaneous adjustments, were added to my account on June 24 and July 8, again without any explanation or notification – and they did not seem to be related in any way to usage or meter readings – particularly as the weather was slightly warm by then.
I therefore cancelled the direct debit and British Gas then wrote saying they would have to inform credit reference agencies about my alleged non-payment of these mysterious amounts.
So this is just the beginning of what could be a drawn-out saga, but in the meantime I have a new supplier who provides a detailed bill with explanations and lots of very bright LED lights round the house – illuminating the dust!
I will keep you informed as matters develop, and I would be interested in hearing your stories and comments about the utility suppliers. They do not seem to be regulated well enough, and I was involved in setting up the first regulator in the 1980s when BT was privatised.
In the meantime these are necessary and essential public services, not optional extras (unless you are living in a tent) and we deserve better.
Photo : Rye News library