£5 penalty for late payment of your gas bill
January 30, 2007 at 2:22 am
British Gas recently announced a surprise plan to fine customers £5 from March 1st 2007 if they do not pay their bill within 28 days. This move comes as a further cost to British Gas customers who are paying some of the most expensive gas prices in the UK. What is more, Energywatch, an independent utilities watchdog, reports that British Gas has a terrible customer service record and the company has been fined £5,000 for keeping customers on hold for too long on a premium rate phone number. It is not surprising that over 1 million customers left British Gas in 2006.
British Gas argues that the £5 fine is to offset the cost of chasing up late payments and that vulnerable customers will be protected from being cut off. They are targetting individuals who forget to pay their bill or deliberately delay paying it.
The scheme also seems to be a way of encouraging people to change to Direct Debit as a means of paying their bills. Consumers are much better off switching to Direct Debit because they will receive a discount on all their gas bills. If people cannot or do not want to pay by Direct Debit, they will still be able to pay by cash or cheque.
Consumer rights groups including Ofgem, the industry regulator, and Energywatch are urging customers to change their gas provider, wherever possible, as a means of protest. This is the best way to avoid higher prices, possible fines and poor customer service. The other gas companies have not yet revealed similar plans to charge late payment fees.
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