British Gas Customer Left With £3,483 Void After Double Boiler Charge

A British Gas Homecare customer was left more than £3,000 out of pocket after being charged twice for a new boiler installation. The customer, identified as T.E. from Dagenham, east London, initially paid a £387 deposit for a new boiler after a service revealed dangerous levels of carbon monoxide.

The boiler was installed a few weeks later, and the customer received an invoice for the remaining £3,483 balance, with instructions to pay via bank transfer. This payment was made. However, two days later, British Gas automatically took the same £3,483 amount from the customer's debit card, which had been used for the initial deposit.

Efforts to retrieve the overpayment proved difficult, with the issue ongoing for nearly two months. British Gas stated that the customer should have been informed by the installer that the balance would be taken from the same card used for the deposit, a claim the customer disputes, stating they followed the instructions on the emailed invoice.

After initial assurances that the mistaken debit would be refunded to the card, the transaction failed. British Gas then proposed issuing a cheque. However, when the customer inquired about the cheque two weeks later, it was discovered that no cheque had been raised. The situation was further complicated when the customer's bank refused the cheque. Investigations revealed this was due to a chargeback dispute initiated by the customer with their bank regarding the unexpected card payment. The disputed funds were in a state of limbo between the bank and British Gas, preventing the cheque from being cashed as it could have led to a double reimbursement.

Upon being informed of this complication, the customer cancelled the card dispute. This action finally cleared the path for the refund, which was issued 58 days after the overpayment occurred.

British Gas maintained that its heating installer should have provided a link to authorize both the deposit and the balance payment from the same card. The confusion is thought to have arisen because the accompanying paperwork also indicated that payment could be made via bank transfer. The customer was advised to be vigilant when paying balances with different methods to avoid similar issues.

British Gas acknowledged the customer's frustration and provided a goodwill gesture of £300 for the inconvenience. The customer's bank also contributed £100 for not clearly explaining the implications of the chargeback dispute.

In a separate case, a customer, M.C., faced a five-month delay in cashing in a £34,000 pension with Aviva. The customer, aged 75, needed the funds for household expenses. Aviva cited the need for additional verification checks as part of regulatory obligations but was unable to explain why they needed to speak to the customer's lawyer, who had also not been contacted by the firm. Following intervention, Aviva processed the payment, though nearly £10,000 was deducted for emergency tax, a standard procedure when encashing a pension pot in full. Aviva apologized for the delay, stating it fell short of their standards, and provided £300 in compensation. The customer expressed gratitude for the resolution.