The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
Thank you to The Voice for contacting British Gas press office, not only on my behalf, but also for other readers with similar problems.
Not everyone is well enough, has the time or energy to wade through complicated websites and chat lines or choose the right telephone advice line to report an emergency or a problem.
Along with many others we signed up with British Gas Service as they guaranteed elderly people a prompt level of support in an emergency.
Despite my attempts to communicate online and many hours waiting on their automated telephone system to speak to a human being, you succeeded where I failed.
You kindly raised with them the cancellation and rescheduling of annual service appointments without prior notice to the customer; also, the minefield that is their customer communication system.
Having waited in vain for the scheduled November service booked online I tried to contact British Gas (the rescheduled appointment notice arrived the day after my appointment!)
I received a call the following day from a person in the British Gas executive office who acknowledged that the telephone system was unsatisfactory, the call answering time on an emergency line was unacceptable and apologised that I had been give incorrect information when I finally connected to their call centre in South Africa.
She assured me that British Gas are aware of the problem, stating that it was in part due to inaccurate forecasting of workload and demand and that their customer communication system is undergoing a major overhaul.
I was pleased that Covid-19 was not offered as an excuse.
I worry what would happen in the case of an emergency when it might take 25 minutes to answer the phone.
Only time will tell if things improve but thanks for your intervention.
I am told that my rebooked appointment in January will be tracked for quality of service!
Wendy Chew
Spalding
