Why has my billed gas usage doubled when I have not changed my usage pattern?

[BunyipBill]

Why has my billed gas usage doubled when I have not changed my usage pattern? If anything because of severe illness, my usage has DECREASED!!!!

Also, why are you charging a "Payment processing fee" when I pay by Direct Debit meaning that a) the money is automatically transfered to your already bloated coffers b) as the money is transered directly to your coffers, there is nothing to process. Even though the charge is $0.60, multiplied by tens of thousands accounts this would add up to a very tidy amount.

[jaydeny]

Hey, BunyipBill!

Thanks for joining the Community!

A bill can be higher than expected for a number of reasons, but there are a few different  checks that we can conduct to confirm or deny it's accuracy. We'd recommend that you start by checking to see if the meter reading on the second page of your bill is 'Actual' or 'Estimated'. If you find that the reading is estimated, we'd encourage you to take a reading of your meter as it stands at the moment. If the reading on your meter is lower than your reading on your bill, it's important that you get back to us with this correct meter reading so that we can adjust things!

If you're being charged a payment processing fee, this would be a result of a transaction processed using a credit card. Our payment processing fees of 0.45% applies to all credit and debit card transactions, however, this is avoidable by making payments through BPAY, by setting up a direct debit using your bank account details as opposed to credit card details. You can find out more about our payment options by clicking this link.

Kind regards,

Jayden.

[BunyipBill]

Hi Jayden,

I have tried to send this as an email reply on a number of occassions but my server keeps telling me that it was unable to deliver it to [admin@community.agl.com.au]. As I have not received a reply I assume that the email did not get through to you. I'd hate to think that you are ignoring me so I'm posting my reply to you here.

The bill is an "estimate" which I and everyone else would expect to be based on previous consumption patterns. Quite obviously this has not occured in this and previous instances. I am a partial quadreplegic but I will find a way to obtain a direct meter reading for you.

As for "....Our payment processing fees of 0.45% applies to all credit and debit card transactions, however, this is avoidable by making payments through BPAY, ....". I find this to be a ludicrous propostion. Firstly you are directly promoting a seperate business over others [is AGL receiving a commission for this?] and thus penalising one DIRECT PAYMENT method over another. When paying online via debit card, the payment, along with all the relevant details, are deposited directly into AGL's account!

How can can the company charge a 0.45% processing fee,an extravagent amount that could not ever reflect the true costs to the comany? Surely it costs the compay exactly the same to "process" a $100.00 account as it would to "process" a $10,000 account given that the money is deposited directly into AGL's coffers. I find that this is nothing more than an opportunity for the company to further gouge the public and make a greater profit for no additional effort. The higher the bill, the greater the effortless fees for AGL!

I look forward to your answers.

Yours in anticipation.

BunyipBill

[jaydeny]

Hey BunyipBill,

Thanks for getting back to us!

If you pay your energy bills using a credit or debit card, AGL is charged a merchant services fee by your financial institution. This will appear on your next bill as ‘payment processing fee’. You're able to pay your bills using a number of facilities that do not attract this fee, so it is absolutely avoidable!

For future reference, you can private message me or you can get in touch with our customer service team via chat by following this link.

Kind regards,

Jayden.

[BunyipBill]

MY FRUSTRATION WITH AGL's "CUSTOMER SERVICE" [cough, splutter] IS MOUNTING.

You still have not answered my first question and neatly sidestepped my other questions.

WHY HAS MY GAS BILL DOUBLED WHEN MY PREVIOUS USE HAS BEEN NOTHING LIKE WHAT YOU CHARGED ME!!!????

[jaydeny]

Hey BunyipBill,

Thank you for getting back to us.

The AGL Community is a public forum, and as a result, it is designed to publicly to discuss all matters general in nature, and not account specific enquiries. Again, you can enter your meter reading online to atone for any overcharges that may be present on your bill. Alternatively, if you'd like to discuss matters further, you're more than welcome to send me a private message including your AGL account number and email address, and I'll be more than happy to help where I can.

Kind regards, 

Jayden.