HELP PLEASE - Are British Gas ripping me off????

ishy222

This morning i received a letter threatening to dissconnect my supply because of an outstanding bill...

I was completely shocked and stressed by this.. my previous quarterly bill dated Dec 12th was for over £200 - Now i had only been in the country for 6 weeks for this curent bill so i was quite shocked that this was so high.

I am a single person living in a 2 bed house.

So chasing this up why they were going to dissconnect me was because they had increased my reg payment plan from £30 to £42 - but they had failed to inform me on this matter.

I told them that i couldnt possibly be using this much gas as im the only one her ein a SMALL property.. So they got me to do another meter reading and whhhaaaaoooooo :eek: they said i had used £138 (303 units) in 5 week (since dec 12th)- i know 100% this isnt true.. i had bought an electric heater as to cut my gas consumotion to just 2 hours a day if not less...

They said they would investigate the matter but if they found there was nothign wrong with my meter they would charge me £70 which i really cant afford

So they trapped me by sayign if you dont agree to upping your reg payments to £48 per fortnight we will disconnect you...

Seriously does this sound right?
£138 (over 5 weeks) for an average of 2 or less hours a day for a 2 bed property?

My mother suggested i call citizens advice but i really dont know what i shoudl be asking them...

My mind is in bits im on long term disability benefits and i just cant afford this... im allready sitting with 3 pairs of clothing on and tearing my hair out with worry....

im stuck on a price protection plan till 2011 so i dont even get the 10% discount and if i wanted to change they would charge me £45....

I really dont know what to do...

Please help..

- How much does everyone else pay on a weekly/monhtly basis?

KimYeovil

Sounds about right. It's winter time. You'll be using less over summer.

Are your meter readings conflicting with their claims? I don't see the problem.

You should have the heating on either for more than two hours or zero hours - subsequent hours after the initial warm up will be cheaper.

Is the £110 for both bedrooms and the whole house? Or just for the one room? Try just heating one room.

ishy222

how can it be right... from the last bill i reduced my gas usage yet its showing that ive used more...
the last bill was the winter one and i just got a monthly meter check.

KimYeovil

That's a lot of bills if you've only been in the country for six weeks.

Have you established the meter reading when you moved in? Have you checked how many units you use in one evening when you do have the heating on?

ishy222

please re-read what i said.
i was only in this country for 6 weeks for the duration of the last bill.

i have been with BG since i got gas supplied in my house back in 2004.

- i only turn the heating on for the one bedroom i use ( via the radiator ) 30 mins befor going to bed

the other rooms are the living room and kitchen. i have all other radiators switched off.

spiro

Check the bill you received on 12th Dec. Against the 2 readings used to calculate the bill it will indicate if it is an actual or estimated reading. If both are estimated you are now paying for gas that was used some time in the past. If the opening read was an actual and the closing read was an estimate then again you are playing catch up but only between the 'from date' on your bill until now. If both readings are actual then you are using more than you think.

KimYeovil

Ooops. Okay, as Spiro says, check your readings and the bills. Still don't think £110 per four week month is all that high with the recent temperatures.

The irritating lag of direct debits and (possible) abandonment of twelve month arrangements is a separate topic.

ishy222

maybe not that high..
but considering i was using the gas for the previous months ( late Oct - Early Dec ) approx 6+ hours daily and reduced that since 12th Dec to under 2 hour daily.. i would have thought to have made at least a little bit of a saving.. i reduced my usage over the freezing temps... i just cant understand when ive reduced my usage the cost has gone higher...

liamlittle

A quick point that may have been covered elsewhere - if so, sorry. Check as to whether your meter is metric or imperial. If it is the former, make sure they are not using the imperial to metric multiplier. They did that to us - converting metric to metric! They are now sqirming on the hook of owing us a large amount of money that they are "investigating"

Chippychap

ishy222, just me poking my nose in but if you are snippy then folk don't want to get involved.
These guys are spending THEIR time trying to help you.
Give Citizens Advice a go, see if they will negotiate on your behalf.
I took my case to my MP who at least made my gas people talk to me.
Best of luck

glodh1973

well i am on a pre payment meter and i have started with some of the tips that im reading on the forums anyway up till december i was easily putting £25 a week + on and having heating on high for a few hours here and a few there anyway at beginning of january i read a tip saying keep it on 24/7 but have it on lowest setting which i have done now £15 can last 10 plus days so it shows difference turning it on and off

glo