The intolerable story of British Gas and the wrong meter

ihateutilities

Hi there,

We've been notso happily paying our hard earned cash to British Gas since we moved into our flat 15 months ago.

Our meter has been read several times since then, occasionally the meter man has commented that the meter underneath the kitchen sink wasn't the same as in their records. On one occasion someone even changed the details on their records. The next time though, the usual comment; "that's not the meter my machine tells me it is." "Is that going to be a problem?", I ask, tentatively. "Nah, shouldn't be." the reply. We got a letter a while back saying that the meter would need changing at some point, but they would not say why. We arranged this but then missed it due to work. Then it didn't get mentioned again

On the 16th December 2008 I wasn't in to allow someone to read the meter, so we were given the card, and told to call. Upon calling I was advised that our meter was definitely wrong, and that we had a four digit one, and it should be fine. They updated the details and said it shouldn't cause any effect to our bills.

However today, I got a bill for £170. So I called to explain we shouldn't be paying this, only to be told that there is another bill on the way so the total amount is £320! After much confusion and questioning, I have been told to complain.

Does anyone have any advice on this? Do we have to pay?!

follows2006

i am sorry to say this but in a word yes.

After all of the agents comments surely you could have contacted BG to check everything matched and this wouldnt have built up.

How much were your bills previously, if they were a lot lower (perhaps too low) then you could have contacted them.

Whilst BG has an obligation to read your meter also legally you have to provide that data also.

Sorry not a nice post but if something seems to be rong question it, you would if it was your bank account?

Garz

For some reason people think meter readers have a good understanding of billing, meters and tariffs etc. Nowadays they are just data collectors and coudlnt give a monkeys hence the response of "Nah, shouldn't be." as hes just paid to collect a read. Your lucky I guess they report anything extra back accurately.

Your best bet is to ring your supplier and request an inspection to backup the meter serial and readings taken by yourself. You should have done this on the date you moved in so you can basically know how many units you owe.

Premier_2

What was the meter reading when you moved in?
What is the meter reading now?

That'll tell you how much gas you've used.
A small calculation will convert that into a monetry value. (don't forget to allow for price changes!)

How much money have you given BG to date?

Is there a shortfall? If so, who do you think should pay it?