gas rip off

v_l_halton

when i moved into my new house 2 years ago i changed to british gas. i recieved my first bill from them after 5 mnth that was nearly a thousand pounds, i rang and quieried this and was asked for a meter reading. after giving the reading the bill was dropped to 800+ which i still thought was really high but they were adament its what i owed. i was advised to have meters put in so i could monitor my gas usage. i was told that the meter would take £5 a week from what i put in to pay for the debt. the meter was taking £40 a week to heat my house ( which is a small 3 bed inner terrace). at one point i had £20 on the meter when the pilot light broke, after a few days i had someone out to fix it but there was no money left on the meter. i rang british gas and told them what had happened and asked them to come out and check the meter, they refused saying there was nothing wrong with it. i couldnt afford to keep putting £40 a week on so i stopped using it, this was fine during the summer but when it started to get cold i needed the heating because iv got a 5 year old daughter at home but again it was tkin £40 a week. i rang british gas to try to find out why it was costing so much. during this phone call i was told they had no record of the bill 4 nearly a thousand pound ( which i still have) but then they contradicted themselves by saying i had been sent an ammended bill for £400+ not long after my first phone conversation with them. the first bill was way out and i never recieved the ammended bill because if i had i would never have had the meter put in. so i then asked if they would take the meters out and was told they couldnt until i pay off the outstanding balance which i cant afford to and i cant afford £40 a week on the meter so at the moment i have got no heating and its getting colder and i dont know where to turn next.

Premier_2

How is it a rip off you being asked to pay for what you have consumed?

What seems a rip off is that honest paying customers are subsidising you a £800 interest free loan that allows you to repay over 3 years when you initially accrued the debt in as little as 5 months.

gemstars

Yet more helpful replies....

OP - can you please clarify what your debt now is. From what you've said I understand that it was estimated at £1000, then reduced to £800 with an actual reading. Then it was reduced to £400?

Why was this reduced? Did they miscalculate your bill?

What do you use your gas for?

Mankysteve

Did you submit reading when you moved in?

Check where all your pipes go make sure your not supplying some one else?

If you suspect a leak you should call the national grid and report a gas leak.
Add some credit on the meter to turn the gas on. Turn every gas appliance off and take a number of m3 used reading wait a couple of hours and check again if you've got a leak somewhere that should tell you.

You've been switched onto a pre payment meter somewhere it should say how much you owe and your weekly rate

This won't be a meter problem if you are using excessive gas on both meters.

Premier_2

gemstars wrote: »

Yet more helpful replies....

A shame the same can't be said your continual sniping.

Pls be nice to all MoneySavers. ...even if you disagree courtesy helps.

dogshome

Hi v l horton - Because BG lowered the cost of their first bill by app. £200 when you gave them a meter reading, that first bill must have been issued on their Estimated reading, and the fact that BG now deny having sent you a bill for nearly £1000, when you actually have a copy, shows BG are also confused
You should write to BG requesting a copy of all the bills they have issued on the account - THEY HAVE TO SUPPLY THEM IF YOU ASK - These will show what payments recieved they have recorded, and which meter readings are based on actual reading and those they have estimated - then I'm afraid it's a lot of homework to work out what you actually owe
From the way your key meter is soaking up money, it has been set to recover X amount for debt, Y amount to supply gas and possibly Z amount for standing charges. In your letter you should ask exactly how much the debt is, at what rate the meter has been set at to recover the debt, and on what day of the week it is set to take it
If the debt amount BG say you have does not agree with your own calculations from the bills, you must write again and head the letter Complaint
If the figures do agree, then write to BG asking for the meter to be set for a lower debt repayment amount over a longer period
Best of Luck