Getting really fed up now - British Gas moan

bach230

My hubby and i moved into our first home (a new build, now 4 years old) in February 07. We took readings on the day we had the keys handed over to us and have made sure to keep up to date with readings ever since.
I contacted British Gas in 2007 to get our gas & electricity set up with them as we were told that they were our current suppliers. Gas got set up fine but the electricity has been a nightmare ever since. I received emails and letters through the post from them informing me that the electricity would be supplied by them in September 2007 but we have never once received a bill until now...
We received a bill at the beginning of December this year to "the occupiers" at our address. It's bill period was 16 December 2006 until 27th November 2009 (obviously we didn't move in until Feb 07 so anything before then wasn't our responsibility as far as we were concerned). To add to this the bill was totally estimated and over 8000 units more than the readings we currently have, totalling a bill of £438.14 to be paid to them by 16th December 2009.
I immediately emailed British Gas and asked them what they could suggest as i had previously found out that suppliers could not backdate a customer more than a year.
I eventually heard from an Account Manager at British Gas on the 14th December asking me for a Meter Serial Number because the National Grid shows us as being de-energised. I duly sent them a Serial Number but after contacting them again today they have now informed me that they are unable to find anything regarding the Serial Number i gave them and are now asking for the account reference number off the bill we have received - which i provided them with in my initial email to them.

Has anyone got any suggestions as to how this can be sorted as it's just getting so frustrating. After trying to sort something out in 2007 and now having to deal with this as well it's just getting beyond a joke.

Thanks, Nat

Cardew

Not sure I understand some of your post.

To add to this the bill was totally estimated and over 8000 units more than the readings we currently have, totalling a bill of £438.14 to be paid to them by 16th December 2009.

8000 units is approx £800, so how is the bill only £438? In any case £438 is very low for 3 years.

If you have written correspondence from BG then you cannot be backbilled before any electricity before 27 Nov 2008 if that was the first bill they sent(note: 'sent' and not received by you)

I assume you were the first occupants? Could the builder/developer have been paying bills?

bach230

The bill they have sent us has been estimated at over 8000 units from december 2006 until november 2009. As i mentioned the house was only finished in october 2006 so that would probably make anyone wonder how on earth 8000 units have been clocked up in just 2-3 months! (I'm only reading off the bill they've sent us as to the units they've estimated and the cost of the bill they've sent us but as i also mentioned before, our readings are nothing like what they have estimated).
I have made sure to keep copies of everything i have received from British Gas and everything i have sent to them so i have plenty of paperwork to go by. One of the last letters they sent me stated that they would start supplying our electricity from the beginning of september 2007 but ever since then we have NEVER received a bill from them at all. We have requested bills in the past but have never even had responses from the company.

Yes we were (and still are) the first occupants. If the builder/developer has been paying the bills then we have no idea about this at all. We are obviously getting our electricity from somewhere and although it's very nice not to have to put the extra money out for another bill, it is still worrying that this just does not seem to be able to get sorted in 2/3 years.

Cardew

Sorry still confused:

You said house was 4 years old - so Dec 2005 - you didn't mention finished in Oct 2006!

You ask "how on earth 8000 units have been clocked up in just 2-3 months!"

Yet in the previous sentence state "The bill they have sent us has been estimated at over 8000 units from december 2006 until november 2009" This is 35 months?

If they have estimated 8,000 units from Dec 2006 to November 2009 that would cost more than £1000 on BG's standard tariff. Yet you have got a bill for only £438.

Have they indeed reduced a bill from over £1000 to £438? applying the 12 month rule?

Can you give details of the bill please.

Wickedkitten

Definitely sounds like they have already backdated it because there is no way that you would be paying that little for that many years of electricity if they hadn't.

bach230

Sorry for the confusion. The house is 3 years old, not 4 as it was finished in October 2006 and then we moved into it in February 2007.
As i mentioned before though, British Gas have greatly estimated the amount of units that we have used in the house and, even though the house was only finished in October 2006 they have said that over 8000 units were used in December 2006. Our current reading, as of 5.12.09, begins with a 06 (sorry i haven't got the bill with me at the moment so i can't give an accurate reading right now) it's only another 3 digits though, i think, after the 6, which is why i said that i don't understand where they have got the 8000 units from.

Cardew

Still not making much sense I am afraid.

You said

1. 8000 units were used from Dec 2006 to Nov 2009(3 years)

2. Then 8000 units have been clocked up in just 2-3 months

3. Now 8000 units were used in Dec 06.

You still have't explained how the 8000 units only generated a bill of £438.

Now you have raised the question of your meter reading 06xxx so that can only be a maximum of 6999 units - which is less than 8000.

Post full details of your bill(dates, kWhs, charges etc) and we will try to help, but this is sounding more like a puzzle without clues.

bach230

Right ok, here goes...

My readings are as follows... when we took possession of the keys to our house i read the meter as follows - 00063. this was on 19.1.07.
on the 5.12.09 our meter read 06920 so this shows how much electricity we have used since we took ownership of the house.

The bill we have received from British Gas reads as follows... 16.12.06 an estimated reading was of 84630, on 27.11.09 a further estimated reading was of 87316. these are the first and last estimated readings on the bill we have received to give you an idea of how much they have estimated for the length of the bill. 2686 is the total kWh over the length of the bill.

As you can see our readings are very different to theirs. Does this help at all?

Cardew

That does not equate to 8,000 units(eight thousand) but 84,567 units(eight four thousand five hundred and sixty seven)

So they pretty obviously have the wrong meter allocated to your address. To confirm check the meter serial number on the bill and meter serial on your meter.

You have used 6,857 units since Feb 07. which at BG standard rates will be about £800.

However as they haven't sent you any bill they can only back bill you 12 months. so pro-rata that will be about £300 ish.

As you have contacted them and have the paperwork to prove it. Frankly I would just wait and see what BG come up with in the way of a bill. It could be less than £300 as you should get duel fuel discount.

The ball is their court.

When you have the final bill from BG, then you can post on here and discuss if it is fair.

bach230

This is the email i had from British Gas yesterday. The account reference number that they have mentioned below is actually for a Gas account we had set up with them around the same time we were trying to sort out the electricity. We paid for the Gas with British Gas for a few months and then swapped to EDF so this is why that reference had been cancelled. My mum has suggested that we do not have them re-open this account because of the reason that it was specifically to pay the Gas and as we're with someone else now we don't want to run the risk of having to pay 2 companies for the Gas. Mum's also suggested that we do not yet inform them of any meter readings for the following reason - "I would hold off sending them any meter reading just yet cos if they have no record of any readings I don't see how they are going to work out a bill. They obviously have no reading to start with & they are just hoping that you have one so they can probably estimate how much you've used over a year."

I have found an inactive account for your address, and can advise you that if the bill is for account reference 8500********. Then that has been cancelled, I now need to get this account opened correctly with the meter serial number you have provided of D06*******. In your original email you said that you took the keys for the property on 19 January 2007 can you please confirm this for me.

You are correct regarding the Back Billing issue, and the codes of practise, which means that a company cannot bill for over a year, if the company has not sent any bills to the address at all.

Once I get the account open I will be able to bill you correctly, do you still have the meter reading for when you took over the property. I am afraid that I am not able to find anything, as I explained earlier your meter is showing as de- energised on the National Grid. This is despite the fact that British Gas have been the supplier to this property since 20 July 2005.

Can you please provide me with an up to date meter reading in order for me to progress this complaint.

gemstars

I'm sure someone else will be along shortly with more info but I would have thought your mums idea of not telling them anything won't work. If they can't obtain your actual readings then they will eventually bill you based on estimated readings.