British Gas ARGGGGGH what to do next?

Sarahpuggy

Hi all,

We got an estimated bill for £196, which i knew was way over because it was for 2.5 months and they were summer months so we hadn't even had the heating on. so i took a proper meter reading, and it turns our it had been estimated more than double what we had actually used.So i called someone at BG, explained and gave them the actual meter reading. They said no probs, we'll send out a new bill. This was about a month ago.

About 2 weeks later, got a reminder saying please pay £196 etc etc, so again i called BG, explained what had happened and didn't know why we had got sent a reminder. So spoke to another guy, i think i wrote down his name this time, and he said unfortunately the first phone call hadn't been put onto the system, and was sorry etc...but again says we'll get a new bill within 14-28 days, and that the £196 one will be cancelled and we should wait for the new one. So this morning we get a final notice to pay £196 or else we will get disconnected etc etc! I was so angry! lol. What do you think we should do next? I dont get much time to call BG with working such long hours, just feel really frustrated, and i think if i call them again i will seriously give someone hell!

I hate these companies so much, and not sure how to proceed with this now!

Sarah x

tripled

Have you tried calling the automated line instead of speaking to someone? I've heard it recalcualtes the bill instantly and advises you of the balance over the phone, but I've never used it myself. The number should be on your bill - it's freephone as well.

justtoclarify_2

You can enter meter readings using the automated telephone system and it will caculate the bill, provided that the meter reading that you give is not lower than than the last paid bill. The same applies to entering meter readings via the house.co.uk website, but you would need to register to use this service properly.

If your current meter reading is lower than the previous bill then the automated system may assume that the current reading is incorrect and will not accept it. If this is the case then you could submit a reading that is one unit more than the previous bill, the system should then generate a small bill and the letters demanding payment of £196 should stop.

My experience is that if you have by not supplying actual meter readings accepted estimated readings as valid, if you subsequently submit a meter reading which is lower than the system is expecting it gets ignored. In my case I entered the reading thought everything was okay and got a reminder for the original estimate. If it is much lower it can trigger British Gas to schedule a meter reading visit to validate the reading.

The generation of the reminder and final demand letters is automated and these are printed printed in large batches and sent using a "cheap" mail service hence the message "if you have paid this in the last x days please ignore". So the final demand could already have been printed and/or despatched before your last contact with BG. If you can get a name and a reference number from the person that you speak to, this helps the details to get entered onto the system and quoting the day that you called seems to aid the new person to find the record of your last call.