British Gas didn't take gas payments for two years!

chlozzi

Hi all,

I moved into my house in May 2011 and set up electricity and gas accounts with British Gas on the Standard tariff. I went for the 'green' billing option so don't get bills and signed up to have the money taken by direct debit.

I could see payments were going out each month to British Gas so didn't really pay much attention as the account we use for bills is just that. We overpay into the bills account slightly every month, we both get paid at different times in the month and bill payments fluctuate so it's never that obvious what should be in there. Every so often we take out £100 or so that has built up so we don't have much spare cash in there.

I had a Green Deal assessment recently (not that I ever received the report, but that's another story). Anyway, they asked how much I pay for gas and that was when I realised I hadn't even received an annual statement apart from a random letter in September 2011 saying they've updated my annual statement from the Managing Director of Pay As You Go Energy. I called British Gas and after about 85 phone calls from me to them, finally got them to realise they accidentally switched me on to a pay as you go energy tariff shortly after I moved in, but I am supposed to be paying by direct debit!

They've since sent me an undecipherable 'annual gas statement' which doesn't say what I owe. It says we use £1,326 of gas a year and that next year they predict we'll use £1,313. Not sure what I'm supposed to do with this information as I'm still none the wiser on what I owe (or how the hell I'm going to pay it!)

I'm worried that I'm blatantly going to get hit with a massive bill for £2,600 or so. I'm hoping to move soon so am really worried about this. What should I do? Do I have to pay 100% of the bill even though it was not my error and I called them to alert them of the problem as soon as I was aware?

Wywth

chlozzi wrote: »

Hi all,

I moved into my house in May 2011 and set up electricity and gas accounts with British Gas on the Standard tariff. I went for the 'green' billing option so don't get bills and signed up to have the money taken by direct debit.

I could see payments were going out each month to British Gas so didn't really pay much attention as the account we use for bills is just that. We overpay into the bills account slightly every month, we both get paid at different times in the month and bill payments fluctuate so it's never that obvious what should be in there. Every so often we take out £100 or so that has built up so we don't have much spare cash in there.

I had a Green Deal assessment recently (not that I ever received the report, but that's another story). Anyway, they asked how much I pay for gas and that was when I realised I hadn't even received an annual statement apart from a random letter in September 2011 saying they've updated my annual statement from the Managing Director of Pay As You Go Energy. I called British Gas and after about 85 phone calls from me to them, finally got them to realise they accidentally switched me on to a pay as you go energy tariff shortly after I moved in, but I am supposed to be paying by direct debit!

They've since sent me an undecipherable 'annual gas statement' which doesn't say what I owe. It says we use £1,326 of gas a year and that next year they predict we'll use £1,313. Not sure what I'm supposed to do with this information as I'm still none the wiser on what I owe (or how the hell I'm going to pay it!)

I'm worried that I'm blatantly going to get hit with a massive bill for £2,600 or so. I'm hoping to move soon so am really worried about this. What should I do? Do I have to pay 100% of the bill even though it was not my error and I called them to alert them of the problem as soon as I was aware?

You should still get statements even if you were somehow put on PPM tariff even with a credit meter fitted.

They should recalculate the bill based on the credit tariff you agreed to (or their standard tariff in the event of no other agreement)

You will be required to pay for the amount recorded as consumed. I'm sure the supplier will be prepared to discuss a repayment plan with you should you not wish or be able to repay the full amount in one go, especially as you appear to already pay monthly by DD anyway:)

When you say the statement is "undecipherable", do you mean it cannot physically be read? If so ask for a replacement.
Or do you mean you do not understand it? If so, either post a legible image of it here, talk to your supplier and ask them to explain it, or take it to somewhere like the CAB to help you better understand it

insanegloss

I think you've got very confused here! The annual statement is not a bill, it is a statement simply of the gas you've used and the expected cost for the year ahead at current prices for the exact same usage. It will also detail your tariff options at there relative costs.

Regarding the pay as you go energy stuff, contact them and verify the meter serial numbers on your physical meters match industry and their systems.

I hope that makes some sense.