British Gas complaint

molerat

You cannot just complain and say "it can't be right". You need to do some leg work and work things out for yourself, assemble evidence. Many of us on here can help out if you can post up dates, numbers and prices.

Julieloolibelle

Hi there
Thank you for your comments

The trouble is he is now 95 and just pays all the bills he has been sent by British Gas by cheque the same day.

His meter readings on his bills have been written eg 09666 so I assume british gas thought he had a metric meter, as did the people over the years who read it. In fact he only has 4 digits on his meter and not 5 so I can only assume the meter readers entered this extra 0 at the beginning so it would fit in their 5 boxes? This meant people assumed it was a metric and not an imperial meter and he was charged as such.

When I asked, no one I have spoken to at british gas knew how to tell a metric from an imperial meter so wouldn't expect anyone outside the industry, let alone a 95 year old to notice the error. He just paid what he was asked to pay.

They also said meter had been changed in 2013. When I queried this, apparently it is a change done on the computer and not a physical change. Again, why has it taken them since then to notify him of the mistake?

Just a series of observations as I know very little about the energy industry. 😊

Julieloolibelle

Just seen all the comments. Thank you. I will post some figures tomorrow.

It's an imperial 4 digit meter. It was changed to a metric one on their computer, not a physical meter change according to BG. So when the meter is read it only had 4 digits and they have just put the extra 0 at the beginning of the reading to make it look like a metric reading.

Thanks again. I'll post some figures tomorrow.

.

Julieloolibelle

Sorry, when I first queried the bill BG told me he owed over just over &3000 going back 29 years! This was the last time the meter was changed physically according to the sticker on the side of it.

naedanger

Julieloolibelle wrote: »

Just seen all the comments. Thank you. I will post some figures tomorrow.

It's an imperial 4 digit meter. It was changed to a metric one on their computer, not a physical meter change according to BG. So when the meter is read it only had 4 digits and they have just put the extra 0 at the beginning of the reading to make it look like a metric reading.

Thanks again. I'll post some figures tomorrow.

.

[Note I have changed the figures in my post #9 above, and as a result my conclusion.]

The £3000 shortfall in not consistent with the shortfall that would arise if an imperial meter had been charged as though it was a metric meter for 29 years.

You said in your first post "a note had been put on his bill to say his meter had been changed in 2013". It seems more likely to me that it this is when the error started, with BG wrongly thinking they had changed his meter to a metric one at that point.

[Deleted User]

Julieloolibelle wrote: »

Just seen all the comments. Thank you. I will post some figures tomorrow.

It's an imperial 4 digit meter. It was changed to a metric one on their computer, not a physical meter change according to BG. So when the meter is read it only had 4 digits and they have just put the extra 0 at the beginning of the reading to make it look like a metric reading.

Thanks again. I'll post some figures tomorrow.

.

Personally when I come across this sort of thing, and I work for BG , I enter the 4 digits only.I can see that dials and serial do not tally.The computer then asks if there s been a meter exchange ( because usually if the dials dont match , there has been one) I enter "No " , because there has nt been one.I then back up my reading in the "notes " section listing meter serial number of the meter in place and add the words.."4 dial imperial meter at the property ".
British Gas don t normally look at all the background stuff we all put in the "notes " section because of the auto billing systems in place, but its all there in the background if someone cares to look.
Its rare to have an imperial meter in place and being billed for a metric, its usually the other way round where people get billed nearly 3 times to much.when its 3 times too cheap they keep quiet even tho its plain and obvious with the huge reduction in their gas bills that something is amiss.