£832 British gas bill

mostyn91

Hi Everyone,

This morning i have just received a bill from British gas for my electricity, for the total of £832. After calling them up they have explained that they were estimating our bill, but now they have read the meter we have been under paying, hence the £832 bill.

At no point did British gas ask us if they could come and read the meter, and they did not ask us to send over the readings. We are first time renters so new to paying bills - I know that is not an excuse, but I would have thought that they would have requested a reading? A few weeks ago there was a knock at the door and it was British gas and they asked to come in and read the meter, so this is how they have worked out we have been underpaying. We had no notes through the door that they had previously tried to read the meter, and again they did not request that we send across the meter reading.

I have read online about ofgems back billing principle, and wonder if this could apply to our situation?

Ofgems back billing principle does not apply if:
You have not co-operated with attempts to obtain meter readings or resolve queries requested by the supplier. This includes failing to allow access to the property or failing to respond to requests for meter details or meter readings

I feel that we did not fail to allow access to the property as they never told us if/when they were coming, and they did not request meter details.

Has anyone been in a situation like this before? I would love some feedback

footyguy

mostyn91 wrote: »

Hi Everyone,

This morning i have just received a bill from British gas for my electricity, for the total of £832. After calling them up they have explained that they were estimating our bill, but now they have read the meter we have been under paying, hence the £832 bill.

At no point did British gas ask us if they could come and read the meter, and they did not ask us to send over the readings. We are first time renters so new to paying bills - I know that is not an excuse, but I would have thought that they would have requested a reading? A few weeks ago there was a knock at the door and it was British gas and they asked to come in and read the meter, so this is how they have worked out we have been underpaying. We had no notes through the door that they had previously tried to read the meter, and again they did not request that we send across the meter reading.

I have read online about ofgems back billing principle, and wonder if this could apply to our situation?

Ofgems back billing principle does not apply if:
You have not co-operated with attempts to obtain meter readings or resolve queries requested by the supplier. This includes failing to allow access to the property or failing to respond to requests for meter details or meter readings

I feel that we did not fail to allow access to the property as they never told us if/when they were coming, and they did not request meter details.

Has anyone been in a situation like this before? I would love some feedback

You say they didn't ask to come and read the meter.
However, were you ever provided with a bill previously, and if so, did it indicate that the meter reading used was estimated?

You have effectively had an interest free loan.
If you have any difficulty now paying the bill, if you talk to the supplier, they will usually agree a reasonable and affordable repayment plan with you

molerat

Most suppliers must read a meter every 2 years, BG have a dispensation to only do this every 5 years. They were sending you bills which would be clearly marked as using estimated readings and probably asking you to check they were accurate. BG have done nothing wrong.

Cardew

Welcome to the forum.

You don't say how long you have been in the property.

Assuming you have been getting bills, the meter readings on the bill would have shown that they were estimated bills.

The terms and conditions of BG(which none of us read!) state:

Meter readings





Why did I get an estimated bill?



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If you want to start receiving actual bills, rather than estimated bills, you will need to submit your own reading. You can submit your meter reading online at any time.
If you receive an estimated bill, please submit your meter reading online and we'll update your account.

If you complain you are entitled to pay back the outstanding amount over the period it took for the debt to build up. You may also get a 'goodwill' reduction.

matelodave

When you ask if anyone else has been in a situation like this the answer is a very emphatic YES.

90% of the problems that people have are caused because they dont check their bills and get any estimated readings corrected. It's not difficult, most suppliers have facilities for you to phone, text, e-mail, possibly even write your meter readings to them to make sure that the bill gets corrected.

As said above, you can ask to have the amount spread over an extended period but dont forget your direct debit will increase by a significant amount. I dont know how long it's taken you to ramp up this bill but £832 over 12 months will add another £70 a month to your direct debit which will increase anyway as you've been underpaying by about £70 a month anyway.

System

molerat wrote: »

Most suppliers must read a meter every 2 years, BG have a dispensation to only do this every 5 years. They were sending you bills which would be clearly marked as using estimated readings and probably asking you to check they were accurate. BG have done nothing wrong.

Ofgem changed the rules on the 1st April 2016. BG lost its 5 year derogation and now all suppliers have to read meters once per year. That said, Ofgem hasn't stated how the meter has to be read - recognising, no doubt, that with smart meters there is no need for a physical read unless there is a communications issue. Meter safety checks appear to have been moved into the H and S area with risk-based assessments by meter type/supplier.

Quote

As noted in the November 2015 consultation, we believe that licence conditions 21B.4 and 21B.5 meet the objectives of billing accuracy in a more effective and efficient way than a static meter inspection interval. These conditions go further in requiring a meter read at least once a year, and allow suppliers flexibility in how they choose to obtain the meter readings.

We do not think it is good regulatory practice to retain the meter inspection conditions to provide a backstop in case of non-compliance with other conditions. If we receive evidence of non-compliance with any licence
conditions, including SLC 21B, we will take suitable action.

Unquote

r2015

That's why I like my smart meter, it tells me what I am using and the cost.


£58 for gas and £40 for electricity in the past 31 days.


I suppose BG will want to put my DD up from £77.


At least I will gain more cashback from my Santander 123 account.

[Deleted User]

Surely you can kind of work out if you have used a lot of leccy and if you are paying near enough for it. Like if it's cold and I've ran the fan heater on loads or had the GCH on loads I kind of know my bills are going to be big.

sarah1972

Meghanjrobinson reported for spamming the boards

FutureGirl

When I first moved out of my mums house I had an all electric flat, and my first months bill was £150 (we left the hot water boiler on all the time for a month, rookie mistake)!!!

I now do a meter reading once a month on the same date for gas and electricity, to ensure my bills are not estimated. My supplier also emails me each quarter to say that it's time to give them a reading.

Your previous bills (whether online or paper) will say the meter reading, then estimated next to it. It'll also then say just under it somewhere that if you want an accurate bill, to send them a meter reading.

Unfortunately, if they now have a correct reading, and you've used that amount of energy, you're going to have to pay it.

spiro

If you read BG's t&cs they state you must submit 2 meter readings per year. This is designed to protect you as the customer from a sudden large catchup bill after you have received several under estimated bills.