British Gas Smart meter billing mess up

MWT

I still think that a complaint to the Ombudsman has a good chance of success due to the fact that a smart meter was installed and BG should have been using it...

From Ofgem - 'As smart meters are rolled out across the UK, suppliers will no longer need to rely on estimated bills and send catch-up bills to customers. Suppliers have obligations to make sure they use the technology, once smart meters are installed, to improve services for customers for example by providing accurate billing.'

Talldave

Comingoutofthedark said:

MWT said:

I would have though you should get the benefit of the back-billing rules as BG depended on their estimates instead of using the smart meter or an actual meter reading of their own for 2 years...

Without a functioning smart meter they should at least have read your meter once every 12 months to avoid exposing themselves to the back-billing rules.

This is why I was asking if anyone had any experience surely if a smart meter account doesn’t receive readings from the smart meter for 18months it should raise a flag somewhere on the system? 

You would think that wouldn't you?  As an engineer myself it would be a no-brainer - and it's "just software".  Sadly, the energy industry is mostly run by incompetent muppets who couldn't organise a meter read in an understairs cupboard!

brewerdave

Comingoutofthedark said:

MWT said:

I would have though you should get the benefit of the back-billing rules as BG depended on their estimates instead of using the smart meter or an actual meter reading of their own for 2 years...

Without a functioning smart meter they should at least have read your meter once every 12 months to avoid exposing themselves to the back-billing rules.

This is why I was asking if anyone had any experience surely if a smart meter account doesn’t receive readings from the smart meter for 18months it should raise a flag somewhere on the system? 

Unfortunately, as many have testified on here and in newspaper columns, a lot of "smart meter" installs have never been successfully commissioned (or have failed to communicate within weeks),so the utility cos. have just got used to applying estimates willynilly!

Takmon

Comingoutofthedark said:

Neil_Jones said:

Comingoutofthedark said:

Thanks for your reply the bill went down in January 2020 and the. June this year. Up until then it was in line with previous years the only difference was not having the hassle of submitting meter readings!  Yes I should have kept a closer eye but surely that then defeats the object of the smart meter which is marketed as ‘sends accurate readings so eliminating estimated bills’ and prevents inaccurate readings. However British Gas were aware since March 2019 they were not receiving meter readings from a smart meter that’s 18months surely in that time they had some sort of responsibility to raise this , ask for a reading , send a meter reader out? Or even arrange for an engineer to check the meter? 

I'm going to argue that the general fallback is that if the supplier does not get a reading from some auxiliary accessory to the meter (whether the meter itself provides a reading, you, a meter reader or the cat supplies one), then the next bill will have to be estimated.  Simple as.  No different to dumb meters.

Smart meter lack of readings aren't uncommon, usually because they can't communicate with where they send the data to.  This may be temporary, it may be permanent.  A temporary failure is probably nothing to worry about and will happen on occasion, but BG aren't going to drop everything and run round your house for lack of one meter reading.  As I say, there is nothing to stop you submitting your own readings.

Tell British Gas (by phone, not chat, since chat is just the poor man's first step and they're just there to filter out questions that are already answered on the website) that you've had a bill, all the readings are estimates, can somebody come and look at my smart meter.

Appreciate your reply again, just to clarify it wasn’t one reading missed they say they haven’t received one since March 2019 so until August 2020 that’s 18months of no readings for an active smart meter account which should have raised a flag somewhere in the system. Especially as looking all the way back to the bill that covers the swap they may never have had a reading from the meter at all? 

Unfortunately as the bill came in yesterday and out of the two phone numbers I found one was a recorded message saying the office is closed and the other told me to hang up and try again I am stuck using the poor mans first step to try and someone looking into how this happened preferably before they try and take a direct debit I can I’ll afford. As I said before I was looking for advice/experiences with this kind of scenario as the whole point of me fitting the smart was so I didn’t have estimated bills again and is indeed how they are marketed you live and learn!! Next step access the damm thing to teach myself how to access the readings in anticipation of moving to another provider next year and I thought the dial meter I had previously was bad to read 🙄

If your on such a tight budget you have no emergency funds for things like this they i don't see why you don't take better notice of your bills. If i was as poor as you i would be reading every bill to make sure it was correct and not just assuming all was well.

Gerry1

Takmon said:

Comingoutofthedark said:

Neil_Jones said:

Comingoutofthedark said:

Thanks for your reply the bill went down in January 2020 and the. June this year. Up until then it was in line with previous years the only difference was not having the hassle of submitting meter readings!  Yes I should have kept a closer eye but surely that then defeats the object of the smart meter which is marketed as ‘sends accurate readings so eliminating estimated bills’ and prevents inaccurate readings. However British Gas were aware since March 2019 they were not receiving meter readings from a smart meter that’s 18months surely in that time they had some sort of responsibility to raise this , ask for a reading , send a meter reader out? Or even arrange for an engineer to check the meter? 

I'm going to argue that the general fallback is that if the supplier does not get a reading from some auxiliary accessory to the meter (whether the meter itself provides a reading, you, a meter reader or the cat supplies one), then the next bill will have to be estimated.  Simple as.  No different to dumb meters.

Smart meter lack of readings aren't uncommon, usually because they can't communicate with where they send the data to.  This may be temporary, it may be permanent.  A temporary failure is probably nothing to worry about and will happen on occasion, but BG aren't going to drop everything and run round your house for lack of one meter reading.  As I say, there is nothing to stop you submitting your own readings.

Tell British Gas (by phone, not chat, since chat is just the poor man's first step and they're just there to filter out questions that are already answered on the website) that you've had a bill, all the readings are estimates, can somebody come and look at my smart meter.

Appreciate your reply again, just to clarify it wasn’t one reading missed they say they haven’t received one since March 2019 so until August 2020 that’s 18months of no readings for an active smart meter account which should have raised a flag somewhere in the system. Especially as looking all the way back to the bill that covers the swap they may never have had a reading from the meter at all? 

Unfortunately as the bill came in yesterday and out of the two phone numbers I found one was a recorded message saying the office is closed and the other told me to hang up and try again I am stuck using the poor mans first step to try and someone looking into how this happened preferably before they try and take a direct debit I can I’ll afford. As I said before I was looking for advice/experiences with this kind of scenario as the whole point of me fitting the smart was so I didn’t have estimated bills again and is indeed how they are marketed you live and learn!! Next step access the damm thing to teach myself how to access the readings in anticipation of moving to another provider next year and I thought the dial meter I had previously was bad to read 🙄

If your (sic) on such a tight budget you have no emergency funds for things like this they i don't see why you don't take better notice of your bills. If i was as poor as you i would be reading every bill to make sure it was correct and not just assuming all was well.

That's pretty harsh.  The OP cannot be blamed for believing the propaganda bombardment about the alleged benefits of smart meters.

Takmon

Gerry1 said:

Takmon said:

Comingoutofthedark said:

Neil_Jones said:

Comingoutofthedark said:

Thanks for your reply the bill went down in January 2020 and the. June this year. Up until then it was in line with previous years the only difference was not having the hassle of submitting meter readings!  Yes I should have kept a closer eye but surely that then defeats the object of the smart meter which is marketed as ‘sends accurate readings so eliminating estimated bills’ and prevents inaccurate readings. However British Gas were aware since March 2019 they were not receiving meter readings from a smart meter that’s 18months surely in that time they had some sort of responsibility to raise this , ask for a reading , send a meter reader out? Or even arrange for an engineer to check the meter? 

I'm going to argue that the general fallback is that if the supplier does not get a reading from some auxiliary accessory to the meter (whether the meter itself provides a reading, you, a meter reader or the cat supplies one), then the next bill will have to be estimated.  Simple as.  No different to dumb meters.

Smart meter lack of readings aren't uncommon, usually because they can't communicate with where they send the data to.  This may be temporary, it may be permanent.  A temporary failure is probably nothing to worry about and will happen on occasion, but BG aren't going to drop everything and run round your house for lack of one meter reading.  As I say, there is nothing to stop you submitting your own readings.

Tell British Gas (by phone, not chat, since chat is just the poor man's first step and they're just there to filter out questions that are already answered on the website) that you've had a bill, all the readings are estimates, can somebody come and look at my smart meter.

Appreciate your reply again, just to clarify it wasn’t one reading missed they say they haven’t received one since March 2019 so until August 2020 that’s 18months of no readings for an active smart meter account which should have raised a flag somewhere in the system. Especially as looking all the way back to the bill that covers the swap they may never have had a reading from the meter at all? 

Unfortunately as the bill came in yesterday and out of the two phone numbers I found one was a recorded message saying the office is closed and the other told me to hang up and try again I am stuck using the poor mans first step to try and someone looking into how this happened preferably before they try and take a direct debit I can I’ll afford. As I said before I was looking for advice/experiences with this kind of scenario as the whole point of me fitting the smart was so I didn’t have estimated bills again and is indeed how they are marketed you live and learn!! Next step access the damm thing to teach myself how to access the readings in anticipation of moving to another provider next year and I thought the dial meter I had previously was bad to read 🙄

If your (sic) on such a tight budget you have no emergency funds for things like this they i don't see why you don't take better notice of your bills. If i was as poor as you i would be reading every bill to make sure it was correct and not just assuming all was well.

That's pretty harsh.  The OP cannot be blamed for believing the propaganda bombardment about the alleged benefits of smart meters.

I haven't seen any advertising that says you don't need to read your bills once you have a smart meter and it's pretty much common sense you should check all bills that you are paying.
Just because something is generated automatically doesn't mean you shouldn't check it. I check my credit card statement each month even though all payments are processed using an automatic system.

rp1974

Gerry1 said:

That's pretty harsh.  The OP cannot be blamed for believing the propaganda bombardment about the alleged benefits of smart meters.

That is harsh,but largely true,sometimes a spoonful of sugar just doesn't help.
Yet another smart meter problem,self inflicted in the case of the OP.
An own goal for the sake of a few minutes a month,if that.

Gerry1

Takmon said:

Gerry1 said:

Takmon said:

Comingoutofthedark said:

Neil_Jones said:

Comingoutofthedark said:

Thanks for your reply the bill went down in January 2020 and the. June this year. Up until then it was in line with previous years the only difference was not having the hassle of submitting meter readings!  Yes I should have kept a closer eye but surely that then defeats the object of the smart meter which is marketed as ‘sends accurate readings so eliminating estimated bills’ and prevents inaccurate readings. However British Gas were aware since March 2019 they were not receiving meter readings from a smart meter that’s 18months surely in that time they had some sort of responsibility to raise this , ask for a reading , send a meter reader out? Or even arrange for an engineer to check the meter? 

I'm going to argue that the general fallback is that if the supplier does not get a reading from some auxiliary accessory to the meter (whether the meter itself provides a reading, you, a meter reader or the cat supplies one), then the next bill will have to be estimated.  Simple as.  No different to dumb meters.

Smart meter lack of readings aren't uncommon, usually because they can't communicate with where they send the data to.  This may be temporary, it may be permanent.  A temporary failure is probably nothing to worry about and will happen on occasion, but BG aren't going to drop everything and run round your house for lack of one meter reading.  As I say, there is nothing to stop you submitting your own readings.

Tell British Gas (by phone, not chat, since chat is just the poor man's first step and they're just there to filter out questions that are already answered on the website) that you've had a bill, all the readings are estimates, can somebody come and look at my smart meter.

Appreciate your reply again, just to clarify it wasn’t one reading missed they say they haven’t received one since March 2019 so until August 2020 that’s 18months of no readings for an active smart meter account which should have raised a flag somewhere in the system. Especially as looking all the way back to the bill that covers the swap they may never have had a reading from the meter at all? 

Unfortunately as the bill came in yesterday and out of the two phone numbers I found one was a recorded message saying the office is closed and the other told me to hang up and try again I am stuck using the poor mans first step to try and someone looking into how this happened preferably before they try and take a direct debit I can I’ll afford. As I said before I was looking for advice/experiences with this kind of scenario as the whole point of me fitting the smart was so I didn’t have estimated bills again and is indeed how they are marketed you live and learn!! Next step access the damm thing to teach myself how to access the readings in anticipation of moving to another provider next year and I thought the dial meter I had previously was bad to read 🙄

If your (sic) on such a tight budget you have no emergency funds for things like this they i don't see why you don't take better notice of your bills. If i was as poor as you i would be reading every bill to make sure it was correct and not just assuming all was well.

That's pretty harsh.  The OP cannot be blamed for believing the propaganda bombardment about the alleged benefits of smart meters.

I haven't seen any advertising that says you don't need to read your bills once you have a smart meter

"smart meters will bring an end to estimated billing - you will only be billed for the energy you actually use, helping you budget better"  https://www.gov.uk/guidance/smart-meters-how-they-work#benefits-of-smart-meters

"A smart meter helps you take control of your energy use, by showing you exactly what you are spending in pounds and pence; no more estimated bills or supplying meter readings."  https://www.smartenergygb.org/en

These promises have been broken.  The OP has every right to be aggrieved because estimated bills have resulted in bill shock.

Takmon

Gerry1 said:

Takmon said:

Gerry1 said:

Takmon said:

Comingoutofthedark said:

Neil_Jones said:

Comingoutofthedark said:

Thanks for your reply the bill went down in January 2020 and the. June this year. Up until then it was in line with previous years the only difference was not having the hassle of submitting meter readings!  Yes I should have kept a closer eye but surely that then defeats the object of the smart meter which is marketed as ‘sends accurate readings so eliminating estimated bills’ and prevents inaccurate readings. However British Gas were aware since March 2019 they were not receiving meter readings from a smart meter that’s 18months surely in that time they had some sort of responsibility to raise this , ask for a reading , send a meter reader out? Or even arrange for an engineer to check the meter? 

I'm going to argue that the general fallback is that if the supplier does not get a reading from some auxiliary accessory to the meter (whether the meter itself provides a reading, you, a meter reader or the cat supplies one), then the next bill will have to be estimated.  Simple as.  No different to dumb meters.

Smart meter lack of readings aren't uncommon, usually because they can't communicate with where they send the data to.  This may be temporary, it may be permanent.  A temporary failure is probably nothing to worry about and will happen on occasion, but BG aren't going to drop everything and run round your house for lack of one meter reading.  As I say, there is nothing to stop you submitting your own readings.

Tell British Gas (by phone, not chat, since chat is just the poor man's first step and they're just there to filter out questions that are already answered on the website) that you've had a bill, all the readings are estimates, can somebody come and look at my smart meter.

Appreciate your reply again, just to clarify it wasn’t one reading missed they say they haven’t received one since March 2019 so until August 2020 that’s 18months of no readings for an active smart meter account which should have raised a flag somewhere in the system. Especially as looking all the way back to the bill that covers the swap they may never have had a reading from the meter at all? 

Unfortunately as the bill came in yesterday and out of the two phone numbers I found one was a recorded message saying the office is closed and the other told me to hang up and try again I am stuck using the poor mans first step to try and someone looking into how this happened preferably before they try and take a direct debit I can I’ll afford. As I said before I was looking for advice/experiences with this kind of scenario as the whole point of me fitting the smart was so I didn’t have estimated bills again and is indeed how they are marketed you live and learn!! Next step access the damm thing to teach myself how to access the readings in anticipation of moving to another provider next year and I thought the dial meter I had previously was bad to read 🙄

If your (sic) on such a tight budget you have no emergency funds for things like this they i don't see why you don't take better notice of your bills. If i was as poor as you i would be reading every bill to make sure it was correct and not just assuming all was well.

That's pretty harsh.  The OP cannot be blamed for believing the propaganda bombardment about the alleged benefits of smart meters.

I haven't seen any advertising that says you don't need to read your bills once you have a smart meter

"smart meters will bring an end to estimated billing - you will only be billed for the energy you actually use, helping you budget better"  https://www.gov.uk/guidance/smart-meters-how-they-work#benefits-of-smart-meters

"A smart meter helps you take control of your energy use, by showing you exactly what you are spending in pounds and pence; no more estimated bills or supplying meter readings."  https://www.smartenergygb.org/en

These promises have been broken.  The OP has every right to be aggrieved because estimated bills have resulted in bill shock.

So where does it say that you don't have to read you bills? All that says is that smart meters will end estimated billing and I can't even see where it says they are "promises" ?. 

But as everyone knows things can go wrong, which is why everyone should be reading all their bills to make sure they are correct and not looking at them for 18 months is ridiculous!. People seem to think it's fine to take no responsibility for any of their finances and then seem surprised that it goes wrong.  
A good example is that my bank accounts and credit cards are fully automated systems but things go wrong so that's why I check the statements. 

Comingoutofthedark

Takmon said:

Gerry1 said:

Takmon said:

Gerry1 said:

Takmon said:

Comingoutofthedark said:

Neil_Jones said:

Comingoutofthedark said:

Thanks for your reply the bill went down in January 2020 and the. June this year. Up until then it was in line with previous years the only difference was not having the hassle of submitting meter readings!  Yes I should have kept a closer eye but surely that then defeats the object of the smart meter which is marketed as ‘sends accurate readings so eliminating estimated bills’ and prevents inaccurate readings. However British Gas were aware since March 2019 they were not receiving meter readings from a smart meter that’s 18months surely in that time they had some sort of responsibility to raise this , ask for a reading , send a meter reader out? Or even arrange for an engineer to check the meter? 

I'm going to argue that the general fallback is that if the supplier does not get a reading from some auxiliary accessory to the meter (whether the meter itself provides a reading, you, a meter reader or the cat supplies one), then the next bill will have to be estimated.  Simple as.  No different to dumb meters.

Smart meter lack of readings aren't uncommon, usually because they can't communicate with where they send the data to.  This may be temporary, it may be permanent.  A temporary failure is probably nothing to worry about and will happen on occasion, but BG aren't going to drop everything and run round your house for lack of one meter reading.  As I say, there is nothing to stop you submitting your own readings.

Tell British Gas (by phone, not chat, since chat is just the poor man's first step and they're just there to filter out questions that are already answered on the website) that you've had a bill, all the readings are estimates, can somebody come and look at my smart meter.

Appreciate your reply again, just to clarify it wasn’t one reading missed they say they haven’t received one since March 2019 so until August 2020 that’s 18months of no readings for an active smart meter account which should have raised a flag somewhere in the system. Especially as looking all the way back to the bill that covers the swap they may never have had a reading from the meter at all? 

Unfortunately as the bill came in yesterday and out of the two phone numbers I found one was a recorded message saying the office is closed and the other told me to hang up and try again I am stuck using the poor mans first step to try and someone looking into how this happened preferably before they try and take a direct debit I can I’ll afford. As I said before I was looking for advice/experiences with this kind of scenario as the whole point of me fitting the smart was so I didn’t have estimated bills again and is indeed how they are marketed you live and learn!! Next step access the damm thing to teach myself how to access the readings in anticipation of moving to another provider next year and I thought the dial meter I had previously was bad to read 🙄

If your (sic) on such a tight budget you have no emergency funds for things like this they i don't see why you don't take better notice of your bills. If i was as poor as you i would be reading every bill to make sure it was correct and not just assuming all was well.

That's pretty harsh.  The OP cannot be blamed for believing the propaganda bombardment about the alleged benefits of smart meters.

I haven't seen any advertising that says you don't need to read your bills once you have a smart meter

"smart meters will bring an end to estimated billing - you will only be billed for the energy you actually use, helping you budget better"  https://www.gov.uk/guidance/smart-meters-how-they-work#benefits-of-smart-meters

"A smart meter helps you take control of your energy use, by showing you exactly what you are spending in pounds and pence; no more estimated bills or supplying meter readings."  https://www.smartenergygb.org/en

These promises have been broken.  The OP has every right to be aggrieved because estimated bills have resulted in bill shock.

So where does it say that you don't have to read you bills? All that says is that smart meters will end estimated billing and I can't even see where it says they are "promises" ?. 

But as everyone knows things can go wrong, which is why everyone should be reading all their bills to make sure they are correct and not looking at them for 18 months is ridiculous!. People seem to think it's fine to take no responsibility for any of their finances and then seem surprised that it goes wrong.  
A good example is that my bank accounts and credit cards are fully automated systems but things go wrong so that's why I check the statements. 

Taken from the British gas website : 

What’s the benefit of smart meters for customers?

Once you have a smart meter, you’ll find it easier to control the amount of energy you use by setting energy budgets – which will help you lower your bills. And you don’t have to send us meter readings to get accurate bills – it happens automatically.

British gas also helpfully send you a statement which has no small print on it and I did take responsibility for my finances I had a equipment installed to ensure I only payed for my usage!