British Gas Complaint - should I escalate ?

rp1974

Austinhead said:

Thanks to everyone who responded.
What i'm hearing is, i shouldn't have cancelled the DD, i should have done more to ensure that the bills were up to date, i should have worked out any shortfall myself and saved the money.
Kind of feels like everyone suggesting that BG can have appalling customer services, buggy software and processes and offering a £25 compensation is OK.
I'll get back in my box.

That's pretty much it really,yes.

How much compensation were you looking for and would be happy with?.

Enjoy your box.

Austinhead

niktheguru said:

No doubt what they did was bordering on complete incompetence, and is worth a complaint
However, you left yourself exposed when there was plenty you could have done to protect yourself and keep aside money owed, and british gas has an online account (not the app) which has quite a lot of detail and payment options on it, compared to other utility companies that have nothing.

The question I ask people is would you have done anything differently if you realised from quite early on they were massively overcharging you and overestimating your meter reads, changing your direct debit to a larger amount when you could see your meter readings were lower, or would you have waited till a year and your final bill? I would suspect the majority of people would be on them like a hawk. Then why do people think its ok to not pursue them quicker when it is an underestimation, when you knew your readings were higher than they were using. Yes i know you say you attempted contact, and most of these companies have been less than adequate during covid regarding customer service, but perhaps being more forceful then would have been better. Yes they shouldn't have made a mistake, but the time to make a formal complaint  was earlier before leaving yourself exposed to non-payments and referrals to debt agencies.

I really wish I had noted everytime i had tried to contact them, or had contacted them and they hadn't actioned it - hindsight is a wonderful thing eh ?.
I would estimate i submitted readings at least 3 times using the app, and spoke to their online chat at least 3 times as well as a phone call. Most of these they have no record of. Personally I feel that i did enough to try and get my bills up to date, which is where the question mark over whether its worth contacting the Ombudsman comes in.

rp1974

Refer it to the Ombudsman then,what have you to lose?.

niktheguru

Austinhead said:

I really wish I had noted everytime i had tried to contact them, or had contacted them and they hadn't actioned it - hindsight is a wonderful thing eh ?.
I would estimate i submitted readings at least 3 times using the app, and spoke to their online chat at least 3 times as well as a phone call. Most of these they have no record of. Personally I feel that i did enough to try and get my bills up to date, which is where the question mark over whether its worth contacting the Ombudsman comes in.

In future I would suggest sending monthly readings to whichever supplier you use (unless you have a smart meter) Sending 3 in 12 months is not really enough....but saying that they should have at least added them to your bill!!

If you're still unhappy no harm in going to ombudsman.

Optimist2020

Austinhead said:

niktheguru said:

No doubt what they did was bordering on complete incompetence, and is worth a complaint
However, you left yourself exposed when there was plenty you could have done to protect yourself and keep aside money owed, and british gas has an online account (not the app) which has quite a lot of detail and payment options on it, compared to other utility companies that have nothing.

The question I ask people is would you have done anything differently if you realised from quite early on they were massively overcharging you and overestimating your meter reads, changing your direct debit to a larger amount when you could see your meter readings were lower, or would you have waited till a year and your final bill? I would suspect the majority of people would be on them like a hawk. Then why do people think its ok to not pursue them quicker when it is an underestimation, when you knew your readings were higher than they were using. Yes i know you say you attempted contact, and most of these companies have been less than adequate during covid regarding customer service, but perhaps being more forceful then would have been better. Yes they shouldn't have made a mistake, but the time to make a formal complaint  was earlier before leaving yourself exposed to non-payments and referrals to debt agencies.

I really wish I had noted everytime i had tried to contact them, or had contacted them and they hadn't actioned it - hindsight is a wonderful thing eh ?.
I would estimate i submitted readings at least 3 times using the app, and spoke to their online chat at least 3 times as well as a phone call. Most of these they have no record of. Personally I feel that i did enough to try and get my bills up to date, which is where the question mark over whether its worth contacting the Ombudsman comes in.

I have literally just gone through something similar except I picked up on it within my first instalment as I pay quarterly as DD is so much effort for me. Estimated initial meter readings, incorrectly charged etc. BG only listen to complaints when it comes to situations like this.
Do you still have evidence of the meter readings you submitted to British Gas and when? IE screenshots of the app. Also, were you using a different phone when you were calling British Gas? If you remember the number you called you could have a look at your call history of your phone. Also do you have pictures of your meter readings? It doesn't hurt to go to the energy ombudsman really, just make sure you save the money for when you have to pay it. (Most likely) but then you know that you tried at least.