British Gas Hitting Me With Massive Bills Based On Estimates

EssexHebridean

EssexHebridean said:

Do the figures on the bill show the actual reading from the smart meter? Allowing that they have said they have issues getting readings, have you also been submitting manual readings monthly to ensure that they do have at least something showing actual use? And finally, do the figures on the bill show something different to what you are seeing on the meter itself? 

Still the above to confirm please. From what you have said it sounds like they are trying to charge you for something outside of what is shown on your bills - in which case they need to detail to you in writing exactly what, and why, that is. 

And yes - ideally a smart meter would do the whole job, but sometimes they don't - best practise is to always double check things yourself at least periodically, even if there's no need to then submit those readings to the supplier. 

Robin9

Can you give us the reading you have taken from the Smart meter (the one in the garage or outdoor box) please. Take care some of these meters can be difficult to read - watch out for the decimal point and if it has small keypad take even more care

Barking_Dogs

EssexHebridean said:

Still the above to confirm please. From what you have said it sounds like they are trying to charge you for something outside of what is shown on your bills - in which case they need to detail to you in writing exactly what, and why, that is. 

Ok - Their bills really confuse me.  On 13 may 2 were issued & 19 may another 2. One on each of these days was an estimate and the other an actual bill showing the smart meter readings.  I don't know if they tie in with what's on the smart meter because I haven't been checking.  I will do now.

The latest bill though is for £89 (or thereabouts) and that ties in with the breakdown.  But when I got to pay the amount on the payment page is £198 & it says it's based on an estimate but none if this is detailed in any of the bills listed below.

Barking_Dogs

Robin9 said:

Can you give us the reading you have taken from the Smart meter (the one in the garage or outdoor box) please. Take care some of these meters can be difficult to read - watch out for the decimal point and if it has small keypad take even more care

02880.525m3

Alnat1

Go read the meters, submit the readings and see if your account updates. For your own peace of mind compare their estimates with the actual readings you take.

If your readings are much lower than their estimates, all is good for you. If not, pay the larger amount they are asking for, before you get too far behind.

Robin9

Barking_Dogs said:

Robin9 said:

Can you give us the reading you have taken from the Smart meter (the one in the garage or outdoor box) please. Take care some of these meters can be difficult to read - watch out for the decimal point and if it has small keypad take even more care

02880.525m3

so the read you give is 02880   -    make sure you include that leading zero

how does that compare with the latest bill ?

Barking_Dogs

One more thing - because I haven't been living here that long, I'm on their standard variable tariff & if I pay by DD  they're going to keep taking amounts based on their damn estimated bills.  I've looked at switching to a fixed rate but it's at least 50% more that I'm paying on the standard variable.

Barking_Dogs

Robin9 said:

Barking_Dogs said:

Robin9 said:

Can you give us the reading you have taken from the Smart meter (the one in the garage or outdoor box) please. Take care some of these meters can be difficult to read - watch out for the decimal point and if it has small keypad take even more care

02880.525m3

so the read you give is 02880   -    make sure you include that leading zero

how does that compare with the latest bill ?

I don't know because I asked them to generate a new bill based on that reading and they've subsequently cancelled all the preceding bills and they're no longer available to view.  I'll have to wait until the new one is available.  The last one from 19 may though was showing 2 gas reading 14806 & 14857

Alnat1

The meter reading of 02880 looks as if it's a fairly new meter, just a few months since installed. Is there a sticker on that meter with a note of the reading from the previous meter that was replaced? If so, what's the reading and also the install date.

[Deleted User]

Alnat1 said:

The meter reading of 02880 looks as if it's a fairly new meter, just a few months since installed. Is there a sticker on that meter with a note of the reading from the previous meter that was replaced? If so, what's the reading and also the install date.

02880 was a metric reading for gas which equates to about 32000kWh. 

For the OP, a number of suppliers will reverse bills when an actual meter reading is used for billing. They will then bill back to the previous actual meter reading. It is pretty simple to check a statement if this has been done.