Is there a course available on the British Gas billing system?

MickyLuv

I really need this or it's goodbye electricity for me.

BG took over my electricity supply in Nov 2021
They requested frequent meter readings from the start, which I provided, got billed for and paid.

Then in early June I got a substantial bill that was stated to be for the period from November to June.
I paid it.

Then, on 18th of June I got another substantial bill that was stated to be for the period November to June.

I suddenly wonder whether paying BG what they demand is a survivable strategy,

as opposed to pleading to get cut off, before my bank balance goes too deeply into the red.

QrizB

Sorry to hear of your troubles, you're not the first to find BG's billing process obscure.

If you can give us your meter readings, we can probably work out what your bill to date should have been. You'll then know whether BG have billed you correctly or not.

indebt80

I have this problem and was going to post, but I won't hijack your post so will post my own.  But I am fed up with them.  I have never known a company with such a strange way of billing.

Gerry1

You're not alone.  The BG billing system, which at best has always been poor, now seems to be in meltdown.

I joined BG for electricity in Oct 2021 and gave them my opening readings.  They were correctly shown on the bill.

However, a few days ago my account showed a credit balance of almost £1000 which didn't make sense because I pay by Variable Direct Debit.  Then all my bills were suddenly shown as "Bill cancelled & replaced" with no explanation or apology.

A new bill then showed that my opening readings have been replaced with readings given to a previous supplier several months earlier in 2021, resulting in a significant debit balance and overcharging.

A detailed formal complaint sent to customercomplaints@britishgas.co.uk generated the ambiguous autoreply "Although we’re unable to monitor this email address, we can still make sure you get help with your complaint" and then gave links to Chat and phone numbers, so I have no idea whether my complaint will receive any attention.

I forwarded my complaint to customerservice@britishgas.co.uk but this merely triggered an autoreply stating "The recipient's mailbox is full and can't accept messages now.  Please try resending your message later, or contact the recipient directly."

You really couldn't make it up.

maisie_cat

I am another NR transferred customer, yesterday I received my 3rd bill and reconciled it to my spreadsheet, it is correct.
I had a gap of about 20 days and 430 kWh that had not been charged by either NR or BG. Yesterday's bill included that usage. I had been hoping that it would disappear into an SOLR black hole but they were bound to pick it up eventually.
It is a confusing bill, not helped by the numerous "first" readings but mine is certainly correct.

MickyLuv

QrizB said:

Sorry to hear of your troubles, you're not the first to find BG's billing process obscure.

If you can give us your meter readings, we can probably work out what your bill to date should have been. You'll then know whether BG have billed you correctly or not.

Thank you for your offer. I'm in transit right now on a longish journey but as soon as I reach my destination I'll happily give my meter readings.

I also need to find a good "Calc" spreadsheet template to improve my bill record keeping.

MickyLuv

indebt80 said:

I have this problem and was going to post, but I won't hijack your post so will post my own.  But I am fed up with them.  I have never known a company with such a strange way of billing.

I do find it difficult to understand why it can't be simpler. It's quite mystifying.

MickyLuv

maisie_cat said:

I am another NR transferred customer, yesterday I received my 3rd bill and reconciled it to my spreadsheet, it is correct.
I had a gap of about 20 days and 430 kWh that had not been charged by either NR or BG. Yesterday's bill included that usage. I had been hoping that it would disappear into an SOLR black hole but they were bound to pick it up eventually.
It is a confusing bill, not helped by the numerous "first" readings but mine is certainly correct.

Yes, these days a spreadsheet is an important item. Those of us with a none office background need to get over that hurdle fast. If the charges are as extreme as they first appear it's going to need to be an abacus though.

MickyLuv

Deleted_User said:

It is rather confusing. I'm another NR->BG transferee.

It may help to look at the "transaction history" screen (if you can find it! ... I think if you go to the "my payment plan" screen, there's a link to "transaction history").

This shows items including "Electricity charges" (i.e. bills) and "Reversal"; when a reversal is the same amount as a bill, you could just ignore that bill (though I do download all the bill PDFs when I can) and concentrate on checking the bills that haven't been reversed. That makes it easier to see they aren't charging for the same usage twice.

The transaction history also shows "Direct debit" payments made. And I had a "Miscellaneous document" item, which appears to be my final balance from NR (in my case, this was a debit).

Thanks for those tips. I'm sure it will help me wade through this stuff.

Exile28

I've also had this happen to me but I'm an ex-PFP customer. I'm struggling to get my head around it if I'm honest.

My last PFP reading/billing date is 11th September 2021 but my first BG reading/billing date is 4th October 2021 (So not sure what the situation is between those dates). 

My opening reads also don't match what is on my final PFP bill.

StartledJesus

I have also had major problems with the British Gas billing system, which definitely has got a mind of its own. Even the BG staff have no idea why it does what it does, and they are completely at its mercy. For some reason, it has started cancelling every bill ever raised, and replacing them with one cumulative bill from Day 1 of my custom, by SoLR, to date. Instead of 4 separate bills, with the latest one being the difference since the last bill.

i.e charging me for Nov 2021 to June 2022, deducting my payments, and then asking me for the difference! WHAT? Of course, there was a price increase in the middle of that period, and a period where they SAID the cash/chq rate would be the same as the direct debit rate.

Furthermore, they ignored the actual and important 31st March reading and estimated it. Even worse they wound the clock back and started using a lower day 1 opening reading than before, which added £50 to the bill. Unbelievable. 

Call me cynical, but every mistake always works out in their favour. And any balance changes always appear overnight, or at the weekend, to cause maximum frustration. I have told BG in no uncertain terms that this is not acceptable, and there is NO WAY that I should have to be checking my account balance on a daily basis, just to see if anything has happened while I’ve not been looking, which it often has.