British Gas - Meter Read Issue

R2H

First post, please be delicate

I have a strange issue with British Gas and my meter readings. I will do my best to explain as clearly as possible, but please reach out if there's something you don't understand.

Me and my other half moved into a new build in June 2022, fitted with SMETS2 smart meters for both fuels (as far as I can tell). We have recently been debating switching to Octopus  as we live in one of the Fan Club postcodes, and from from what I can gather, this has the potential to make a big difference to our monthly electricity bill. In light of this, I have been doing some groundwork on understanding our current position with British Gas.

On 30th May, I asked British Gas to produce an up-to-date bill for both Gas and Electricity, as we hadn't been billed since February despite paying the usual direct debits. I was told this is done every six months, but new bills were produced up to that date nonetheless. Upon receiving these bills, I noticed the readings they've used are wildly different to the meter readings I took manually on the same day. Info as follows:

Gas, BG reading = 798

Gas, My reading = 742

Electricity, BG reading = 1822

Electricity, My reading = 2815

The bills both clearly indicate that these are not estimates, and are in fact smart meter readings. So, I got in touch with their support agents via the mobile app. It took 3 attempts (they swore blind the readings they'd taken were correct), but finally someone acknowledged that there is obviously an error somewhere and referred this to the smart meter team. The date they gave me for a resolution was 13th June, but this date has long since been and gone with no response. I've tried to get in touch again and all I get back is that someone will eventually been in touch...

Has anyone else encountered this situation before, and if so, what course of action did you take? It makes no sense to me, the error is massively in favour of BG on the whole and I would have thought they'd treat matters like this with some urgency. It's frustrating because I simply want to understand our account position before we decide when to switch away. What we don't want is a large bill that we need to pay all in one month, on top of 2 x payments to Octopus

I'm an Accountant by trade and couldn't help myself, so I sat down and did the maths. I estimate that we are approx. £313 in the red taking into consideration the current balances on our accounts and changes to price caps etc between Feb and May. It's not catastrophic if we switch immediately, but I don't want this problem to carry on with other suppliers further down the road.

All advice on the best course of action to take is gratefully received.

R2H

I should also add:

The readings showing in the home screen of the 'Meter readings and history' section of my BG online account are correct. When I go into each fuel individually, I see the incorrect readings they have used to generate our bills (which I would expect). Strange that they are up-to-date on the front screen though...

[Deleted User]

By the sound of it, you have a transposed meter. That is, you are being billed for a neighbour’s usage. This happens all too often on new builds. Check the serial number on your bill with the serial number on the actual meter. If they are different, I will attempt to tell you how to resolve this problem. It is complex as it can involve a number of homes and suppliers.

R2H

[Deleted User] said:

By the sound of it, you have a transposed meter. That is, you are being billed for a neighbour’s usage. This happens all too often on new builds. Check the serial number on your bill with the serial number on the actual meter. If they are different, I will attempt to tell you how to resolve this problem. It is complex as it can involve a number of homes and suppliers.

Thanks, Dolor.

I have checked the serials on the bill to the meters and they are both correct. BG also asked me for them and they too confirmed they are reading the correct meters. I'm puzzled.

Gerry1

Are the meters in a shared cupboard or meter room?

R2H

Gerry1 said:

Are the meters in a shared cupboard or meter room?

The meters are in usual boxes on the side of our property. No other meters within vicinity.

[Deleted User]

R2H said:

Gerry1 said:

Are the meters in a shared cupboard or meter room?

The meters are in usual boxes on the side of our property. No other meters within vicinity.

In that case, the problem sits firmly within BG’s systems. If you switch, there is no reason to think that a new supplier will overbill you. That said, I would raise a written complaint against BG. Take pictures of the meter readings on the day of the switch. 

The new supplier is responsible for the switch and its data collector will give both suppliers closing/opening readings. These readings should be used on your Final Bill from BG.

Xbigman

Are the readings in your first post the right way around? If they are you owe BG for nearly 1000 kwh of electric.


Darren

R2H

Xbigman said:

Are the readings in your first post the right way around? If they are you owe BG for nearly 1000 kwh of electric.


Darren

Yes, they are definitely the right way around. That’s why I’m so confused about the lack of response from their side. I just want the account corrected so I can plan direct debit payments etc before switching.