British Gas: GAS LEAK BEHIND GAS FIRE!: I advise you to keep old bills and take photos of meter

Annemos

A friend of mine (lives far away from me)  has a British Gas Smart meter. She has suddenly had her usage go up to 16,000 kwH in 6 months. (My usage is only about 5000.)

She has been asked to pay 1700 pounds straight away and her direct debits have shot up from 89 to 398 a month. (A substantial part of her pension.)  (This is now updated correct numbers after I looked at her actual bill.)

She is 80 and Single. She was away for part of this period and when home, she was cutting back on the gas usage and heating, to save bills. Has a Gas Cooker. Only put the Boiler Heating on in the evenings. Has a small gas fire. Basically not living in comfort. 

After some pushing on her part, British Gas is going to send out an Engineer "in approx 3 weeks". 

I also know that if something goes wrong between the old British Gas Billing System and the New System, there is a 4 month backlog to sort such issues out, as there is no automatic access to old data on the old System. 

I have asked her to look at several prior bills and make a Summary of what the kwH usage is on her old bills, so she has proof for the Engineer when he comes. But she had a big clear-out before she went away! So I have not heard back yet, what she can find. 

I strongly urge everyone to keep old bills, so that you have your own proof of usage. In case you ever have to make a case.

Up until now, British Gas was saying she must have used that amount of gas. They say they have the readings from her Smart Meter. Today they said...Hmmm it does seem high! 

CSI_Yorkshire

While most of this is sensible advice - what does your annual use have to do with it?

The only thing that matters is her meter readings.

Annemos

Forgot to say, this is for the 6 month period up to end April I believe. 

I wanted her to do a comparison to compare her usage in previous years. To see if there has been a sudden recent spike. 

She could either use the Meter Readings (Units), or the kwH. 

But the reason I prefer to compare kwH, is that it gets over any issue with the Imperial versus the Metric meter readings. (Not sure if her meter was changed in the past.) 

Does that make sense? 

They did ask her if she can smell any gas.

Gerry1

Does she have an online account or would she be happy for you to open one on her behalf?  That would allow the readings to be checked.

Also check that the reading from the old meter has been correctly recorded on the changeover bill as well as the new one (probably zero).  The changeover readings should be on a yellow card near the meter.

BG delete old bills if they are replaced, so always download and save copies otherwise it can be impossible to detect overcharging.

Make sure that the new readings are shown as Smart, not Estimated, and that the kWh gas usage is about 11.2 times the volume (m3) usage.  Make sure the serial number on the meter is the same as shown on the bill.

Are the meters inside the property or in a shared cupboard or meter room?

Has she ever been with a supplier that went bust (e.g. Neon Reef) and BG became the SoLR?

Annemos

Many thanks Gerry1. I will discuss this with her. (She does not go into any account and has always relied on paper billing.)

The meter is inside her home. A two-up two down type house. She was never with a previous supplier. 

It can be a problem getting her to focus on the issue. But she is very worried.  She lives 200 miles from me. I will try to get her to send me a photo if she can. (She has no family.) 

Annemos

Good news. I am now in her account and have everything back to August 2021.

Now I will get to work and see if I can figure it all out. 

Gerry1

Start by saving all the bills before any are cancelled and replaced !

Annemos

Yes I have saved them all. There is a lot of stuff to wade through. But this is hitting me in the eye.... written on the bill.....


You’re using more gas compared to this period last year:

24536.36 kWh    22 Sep 2022 - 25 Jun 2023
3284.42 kWh      22 Sep 2021 - 25 Jun 2022

What on earth is going on?? 

Annemos

She always suffered from low water pressure for years. Had several plumbers out and nobody could rectify it. Then last year, somebody did rectify it and she now has a really good water pressure. 

Can that make a big difference to gas usage? (Eg boiler use for hot water, baths, heating.)

CSI_Yorkshire

Are they actual readings?  That is the only thing that matters.

Annemos

Yes actuals