Smart Meter from British Gas

FineJane

Electric meter reading :-

PennineAcute

I had that issue with BG from an installation last year.  Gas would not communicate.  Went on for 7 months, with being told "It's a known fault" everytime I rang.

In January, I actually got through to someone who decided to help.  Engineer came out and it was down to the gas meter being too far away.  He put in a new meter and all was fine.

BG are a total pain.

Marvintheandroid

Our Smart Meter stopped working around 12 months ago after they moved to the new DCC database or whatever it’s called.  They switched us to estimated reading without telling there was a problem.  I called them multiple times being told that there was a comms problem that would be fixed shortly, then they would be updating the smart metering remotely.  Nothing happened so I went to the Onbudsman who found in my favour telling the, they should pay me £75, and replace the meters.  BG promptly appealed the decision but could not offer any further information so the decision was upheld.
instead of sending a cheque for £75 they credited our gas account with £75 which will take 3 months for us to benefit from which I think is just them saying we will do it on our terms.  They have made no contact about replacing the meters and I think they have no intention of doing so.
they are just so big and there is no one can influence them.  I am about ready to jump ship and get another supplier.

[Deleted User]

Marvintheandroid said:

Our Smart Meter stopped working around 12 months ago after they moved to the new DCC database or whatever it’s called.  They switched us to estimated reading without telling there was a problem.  I called them multiple times being told that there was a comms problem that would be fixed shortly, then they would be updating the smart metering remotely.  Nothing happened so I went to the Onbudsman who found in my favour telling the, they should pay me £75, and replace the meters.  BG promptly appealed the decision but could not offer any further information so the decision was upheld.
instead of sending a cheque for £75 they credited our gas account with £75 which will take 3 months for us to benefit from which I think is just them saying we will do it on our terms.  They have made no contact about replacing the meters and I think they have no intention of doing so.
they are just so big and there is no one can influence them.  I am about ready to jump ship and get another supplier.

A couple of points. I cannot think of any supplier that would send you a check for a goodwill payment: it is normal to make the credit to the consumer’s account. 

Energy Ombudsman Decisions are binding on all suppliers but The Energy Ombudsman has no statutory enforcement powers. It can only report the supplier to Ofgem for non compliance.

hj711

FineJane said:

My smart meter is not working and this past six months I have tried unsuccessfully to get British Gas to do something. I am now considering using the Utility Ombudsman to get help. Do you think this is a good idea

I have had this smart meter problem for over 4 years! A few months ago I escalated my complaint to Ofgem and was assigned an ombudsman. My caseworker was able to get BG to finally communicate with me. She also was instrumental in getting me £150 compensation and a letter of apology from BG. However, during the 4+ years that the meter was only working intermittently, despite me sending in readings, none of my bills were ever generated on actual readings The ombudsman said she could not get involved in what the bill charges were but believed them to be correct. However, although despite Ofgem closing my case now and BG believing they have produced an accurate bill, it's still an estimated one. I have been left feeling somewhat disappointed.  Would I escalate again to Ofgem...yes definitely.  BG had only offered £75 compensation for what was 7 years of problems with them...Ofgem refused that and asked for £150 which BG accepted. 

[Deleted User]

hj711 said:

FineJane said:

My smart meter is not working and this past six months I have tried unsuccessfully to get British Gas to do something. I am now considering using the Utility Ombudsman to get help. Do you think this is a good idea

I have had this smart meter problem for over 4 years! A few months ago I escalated my complaint to Ofgem and was assigned an ombudsman. My caseworker was able to get BG to finally communicate with me. She also was instrumental in getting me £150 compensation and a letter of apology from BG. However, during the 4+ years that the meter was only working intermittently, despite me sending in readings, none of my bills were ever generated on actual readings The ombudsman said she could not get involved in what the bill charges were but believed them to be correct. However, although despite Ofgem closing my case now and BG believing they have produced an accurate bill, it's still an estimated one. I have been left feeling somewhat disappointed.  Would I escalate again to Ofgem...yes definitely.  BG had only offered £75 compensation for what was 7 years of problems with them...Ofgem refused that and asked for £150 which BG accepted. 

Ofgem does not deal with individual consumer complaints. You escalated your complaint to Energy Ombudsman Services - a privately owned arbitration company sanctioned by Ofgem to deal with complaints between consumers and suppliers. Energy Ombudsman Services just reviews your complaint and the supplier’s case file. It has the powers to insist that suppliers make a goodwill payment. Its Decisions are not enforceable by Statute.