British Gas new system billing problems.

NorbieG

Grizzlebeard said:

NorbieG said

...

They claim to have resolved my issue, but am unsure if I can trust them.  Are BG actions deliberate, or do they simply have incompetent staff???

Having been through the BG mangle myself (pre Octopus) I have an opinion.

BG have incompetent revenue-focused Management, a system that is incompetently designed and implemented and is impossible for even the best staff in the world to work properly.

The poor staff are underpaid, undertrained and overstretched box tickers. They get performance grades based on the number of calls they handle, not the number of problems actually solved.

The whole system seems to be configured to help money flow in and hinder money fI want to verify my bills because I'm not confident they're correctly charged. It's complicated to match the energy usage with the readings and charges.

I want to verify my bills because I'm not confident they're correctly charged. It seems complicated to match the meter readings, energy usage, and bill charges.

Additionally, I have smart meters, but I wish I had stayed with manual readings so I could keep a closer eye on the readings and the associated bills.

tim_p

NorbieG said:
I wish I had stayed with manual readings so I could keep a closer eye on the readings and the associated bills.

there’s nothing stopping you reading the smart meter manually, nothing. 

I regularly read mine and enter the readings into an app I’ve been using for years. 

NorbieG

Yes, I think I'll do that.  But does that mean I can cancel the automatic readings they collect by the smartmeters?

Because I don't understand how to check my energy usage against my bills, is there anywhere I may be able to get someone to go through my gas and electric readings and do the maths for me, to see if I've been charged correctly?

QrizB

NorbieG said:

Because I don't understand how to check my energy usage against my bills ...

It's relatively straightforward once you understand it (gas is more complicated than electricity).

NorbieG said:

... is there anywhere I may be able to get someone to go through my gas and electric readings and do the maths for me, to see if I've been charged correctly?

Share your meter readings, dates and tariff details here and someone will walk through it with you.

bob2302

NorbieG said:

Yes, I think I'll do that.  But does that mean I can cancel the automatic readings they collect by the smartmeters?

Because I don't understand how to check my energy usage against my bills, is there anywhere I may be able to get someone to go through my gas and electric readings and do the maths for me, to see if I've been charged correctly?

The first thing to do is make sure that the meter reading on your bill roughly matches a recent manual read. Once you have established that they are reading your smart meter, you can concentrate on checking the bill's arithmetic. The scope for permanent error in in the calculation, not the readings.

NorbieG

bob2302 said:

NorbieG said:

Yes, I think I'll do that.  But does that mean I can cancel the automatic readings they collect by the smartmeters?

Because I don't understand how to check my energy usage against my bills, is there anywhere I may be able to get someone to go through my gas and electric readings and do the maths for me, to see if I've been charged correctly?

The first thing to do is make sure that the meter reading on your bill roughly matches a recent manual read. Once you have established that they are reading your smart meter, you can concentrate on checking the bill's arithmetic. The scope for permanent error in in the calculation, not the readings.

bob2302 said:

NorbieG said:

Yes, I think I'll do that.  But does that mean I can cancel the automatic readings they collect by the smartmeters?

Because I don't understand how to check my energy usage against my bills, is there anywhere I may be able to get someone to go through my gas and electric readings and do the maths for me, to see if I've been charged correctly?

The first thing to do is make sure that the meter reading on your bill roughly matches a recent manual read. Once you have established that they are reading your smart meter, you can concentrate on checking the bill's arithmetic. The scope for permanent error in in the calculation, not the readings.

It has never crossed my mind that they wouldn't read the smart meters, and could charge as estimated.  I really have to spend some time going back and checking the readings and bills from 2021 when I was transferred to BG (when the smaller energy companies collapsed).  BG informed me that all bills were correct to the energy used, but I don't trust them.