British Gas missing credit/ shocking customer service

sheldonb14

I was transferred to British Gas when my previous electricity supplier went bust and have been with them around a year now. I have never been too impressed as their app was awful and usage data was never up to date. In September I received an email telling me that I was being moved to a new system and would need to install and register a new app. After doing this it showed my credit and usage as zero and looked as though I was a brand new customer. Logging into the old app it tells me I am no longer a BG customer.  I looked on the FAQ’s section and it said it can take up to 14 days for the billing information to transfer. Over a month later and it still doesn’t show my direct debit payments for anything prior to this month and shows my current balance as being exactly the same as October’s DD payment, (i.e. it hasn’t brought forward any of the credit I had on the old system). I’ve spent over an hour on hold to customer services only for the call to be answered and immediately disconnected, I’ve gone onto live chat at length and been told that they can’t help me as they can’t access the necessary system. How can such a large energy company be so incompetent and lack any kind of customer service?  

Before I waste any more time with BG I wondered if anyone else here had any similar issues and did their system eventually show the missing payments? I’m keen to move suppliers ASAP but am wary in doing so in case this makes finding the missing payments even more difficult than it already is. 

MorningcoffeeIV

Look at your account online - it should all be there.

sheldonb14

MorningcoffeeIV said:

Look at your account online - it should all be there.

Thanks for your reply, I’ve logged in online and it’s the same as the app. The “current balance” is the same figure as my October DD and when I click the “payments” button it looks as though the only DD payment ever made is for October. My bills are all there (the last one being June) but there’s no record showing of the payments I made for July, August and September, or any of the credit built up previously. 

itsthelittlethings

I know this isn't very helpful, but I moved over to the new app with no issues a month or two ago, so it is possible for them to get it right!

ArbitraryRandom

sheldonb14 said:

MorningcoffeeIV said:

Look at your account online - it should all be there.

Thanks for your reply, I’ve logged in online and it’s the same as the app. The “current balance” is the same figure as my October DD and when I click the “payments” button it looks as though the only DD payment ever made is for October. My bills are all there (the last one being June) but there’s no record showing of the payments I made for July, August and September, or any of the credit built up previously. 

It might be a question of time. If it's been a month already then I might suggest you lodge a complaint - just so the 8 week clock for escalating to the ombudsman is started (Hopefully everything will magically update before then, but just in case). You are best to do that in writing (email to their public customer service address is fine. google suggests customerservice@britishgas.co.uk) and use the word complaint. 

It might help if you could work out what your current balance should be - which is hopefully easy enough if you have your June bill (which will include your meter readings) and your bank statements showing the payments you've made - then when they do make an adjustment to your account you can be confident everything is as you expect  

sheldonb14

ArbitraryRandom said:

sheldonb14 said:

MorningcoffeeIV said:

Look at your account online - it should all be there.

Thanks for your reply, I’ve logged in online and it’s the same as the app. The “current balance” is the same figure as my October DD and when I click the “payments” button it looks as though the only DD payment ever made is for October. My bills are all there (the last one being June) but there’s no record showing of the payments I made for July, August and September, or any of the credit built up previously. 

It might be a question of time. If it's been a month already then I might suggest you lodge a complaint - just so the 8 week clock for escalating to the ombudsman is started (Hopefully everything will magically update before then, but just in case). You are best to do that in writing (email to their public customer service address is fine. google suggests customerservice@britishgas.co.uk) and use the word complaint. 

It might help if you could work out what your current balance should be - which is hopefully easy enough if you have your June bill (which will include your meter readings) and your bank statements showing the payments you've made - then when they do make an adjustment to your account you can be confident everything is as you expect  

Thanks, I will definitely do this. Im too hoping it’s the usual BG systemic incompetence and it will eventually sort itself out. I cant be the only one in this situation.

Yes, I’ve already worked out roughly that my balance is around £700 more than currently shown. 

JohnMorton6789

similar to sheldonb14 above my credit balance (£700+ credit) has disappeared, it did show for a couple of days on new system then vanished. I queried this on their Webchat and got told it would be sorted “ in one or two days”, 3 days later nothing had happened so Webchat again - same answer. Nothing happened. Put in a complaint on website and was told it would be sorted in 7 days, after 5 days I got another email saying 21 days before it will be sorted. I had another Webchat for yet another problem today and when getting that sorted I chased my existing complaint and chap said a different department sorting by issuing a new bill and then either transferring balance to ,y new BG account or my bank account in the next few days. Interesting thing is that my original query response and my 21 day email have different reference numbers. 

Largs

It does seem they are having problems,  I paid my bill last month by debit card on the new system and it failed and logged me out.  Logged back and paid it again.  When my statement came through I have been charged twice, British Gas Leeds and British Gas Windsor.  My account is now in credit by same amount.  Not great

MaryGilson

Similar changed contract then installed new app + credit disappeared new statement shows me using 4000 + units of gas in a month bit more than my usual 50 or so put in complaint 10 days ago tried 3 times since on live chat kept waiting or cut off.
My complaint email 
Good day I have received my statement showing I have used 4213 units of gas my previous meter reading submitted 08/12/23 was 00175 my current reading is 00223 so can you please amend the information and send a corrected statement showing my true use not your made up figures. Respectfully Mary Gilson

QrizB

Welcome to the forum.

You're the latest of several people who have had this problem when being moved from BGs only billing system to the new one. It should all be resolved automatically with your next bill, but it might not be.

SalveForOldSores

!!!!!!-ups  continue into November 2024 . . . . even with long established customers (I've been with 'em 40 years. I'm gas only and on a bog-standard tariff)

Transferred to new on-line  account some time ago . . . all has been well . . . until recently . . .  and then suddenly, this month,  my payment for the last quarter is credited twice. And I also found that I was having to log-in twice per session on the Android tablet to get to my account information (The cause ? Or have they been hacked ?).

Their action puts my account £35 in credit ! (Central heating switched-off, I'm only using the kitchen hob).
I won't stick my nose in immediately, rather leave it and see if their audit process captures the error.

Personally, I'm  fed-up having  the back teeth having to do the correcting clerical and accounting work for these neo-liberal organisations, from utility providers to health services, who have walked away from the idea of a service obligation to customers in favour of making big-bonuses for CEOs and shareholders and damning the rest. Never used to be this bad 40 years ago.
 
Of course all this may be a pretext just to engineer a telcon with the customer about Smart Meters (Of which I'm not a fan) . . I understand the group CEO has a bee-in-his-bonnet about such things.

What's more their server(s) definately don't like some of the servers used by a NOtable vpn pRoviDer. 

If it doesn't  correct after a month, I'll report it, 'cause I'd rather not see double debiting.

You see,this is what an accountant with a business school education, a twiddly woke moustache and a £4.5 million annual salary + bonuses can do for an organisation when the concept of  "Extracting value from the transaction chain" is vigourously applied.