British Gas billing complaints -help

Birdiefly

I have numerous issues with billing and readings with BG, still escalated however I have just received my last electric bill with Adjustments After VAT added of £329.01 although haven’t received my Gas bill ( I don’t think the vat and adjustments are for that) I spoke to BG on the phone , after being on hold he came back and said it was government payment adjustments we don’t have any this side of yr 23, he then said it was to do with meter readings, I said the bill states at the end we read your meter, I have also sent in my own meter readings. Can anyone make any sense of what this ADJUSTMENT might be. Bill below.

QrizB

You've been on estimated readings for at least six months.

What did your previous bill say?

Birdiefly

My last meter reading was Oct22 they have a meter reading Oct23 over the full year. Is that what you meant?

ArbitraryRandom

Can you give us the day and night readings for October last year and then the day and night readings for October this year? (so four readings in total)

The problem might be that you have been on estimated readings for an extended period - which has included several rate changes... so the 'recalculation' could be allocating your use over the year (giving them a reading now doesn't mean all your use should be charged at today's rate)

Brie

It does rather look like they've just randomly added a large amount.

As for using estimated readings - I know it may be inconvenient but you might save money if you provided readings - particularly as the rates seem to be dropping each quarter.  

Birdiefly

0ct22
day:06253 night: 13582
Oct23
day: 08019 night: 14412

i understand regular readings would help, however I am always in credit, and have got them to reduce my monthly DD from £203.05 to £134.32.

Them taking this £329.01 is a high amount for advanced payments.

Annemos

Good evening Birdiefly.    Could this be a clue to your issue?........ 

I had this strange "ADJUSTMENT THING" going on when they changed me from the OLD billing system to the NEW billing system. 

Have you had any e-mail saying you are being transferred onto the new billing system?  Old system accounts started with 8. New system accounts start with an A.  (Your bill print-style looks like the old billing system?)


The old billing system and the new billing system operate as "separate companies". So the OLD billing system has to be completely closed out in a certain manner to get the credits/debits in order. In my bills, it seemed to me as if they do this by having a process in place to allocate/split/divide the direct debits between the gas and the electricity use. 

But overall after the 2 billing cycles, I was all back to normal once I had received the first bill on the new billing system!! (Highlighted to give you some hope!) 



You have not had your gas bill yet, to be able to see the whole picture developing, possibly? If I am right you should be seeing that 329 pounds coming back to you as a refund within the next couple of bills. (I have given my own example below.) 

Maybe they have taken 329 of your direct debits on this bill (negated them) and added them back on this electricity bill. Then you will eventually see that same amount coming off your gas usage bill. In effect, then, 329 out of your total direct debits of 1218, will have then been allocated to the gas bill. 



Of course I may be completely wrong. British Gas works in mysterious ways. 


===========================================================================

Here is what happened to me when the BG billing system was changed over to the new one....if you can bear it, as it is rather messy! I apologise for this!   Blame BG. (This was a year ago, so they may have done some alterations.) 


I had always had combined gas and electric, but when they changed me over I suddenly received two separate bills. The Gas bill came 3 weeks AFTER the electric bill: 

Last bills on OLD account:   

1. I got a separate electricity bill and they offset ALL my direct debit payments against the electricity usage. It showed 103 pounds credit. 

2. I then got a separate estimated gas bill for the same period and that showed the pure energy gas usage cost for that same period of 57 pounds to pay.   (Because no direct debits were on here.)    (They had carried forward the 103 credit from the separate electricity bill as a starting point and then later added it back in again in this bill and shown it as a positive ADJUSTMENT. Which then left just the pure gas usage charge of 57 showing as the end result on this gas bill.)

Note then, that I should have 46 "refund" overall from those two bills.  


3. I then got a REPLACEMENT BILL about 8 weeks later, COMBINING the gas and electric back together again:  That bill had the two adjustments shown again:   103 as an ADJUSTMENT to pay in the electric bit.  And 57 as an ADJUSTMENT credit in the gas bit.  (These bring the old account down to zero.)

It was at this stage 3 that I actually noticed it. I compared this bill to what I had actually used and what my direct debits actually were etc etc and I thought...... hang on.... they have actually charged me 46 pounds extra on this bill than they should have done via adjustments????? Why on earth is that??

                       ----------------------------------------------------------------------

But the NEXT period's bill had ALSO arrived which is the FIRST BILL ON  THE NEW ACCOUNT.........  

4.  And I noticed that I had got those adjustments in reverse yet again..... and so the 46 pounds was indeed being refunded back to me, now, as two LEGACY ADJUSTMENTS!   (Shown as 103 pounds credit for the electric and 57 to pay for the gas.) 

Summary:


Last Bill 3  old system   showed   46  refund (in the main part of the bill)   plus  46 adjustments = 0  to close out

First Bill 4  new system     showed desired 46 refund!   

debitcardmayhem

I find it strange they read your night meter but not the day one ?

[Deleted User]

Hi,

Birdiefly said
i understand regular readings would help, however I am always in credit, and have got them to reduce my monthly DD from £203.05 to £134.32.

always in credit is maybe because BG were underestimating your usage, thus the reduction in DD.

QrizB

Birdiefly said:

i understand regular readings would help, however I am always in credit, and have got them to reduce my monthly DD from £203.05 to £134.32.

When did you, personally, last read your meter?

What are your actual meter readings today?

born_again

Birdiefly said:

0ct22
day:06253 night: 13582
Oct23
day: 08019 night: 14412

i understand regular readings would help, however I am always in credit, and have got them to reduce my monthly DD from £203.05 to £134.32.

Them taking this £329.01 is a high amount for advanced payments.

There is the rub.
You may not be.. The only way for accurate billing & knowing your TRUE credit amount, Is either a smart reader & they pull the readings, or you send them each month.

Other than that, they are guessing a figure.