British Gas credit use (cost + debt), had enough for 4 years so considering court action.

tifo

This is the summary for 2023.

MattMattMattUK

tifo said:

This is the summary for 2023.

Based on that you have a smart pre-pay meter, that means that you should be able to export the data in full from somewhere in the BG site, I do not know where as I am not with BG. You could also get full access on Bright app as well. 

tifo

From March 2021 to December 2021 i topped up £714.

There was one top up of £99 and another one (I forget figure) which they didn't add to the meter as it was done at Post Office and promised to refund but haven't. Those are not in the total for 2021.

In 2022 I topped up £1,083.

In 2023 I topped up £871.

I'll check the above against bank account as they seem lower than the money I think i've paid but I could be wrong.

I have the figures from Jan 2020 to March 2021 from card top ups and i'll get them.

Joyful

I would contact the British Gas Energy Trust and see if they can help you clear the debt. You will then be free to move supplier.

tifo

MattMattMattUK said:

tifo said:

This is the summary for 2023.

Based on that you have a smart pre-pay meter, that means that you should be able to export the data in full from somewhere in the BG site, I do not know where as I am not with BG. You could also get full access on Bright app as well. 

I use the loop app but it doesn't give accurate figures as misses many days.

Apart from top ups, tariff details and last 2 year summaries there is nothing else in the BG online account.

tifo

Joyful said:

I would contact the British Gas Energy Trust and see if they can help you clear the debt. You will then be free to move supplier.

I've looked at this but they don't make it easy.

"The first step to getting financial help, is always to understand what support is available to you. Then, you should get professional money advice from a local advice centre as there may be a number of options to help your situation. Your local advice centre will also help you understand how you will manage your energy costs in future, which you’ll need to show when applying for a grant".

"Proof of all household income will be required - if you have family members over 18 within the household, their income will need to be included within the assessment".

"Proof of money advice or money guidance received in the last 3 months (e.g. a letter confirming that advice or guidance has been provided, or a standard financial statement, or Personal Action Plan or equivalent evidence of an income and expenditure budget exercise)".

I have kids over 18 and working but at the end of the month they have nothing left after paying all their own costs such as cars, insurance, travel, food etc.

QrizB

tifo said:

In 2023 I topped up £871.

And, from the bill summary you posted, in 2023 your gas costs were £710.77 for 6885kWh.

The price of gas varied during 2023 but was around 10p/kWhfor the first six months, then around 7p/kWh. Let's say it averaged out at 8.5p/kWh.

6885kWh at 8.5p/kWh would cost £585. The gas standing charge is about £120 per year, so that's a total of £705. Pretty close to the £710.77 on your bill.

So, the amount of debt repayment during the year will have been about £160. (You've said that it's 2.2p per hour, which would be £193 per year. Close.)

It all seems to hang together.

mongoose2009

QrizB said:

tifo said:

In 2023 I topped up £871.

And, from the bill summary you posted, in 2023 your gas costs were £710.77 for 6885kWh.

The price of gas varied during 2023 but was around 10p/kWhfor the first six months, then around 7p/kWh. Let's say it averaged out at 8.5p/kWh.

6885kWh at 8.5p/kWh would cost £585. The gas standing charge is about £120 per year, so that's a total of £705. Pretty close to the £710.77 on your bill.

So, the amount of debt repayment during the year will have been about £160. (You've said that it's 2.2p per hour, which would be £193 per year. Close.)

It all seems to hang together.

yep sounds correct

so there is nothing wrong with the meter 

the OP needs to be adding a consistant amount for the the usage and the debt so the debt repayments get paid

Qyburn

tifo said:

Looking at the past 12 months i must've topped up at least £1,400. 

tifo said:

In 2023 I topped up £871.

Getting accurate figures rather than making assumptions is really key. Can we take it that in light of this actual top up figure, most of your complaints about cost are actually addressed?

tifo

Qyburn said:

tifo said:

Looking at the past 12 months i must've topped up at least £1,400. 

tifo said:

In 2023 I topped up £871.

Getting accurate figures rather than making assumptions is really key. Can we take it that in light of this actual top up figure, most of your complaints about cost are actually addressed?

"Getting accurate figures rather than making assumptions is really key".

I agree. Please see last paragraph and next post.

"Can we take it that in light of this actual top up figure, most of your complaints about cost are actually addressed?".

Not really, there's still the management of the outside meter and the variable rates it seems to charge after a top up.

It's £871 for 2023 but the credit use is inconsistent in monthly terms. I've added my top ups in next post so it can be seen here why i say that. Usage varies from below £1 a day to £5.67 or over a day for the same typical use. That yearly top up figure is skewed because in some months the meter has taken below £1 a day, usually £2 - £3 a day and sometimes upto £5.67 or more a day. I've got it all written down as i check at least once a week after i top up and every few days after some top up is used as i don't know how much credit is left.

As an example, last December 2022 i topped up near £200 a month and at times use was £8 a day, this December 2023 I topped up £25 in mid December and it's still not finished as it's using under £1 a day. In Jan and Feb 2022 last year credit use was low and in March 2022 from the next top up it massively jumped up (from under £1 to nearly £6) for no apparent reason, it stayed like this for a while.

It's an average of £3 - £3.50 a day over the majority of months so in some months if it did not take less credit (I don't know why it does that) then yearly top ups would be £1,100 - £1,300 hence my 'estimate' of '£1,400'.