Is it worth contacting MP re chaotic online account with British Gas?

ChrisJJ

Is it worth writing to my MP about an issue with my energy supplier? Am moving supplier asap (have another thread about that...) and am in contact with the ombudsman regarding an issue with current supplier (British Gas). However, the ombudsman informs me that my online account doesn't have to reflect the bills I actually receive (or something like that - "it's just a guide"). 

Currently, my online account is a mess and bears no relation to, well, anything, There are 52 entries under 'payments' alone, for the past 18 months, the majority of which are not actually payments. Just random adjustments BG have made. There is no record of the bills I have actually received and paid. 

This is all because BG saw fit to 'reverse and rebill' my account for the past 18 months. That's another story.

So, as the ombudsman is unable to assist with my online account and BG are less than useless, is it worth contacting my MP? Surely I should be able to see the bills I've had, and paid?

Netexporter

Do you send in monthly meter readings?

ChrisJJ

Not monthly. Would always send accurate readings when they were due and then BG would send the bill. Sometimes I'd get a bill based on estimated readings and would ring through my actual ones, and a new bill would be generated. I pay on receipt of the bill.

dunstonh

However, the ombudsman informs me that my online account doesn't have to reflect the bills I actually receive (or something like that - "it's just a guide"). 

That is to be expected with a number of providers using legacy systems.
However, BG are moving to Kraken and if you have a smart meter or input regular readings then it will be pretty accurate.

This is all because BG saw fit to 'reverse and rebill' my account for the past 18 months. 

Its a pain when that happens and it pays to keep all the original bills as they do contain the history even though the revised bills do not.

Netexporter

I pay on receipt of the bill.

You do realise that is even more expensive than a prepayment meter?

bristolleedsfan

dunstonh said:

However, the ombudsman informs me that my online account doesn't have to reflect the bills I actually receive (or something like that - "it's just a guide"). 

However, BG are moving to Kraken and if you have a smart meter or input regular readings then it will be pretty accurate.

You periodically post the same thing, can you post evidence to what you have said being as you appear to have taken no apparent notice of previous reply stating B.G moved/moving customers to Ensek platform

https://ensek.com/resources/centrica-british-gas-case-study

Netexporter

Eon and EDF have moved to Kraken but  BG never would. 

I predict Octopus will be bigger than BG by this time next year.

gt94sss2

ChrisJJ said:

Is it worth writing to my MP about an issue with my energy supplier? 

No. What would you expect an MP to do?

QrizB

ChrisJJ said:

Is it worth writing to my MP about an issue with my energy supplier?

No.

ChrisJJ said:

Currently, my online account is a mess and bears no relation to, well, anything

I can see how this might be inconvenient, but does it matter to any appreciable degree?

ChrisJJ said:

Surely I should be able to see the bills I've had, and paid?

Have BG sent you paper bills and/or PDF bills for the complete period? Are those bills consistent, ie. do the meter readings match yours, have you been charged for every kWh at the appropriate ratr, and have you been charged the daily SC for every day?

ChrisJJ

QrizB said:

ChrisJJ said:

Is it worth writing to my MP about an issue with my energy supplier?

No.

ChrisJJ said:

Currently, my online account is a mess and bears no relation to, well, anything

I can see how this might be inconvenient, but does it matter to any appreciable degree?

ChrisJJ said:

Surely I should be able to see the bills I've had, and paid?

Have BG sent you paper bills and/or PDF bills for the complete period? Are those bills consistent, ie. do the meter readings match yours, have you been charged for every kWh at the appropriate ratr, and have you been charged the daily SC for every day?

Yes, for the period concerned I was getting paper bills as usual, based on my readings, or if estimated, rebilled when I informed them of correct reading. Unfortunately, I stupidly got rid of most of these bills when having a clear out. I never envisaged I would be in this situation.

Yes, the bills readings matched mine. There is no way of telling now what the readings were as, as I have stated, it's impossible to make sense of what is on the online account. Everything fell to pieces after a gas leak, when the meter was replaced, and BG failed to register the meter and was consistently unable to provide an accurate bill. That's why I had to contact the ombudsman. 

The 'billing' section of the online account does not show the bills I received, just 22 entries (I haven't had 22 bills!) that almost all say 'cancelled and replaced'

My issue is that I should be able to view my past bills and payments on my online account. Everything on the account bears no relation to the actual bills I received or the payments I've made in the past 18 months. Of the 52 'payments', only five or six are my actual payments. The rest is miscellaneous that just says 'energy charges' and then 'reversal'. 

QrizB

ChrisJJ said:

My issue is that I should be able to view my past bills and payments on my online account.

That's what you'd like to see, but both BG and the Ombudsman agree that the online account doesn't have to show that info.

Can you ask BG for reprints of your paper bills?