British Gas Account Transfer - Unusually High Bills

tractorgirl1

Hello MoneySavingExpert Users,

I'm reaching out to see if anyone else has experienced a similar issue with British Gas. Specifically, I'm concerned about a significant increase in my gas bills following an account transfer.

In September 2023, my British Gas account was transferred from one starting with '85' to a new one beginning with 'A'. Following this change, I received a bill for £1085, which is markedly higher than my usual £200-£300 range. After three phone calls and a bit of back-and-forth, British Gas acknowledged an error with the gas reading and adjusted the bill. However, my latest bill has arrived, and it's £440 - about double what I typically pay.

To provide some context, I've maintained a spreadsheet of my meter readings for the last 10 years. My usage has been consistent and certainly hasn't doubled as the recent bills suggest.

Despite contacting British Gas three times, the responses have been quite standard, with assurances that 'the meter reading is correct.' I'm starting to suspect that this issue may be related to the account transfer process, but explaining this based on my evidence to customer services seems futile.

Has anyone here gone through a similar situation, particularly after being transferred to a new account type with British Gas? Any advice on how to address this, or insights on whether this is a common issue with account transfers, would be immensely helpful.

Thank you in advance for any guidance or shared experiences.

QrizB

tractorgirl1 said:

After three phone calls and a bit of back-and-forth, British Gas acknowledged an error with the gas reading and adjusted the bill. However, my latest bill has arrived, and it's £440 - about double what I typically pay.

To provide some context, I've maintained a spreadsheet of my meter readings for the last 10 years. My usage has been consistent and certainly hasn't doubled as the recent bills suggest.

Despite contacting British Gas three times, the responses have been quite standard, with assurances that 'the meter reading is correct.'

It's not entirely clear from your post whether you think that BG have still messed up your meter readings and have billed you for too much gas, or whether you think their readings are now correct but they're asking you for too large a payment. Which is it?

Are you paying by monthly budget DD (where your payment is the same every month), monthly variable DD (where your payment changes each month) or some other method?

Gerry1

Anything is possible with British Gas !  The old billing system was dire, and it remains to be seen whether the new one is any better or just as bad but in different ways.

They certainly messed me up on the old system, significantly overcharging me no fewer than four times.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/80062780/#Comment_80062780

I held out for £100 compo and received it.

tractorgirl1

Dear MoneySavingExpert Community,

I hope this message finds you well. I'd like to provide an update on the situation with my British Gas account that I previously shared, and thank you for your invaluable advice and shared experiences.

Following my last communication, I've received another bill covering the period from December to March. Intriguingly, the bill included the standing charge for the duration from September to March. This was perplexing as I had already paid the standing charge in my December bill, which covered September to December. On receiving an estimated bill, I promptly provided British Gas with new meter readings. After this, they removed the standing charge for September to December and reduced my bill by roughly £200.

While this development partially resolved the issue, the situation remains complex. It seems there's a possibility that the account transfer process might have contributed to these billing inconsistencies. The initial overcharge and subsequent adjustments suggest a deeper issue within their billing system, which may be a concern for other customers experiencing similar challenges.

tractorgirl1

Dear MoneySavingExpert Community,

I wanted to provide an update regarding the ongoing billing issues I've been experiencing with British Gas following my account transfer. Despite my efforts to address discrepancies in my bills, the challenges persist, and the situation has become increasingly frustrating.

I have encountered a concerning development where I paid my bill in full at the post office (3rd April), only to receive a letter threatening debt collection for the same outstanding amount (24th April).

All of this bother has happened since British Gas moved me from an account starting with '85' to a new one beginning with 'A'. Very frustrating.

MeteredOut

Have you raised a complaint with BG. If not, do that with priority. After 8 weeks, if they've not resolved the issue, raise a case with the energy ombudsman.

You've not received much response to this as you didn't answer the questions posed when you first posted. You need to answer those questions if you want further help.

Mobtr

tractorgirl1 said:

Dear MoneySavingExpert Community,

I wanted to provide an update regarding the ongoing billing issues I've been experiencing with British Gas following my account transfer. Despite my efforts to address discrepancies in my bills, the challenges persist, and the situation has become increasingly frustrating.

I have encountered a concerning development where I paid my bill in full at the post office (3rd April), only to receive a letter threatening debt collection for the same outstanding amount (24th April).

All of this bother has happened since British Gas moved me from an account starting with '85' to a new one beginning with 'A'. Very frustrating.

Did you pay your bill using the new account number or the old one. If it’s the old one stating 85 it will have been credited to your account on the old system & will need to be transferred over. 

tractorgirl1

To MeteredOut:

Thank you for your guidance on escalating my concerns. I wanted to clarify that I have indeed lodged a complaint through British Gas's live chat feature. They promptly addressed my complaint and assured me via email that the issue had been resolved and confirmed that I am not in debt. However, the subsequent threat of debt collection suggests that there might be a lingering discrepancy. I am preparing to contact the energy ombudsman as you suggested, to ensure this matter is thoroughly addressed.

To Mobtr:

I appreciate your input regarding the payment method. To confirm, I paid at the post office using the bill provided, which displayed the new 'A' account number. This should mean that the payment was made to the correct, updated account. It's puzzling why there seems to be a miscommunication about the payment being received, prompting a threat of debt collection. I'll need to follow up with British Gas to resolve this and ensure that all payments are accurately tracked in their system.

Herbs

tractorgirl1 said:

Hello MoneySavingExpert Users,

I'm reaching out to see if anyone else has experienced a similar issue with British Gas. Specifically, I'm concerned about a significant increase in my gas bills following an account transfer.

In September 2023, my British Gas account was transferred from one starting with '85' to a new one beginning with 'A'. Following this change, I received a bill for £1085, which is markedly higher than my usual £200-£300 range. After three phone calls and a bit of back-and-forth, British Gas acknowledged an error with the gas reading and adjusted the bill. However, my latest bill has arrived, and it's £440 - about double what I typically pay.

To provide some context, I've maintained a spreadsheet of my meter readings for the last 10 years. My usage has been consistent and certainly hasn't doubled as the recent bills suggest.

Despite contacting British Gas three times, the responses have been quite standard, with assurances that 'the meter reading is correct.' I'm starting to suspect that this issue may be related to the account transfer process, but explaining this based on my evidence to customer services seems futile.

Has anyone here gone through a similar situation, particularly after being transferred to a new account type with British Gas? Any advice on how to address this, or insights on whether this is a common issue with account transfers, would be immensely helpful.

Thank you in advance for any guidance or shared experiences.

Hi did you get a result at all? I myself have had this problem being charged £33,000 over two years with my last shocking bill being 11k- I’ve been to ofgem and they said the bill is correct but that makes no sense as my bill before was a small percentage of that (was with Bristol first got transferred to bgas and am now on octopus) my new provider octopus is billing me less than £500 a month for both energy bills. I have been left with the ombudsman saying ‘well you can hire your own lawyer’ unfortunately this means more cost to me. I have to add that for some of this time frame I didn’t even have heating as I was refurbing my kitchen so no gas bill except for standing charge.