British Gas won't accept complaint

Marksfish

Last year I had a complaint with British Gas over their provision of my services and delays in having meters working correctly. This was resolved via the ombudsman and all has been well since October. I am on the EV tariff with cheap electric midnight to 5am. My January bill shows 0 overnight usage. I have been charging my car and load shifting during the month. Using Hugo, I can see I have been charged around 350kwh at the normal rate and not the cheaper rate, quite a substantial overcharge. I have opened a complaint with British Gas for overcharging me on my January bill but they have immediately closed it stating it is covered by a binding ombudsman decision. I fail to see how a 2024 overcharging complaint can be palmed off as a continuance of a  provisioning decision. Any ideas how I convince them to re- open the new complaint? I have already used the specialist complaints team email I had from the previous complaint and they refuse to acknowledge.

I want to sort it before moving provider. I should have done it earlier but stayed, lured by Sunday PeakSave.

Thanks

Mark

ArbitraryRandom

If they're saying it's covered by the previous ombudsman's decision then you can go directly to the ombudsman to say they are still failing to property manage your account/bill you correctly... so maybe give them a call and ask them for advice? 

Marksfish

I didn't realise I could do that, so will have a go in the morning. I really don't see how a 2023 resolution can impact a 2024 issue though.

ArbitraryRandom

You 'shouldn't' be able to... but if BG are saying it's the same issue then if you go to the ombudsman the three chances are

1. they agree it's substantially the same issue (and you already have a decision in your favour which BG are not complying with)
2. they say it's not and you can take that back to BG to get them to open a new complaint
3. they say it's not they might say you can skip the 8 weeks waiting time as you're at deadlock 

Either way, more productive than arguing the toss with BG

Marksfish

Sounds like a plan, thank you.

Scot_39

Are they using fixed meter registers or 1/2 hourly data to bill the EV usage.

If 1/2 hourly

Some Octopus tariffs that use 1/2 hourly date - e.g. agile - set a nominal single unit rate for meter - and then bill at the apropriate 1/2 hourly time slots rate in their billing tool.

This would then replicate the behaviour you see in apps - but that shouldnt then be reflected in actual billing.

Does the app half hourly data show EV style usage in the appropriate night half hourly slots ?

If fixed time of use - i.e. like old E7 - using two distinct registers and probably rates at meter

- does your meter still have two rate registers - and are they functioning - (both incrementing day and night as expected)

Given you mention peaksave - is that a change in anyway correlated with new faulty billing ?

Could be a mix up in OTA updates in Jan for new cap - and possibly even for peaksave based billing - but seems strange no one else complaining so far - and they (EV and Sunday peaksave) are supposed to be 100% compatible anyway.

I'd be tempted to treat the refusal to deal with new complaint as deadlock - maybe at a stretch a failure to resolve the old one - but given you say fine for a couple of months - not sure that really stands up - and so go straight to the Ombudsman.

(Perhaps a call / email before resubmitting to see what the old investigator thinks best)

Sometimes fixes are forced through by manual interventions - but the data set causing them - remain in the system - and so get re triggered again on any account changes. (hence peaksave date ?)

I'd probably also be tempted to consider switching now - and not paying the wrong rates - on probably far more of your use than peaksave savings - and continue the complaint until resolved. Can any other users who may have done so - comment on impact - good bad or neutral - of getting money refunded etc ?

Marksfish

Thanks for the reply.

The meter has to report 1/2 hourly for the EV tariff. The bill generated for 3rd January to 31st January shows overnight meter reading 907, on the 3rd and 907 units on the 31st, despite the use of over 350kwh on the Hugo app. I am deliberately quoting the kwh as opposed to £'s as I know it can be a bit inaccurate.

Looking at the IHD at the weekend at 1am when I got in, showed the rate being charged as peak when it should have been the lower. I have worked out how to find the rates on my meter, so will try to look at the weekend when I don't have to get up in the morning! The meter itself only shows 1 total usage counter, but the online portal has registered 2, which equal that shown on the meter.

The EV rate is a fixed tariff, so the rate updates shouldn't affect me.

Maybe no-one is complaining yet as BG seem to only issue bills 3 or 6 monthly. I request one every month, so I don't end up in a worse situation down the line than I am already in, and I am used to monthly bills with my old provider.

Marksfish

@ArbitraryRandom I have emailed ombudsman services and called them to see what they think about the British Gas attitude and whether they think this billing complaint comes under the remit of the previous resolution. Still waiting for a response on that one.

@Scot_39 I thought about what you said a tried the switch again today. Same result as I had when last trying to switch out in December 



Meter appears to be now correctly registered, so really not sure what this issue is:

Scot_39

As the Octopus page suggests - your meter type - as stored on the national database is therefore one Octopus recognizes as a multirate meter  - most commonly these days E7.

Which kind of lines up with you saying on the BG system portal there are 2 visible reading slots - but then didn't get the bit about you saying they were both equal to your total.

That can be true irrespective of how you are now billed  / current tariff - as not sure how often they would update if at all if you change the mode of operation / tariff without changing current smart meter (many for instance may have moved tariffs from single rate metering to EV or agile etc - or from E7 dual rate to single rate billing).

For instance what is the profile class on your MPAN - 2

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meter_Point_Administration_Number

Or you meter model / type or 

physically -

- single circuit - 4 meter tails - no other connection

or 

- dual circuit - either 4 meter tails and an auxiliary switch control connection - or 5 meter tails for a meter with an onboard contactor. (Second circuit only live during off peak - normally for HW immersion and storage heating)

It shouldn't stop you switching - if it's smets2 (and even perhaps older smets1 now integrated onto DCC) - Octopus should be able to help you - on phone if your not confident.

But I'd love to see a reply from someone who had switched mid complaint before advising you to go ahead.

Marksfish

I am presuming that the one rate reported on the meter allows updates the 2 rates reported at HQ. the image below shows the 2 rates, but you can clearly see the overnight rate has not updated recently. The 2 readings shown equal the one reading which is displayed on the meter. My old Eco 7 meter used to digitally display the 2 rates, this smart meter shows the combined total.



My meter is below, with the current reading. No idea what the current online ones are because, as you can see, BG don't update their system very often and the app doesn't support multi rate tariffs.



Not sure why the national database wouldn't have been updated since September? I would have thought registering with the DCC would have updated everything, or is that too much of a simplistic outlook? I looked at Octo in December and asked about the mis-match, but no-one replied in 2 weeks, so I had to email Greg. Had a call from their exec office next day and told me I could go ahead and they would sort the issue. Didn't proceed at that time as wouldn't have got the referral as not using a link, it would have been done manually. I was told next time I tried it should be okay, but it isn't.  Don't really want to go to them, but feel my hand is being pushed towards them. Their "high rated" customer service has so far in my experience been about as good as BG's, and their rates are higher. That said, now my charger is supported by Intelligent, it is getting harder to resist.



Wiki says

01	Domestic unrestricted

Marksfish

So radio silence from:

a) British Gas
b) Previous ombudsman case handler asking if current problem is in the original remit (emails sent and voicemail left).
c) Ombudsman services with my enquiry if I can start a complaint immediately. I obviously can't as the website doesn't allow it, only a message. Complete complaint page asks date first complained and then takes you the the "looks like a case we can help with" and logs you out.
d) Octopus, regarding the meter mis-match, so their 5 star service is not as good as they make it out to be.

Between a rock and a hard place at the moment. BG continuing to over bill my account and not doing anything about it. Being unable to switch away due to a meter mis- match.

Grrrrrrrr.