Warning about British Gas

Dreamscometrue

I recently took BG to the ombudsman over my gas meter as I was getting nowhere with their customer services. I went to read the gas meter back at the beginning of January but it was blank and needs replacing. Also, they have moved me to a new system where they've input estimated figures and ignored all of my actual readings. It was a smart meter but no longer sent the readings and nobody has been to read it since I was moved to BG in 2022. The ombudsman has found in my favour. So far BG have done nothing at all but they're still within the 28 day period. The ombudsman made their own calculations and discovered that BG have been billing me as if I have an imperial meter and therefore I've been paying almost 3 x since 2022! No sign yet of BG amending the enormous DD and refunding me but I can wait. Just warning others. Shockingly bad.

la531983

Telling people on here British Gas is useless is like telling people the sky is blue. We all know, and tell people at every opportunity to switch away from them.

Dreamscometrue

la531983 said:

Telling people on here British Gas is useless is like telling people the sky is blue. We all know, and tell people at every opportunity to switch away from them.

Hahaha, I'm sure you're right. I wish that I hadn't been switched to them!

MABLE

I have just checked my BG smart meter and is showing 24.10 when I pay 21.39 inclusive of vat per kWh.  However the last bill shows the correct tariff amount.  Does it matter if the meter shows a different amount if correct on the bill?

EssexHebridean

MABLE said:

I have just checked my BG smart meter and is showing 24.10 when I pay 21.39 inclusive of vat per kWh.  However the last bill shows the correct tariff amount.  Does it matter if the meter shows a different amount if correct on the bill?

Is this the smart meter itself, or the In Home Display you are looking at? The IHD figure is very likely to be out of date - if your bills are correct then that’s the key thing. 

MABLE

EssexHebridean said:

MABLE said:

I have just checked my BG smart meter and is showing 24.10 when I pay 21.39 inclusive of vat per kWh.  However the last bill shows the correct tariff amount.  Does it matter if the meter shows a different amount if correct on the bill?

Is this the smart meter itself, or the In Home Display you are looking at? The IHD figure is very likely to be out of date - if your bills are correct then that’s the key thing. 

On the actual smart meter and doing a quick calculation from the IHD it is using that tariff. 

Scot_39

MABLE said:

I have just checked my BG smart meter and is showing 24.10 when I pay 21.39 inclusive of vat per kWh.  However the last bill shows the correct tariff amount.  Does it matter if the meter shows a different amount if correct on the bill?

NO - well not on credit meters - paid by DD or standard credit. 

Prepay might be a different issue of course.

Of course if you rely on it as absolutely accurate it might be to you too - but when it has in past often been wrong for many others - that could be a mistake.

Only the rate / charges used on the bill matters.

When I got my first smets1 - the daily weekly etc didnt include the standing charge - half of some peoples daily electric bill, and the [p] prices were sent ex VAT, before both fixed - to get an accurate daily total price inc VAT.

And more recently EOn Next sent 10,000s of their DD rate customers Standard credit rates - about 7% higher SC and p per / kWh - to their smart meters - but certainly in my case and a neighbors - both of us were billed correctly - believe you me I noticed and checked.  

I had to back calculate true costs for my tracking spreadsheet for c4 months of logged data.

Many customers historically found their suppliers weren't regularly updating rates - sometimes for months - and with some 1/2 hrly TOU dynamic pricing with the likes of Octopus tariffs these days - they don't even bother populating the actual billed rates (or perhaps simply cannot in terms of what an IHD would display - if 1/2 hrly dynamic ?).

Think of the kWh as the hard data - the price as advisory - probably the wisest advice.

MABLE

Scot_39 said:

MABLE said:

I have just checked my BG smart meter and is showing 24.10 when I pay 21.39 inclusive of vat per kWh.  However the last bill shows the correct tariff amount.  Does it matter if the meter shows a different amount if correct on the bill?

NO - well not on credit meters - paid by DD or standard credit. 

Prepay might be a different issue of course.

Of course if you rely on it as absolutely accurate it might be to you too - but when it has in past often been wrong for many others - that could be a mistake.

Only the rate / charges used on the bill matters.

When I got my first smets1 - the daily weekly etc didnt include the standing charge - half of some peoples daily electric bill, and the [p] prices were sent ex VAT, before both fixed - to get an accurate daily total price inc VAT.

And more recently EOn Next sent 10,000s of their DD rate customers Standard credit rates - about 7% higher SC and p per / kWh - to their smart meters - but certainly in my case and a neighbors - both of us were billed correctly - believe you me I noticed and checked.  

I had to back calculate true costs for my tracking spreadsheet for c4 months of logged data.

Many customers historically found their suppliers weren't regularly updating rates - sometimes for months - and with some 1/2 hrly TOU dynamic pricing with the likes of Octopus tariffs these days - they don't even bother populating the actual billed rates (or perhaps simply cannot in terms of what an IHD would display - if 1/2 hrly dynamic ?).

Think of the kWh as the hard data - the price as advisory - probably the wisest advice.

I’ll speak to BG tomorrow. 

vic_sf49

What does your BG account show @MABLE?

Have you had a fixed rate come to an end recently, as the 24p figure looks like the standard variable rate, depending on your region?

MABLE

vic_sf49 said:

What does your BG account show @MABLE?

Have you had a fixed rate come to an end recently, as the 24p figure looks like the standard variable rate, depending on your region?

The rates on the account are accurate and just had a bill produced and reflects the correct figures.