Anomalously high gas bill - from British Gas

CazeryBird

Well I got Loop to work and it shows we used 2000kWh in May, 4000 in April, and 1600 in June, so a lot less than the 23,000 bg claim we used.

I'm going to go through and calculate more precisely usage for the periods BG charge for.

Could they have mistakenly updated my meter to the reading of the lady they erroneously swapped my account for? I can't see meter reading numbers on loop (I can't find them anyway).

I also can't see anything from before December 2023, but this tallies with the smart meter communication fault/error bg recently told me had occurred throughout 2023. Mind I still don't understand how none of the in person readings taken by the meter reading people were uploaded 🤷🏻‍♀️

At least I seem to be making a little progress.

Ildhund

If your meter is configured to send half-hourly data, you can see in Loop precisely how much you used in any specific half-hour period that they have data for. It's a lot of touching and scrolling, but the information should be there once you work out how to find it.

Meter readings are only available to you and your supplier. Other users (like Loop and Bright, and your DNO) aren't allowed to see them for some reason.

MeteredOut

CazeryBird said:

Well I got Loop to work and it shows we used 2000kWh in May, 4000 in April, and 1600 in June, so a lot less than the 23,000 bg claim we used.

I'm going to go through and calculate more precisely usage for the periods BG charge for.

This sounds promising. 

What I'd look to do is create a spreadsheet with a known correct reading (ie. before the jump in the summer) and apply the daily usages incrementally onto that, and then send that onto your BG complaint handler with a "how do you explain this?" 

The n3rgy.com website lets you export a spreadsheet that would help with this.

Ildhund

MeteredOut said:

The n3rgy.com website lets you export a spreadsheet that would help with this.

That's if n3rgy let you in. They weren't admitting new customers a week or two ago when I tried. 

CazeryBird

Ildhund said:

MeteredOut said:

The n3rgy.com website lets you export a spreadsheet that would help with this.

That's if n3rgy let you in. They weren't admitting new customers a week or two ago when I tried. 

Ah, that might explain why I couldn't sign up to them yesterday!

Petriix

The potentially good thing is that, if the supposed high usage demonstrably can't be attributed to the last 12 months then it will fall under the back billing rules and you won't have to pay. If the data in Loop is complete and shows significantly lower usage than they are trying to bill you for, you can logically argue that the charges relate to a period over 12 months ago for which you've never received an accurate bill. 

The crucial question is: how many units (m3) does Loop say you've used in the last 12 months, and how does that compare to the alleged usage on your bills? 

brianposter

Copy or print your Loop data before discussing it with BG.

CazeryBird

brianposter said:

Copy or print your Loop data before discussing it with BG.

I'm trying to do this but my bill doesn't have an mpan number on it? I've looked on all the bills they've sent me and can't find it anywhere.

Am I missing something obvious? I have a meter point reference number (ten digits) and a customer reference number.

Gerry1

CazeryBird said:

brianposter said:

Copy or print your Loop data before discussing it with BG.

I'm trying to do this but my bill doesn't have an mpan number on it? I've looked on all the bills they've sent me and can't find it anywhere.

Am I missing something obvious? I have a meter pount reference number (ten digits) and a customer reference number.

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

MeteredOut

CazeryBird said:

brianposter said:

Copy or print your Loop data before discussing it with BG.

I'm trying to do this but my bill doesn't have an mpan number on it? I've looked on all the bills they've sent me and can't find it anywhere.

Am I missing something obvious? I have a meter pount reference number (ten digits) and a customer reference number.

MPAN is for the electricity meter, MPRN is for gas. You have the MPRN here.

If you have an electric bill, it'll have the MPAN on it. May apps allow you to enter either and they'll get the other one from the central database for your address.

See here - this is an example, but all suppliers will have the same format MPAN on their bills.

https://brownlowutilities.co.uk/average-business-energy-bill-explained-mpan-mprn-numbers/