Anomalously high gas bill - from British Gas

CazeryBird

They are proposing the following:

"Based on the two set of actual readings we had for 15/07/2024 and 30/07/2024 which were 8880 and 8903 respectively, I've back-calculated your readings for 26/04/2024 and 15/06/2024 as 8757 and 8834 respectively. 

Please confirm if I can proceed with updating the same and rebill the account. Currently the read updated with us are 6713 as on 26/04/2024 and 8754.3 as on 15/06/2024."

It feels like a trap?! This just spreads out the usage rather than lessening the bill? Or am I being stupid. Apologies, I'm awful with these things (which is why my partner, a theoretical physicist, usually does these things...)

CazeryBird

FreeBear said:

CazeryBird said:

This was the front of the meter a couple of days ago 

Mounting plate is rusty, but that is nothing to worry about as it doesn't affect meter functionality.

Production date of the meter is 2018 - The internal battery usually lasts around 6 years, so this meter is due for a change. Random readings are often symptomatic of a battery nearly at the end of its working life.

Thank you. This feels like something hard to prove though? Or should I just ask them for a new battery as part of my discussions?

Apologies for all the stupid questions. I've not had to do this sort of stuff before. Usually my partner looks after everything bill related.

brianposter

Anyone know if the software in smart gas meters can be updated ?

Ectophile

The batteries aren't user-replaceable.  Mostly, they aren't replaceable by field service personnel either.

Either the meter will be sent back to the factory to be refurbished, or more likely it will be chucked in the e-waste recycling.

Ildhund

Ectophile said:

The batteries aren't user-replaceable.  Mostly, they aren't replaceable by field service personnel either.

I have read that batteries aren't replaced on site because of an HSE directive about carrying batteries around the countryside in the back of engineers' vans. However, the battery in a smart gas meter should last for at least the meter's certification lifetime. It might run out sooner if there's a problem with the smart connection: this could lead to repeated attempts to fix the problem which will use much more than the usual transmission bleep once every 30 minutes.

CazeryBird

Robin9 said:

On that basis while you used about 14,000 kWh in 22/23 you used 50,000 in 23/24

Do you know what this means?

"Based on the two set of actual readings we had for 15/07/2024 and 30/07/2024 which were 8880 and 8903 respectively, I've back-calculated your readings for 26/04/2024 and 15/06/2024 as 8757 and 8834 respectively. 

Please confirm if I can proceed with updating the same and rebill the account. Currently the read updated with us are 6713 as on 26/04/2024 and 8754.3 as on 15/06/2024."

I'm worried they want me to agree to something which leads to me still paying the excess money.

Robin9

I think BG are trying to establish a typical usage.

The July readings give a consumption (in m3) of 23 units in 2 weeks (ie 130kWh / week)  ; the May/June 2041 in 7 weeks  (ie 466 kWh / week).   .   If we assume winter is 32 weeks @ 466 gives 14,000 kWh; and summer is 20 weeks @ 130 gives 2600 -  total of 16,600 kWh in the year.  That is of the same order as the 14,000 in my post.  That's higher than average but not out of order for your 3 bed terrace which may well not be as well insulated as a modern property.

EssexHebridean

Have a read of @MeteredOut 's thread relating to their faulty meter - although theirs was an old style traditional one rather than smart. We had another one recently in a similar sounding situation to yours, too. 

The stand-out for me here is that nothing has changed in the way you use the heating until this past month, and yet in spite of that your annual usage has jumped to a fairly implausible level according to your meter. 

brianposter

If no one here can understand what is being offered, it seems reasonable to ask for a clearer explanation of what is being suggested.

EssexHebridean

They are missing the point - the issue is not that their billing is incorrect, it is that you are maintaining that the meter reads themselves are wrong, and that this is due to a fault with the meter. 

I would say that they are indeed attempting to fudge you into agreeing to a rebilling in the hope that the bigger issue will go away, or worse, that they can subsequently say "Oh but you agreed those readings must be correct because you agreed to the rebilling"!