Anomalously high gas bill - from British Gas

MeteredOut

EssexHebridean said:

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"! 

I'd agree with this - it is exactly what EDF have been trying to do with me - trying to get me to agree to a rebilling on terms that are hugely advantageous to them and that do not reflect the overcharging by the faulty meter i had.

To the OP, I think you need to clearly state to them (or the Ombudsman if/when it reaches that) what you do want to happen. No-one is going to do that for you (including the Ombudsman).

CazeryBird

Thank you all,  I really appreciate the help. I've responded to them with the following:

"I don't want to confirm anything yet though. Could you confirm the purpose of the new reading suggestions: is it that you are establishing a typical usage?

As I understand it, the July readings give a consumption (m3) of 23 units in 2 weeks (i.e. 130kWh/week); May/June 2024 in 7 weeks (i.e.577kWh/week). Assuming winter is 32 weeks at 466 this gives 14,000kWh and summer is 20 weeks @ 130 we have a total of 16,000kWh a year (which is a little above average for a house our size, but I can live with that).

I want to be sure that what you are suggesting takes us back to normal consumption levels (and a more realistic bill!), not the erroneous levels currently billed. I've consulted with some independent experts who agree there is no way we could use that much gas in this house even if we tried. And as I've stated previously our usage patterns haven't changed from last year, when we used about 14,000kWh."

So a mix of some of the details people here have kindlt calculated along with a statement of what I want to happen and what I would be happy with as a reasonable resolution. I also referred to 'independent experts' in the hope this makes them a bit wary of how they proceed...
They've acknowledged receipt so let's see.

I'm saving any other issues for now (e.g.battery). It all depends how they respond to this email.

CazeryBird

Also, they admitted that the meter didn't send them any readings in 2023 (they referred to it as faulty at first, then amended that later on, but I have it all in a chat transcript) so there is evidence, admitted from their end of issues with the meter.

MeteredOut

CazeryBird said:

Also, they admitted that the meter didn't send them any readings in 2023 (they referred to it as faulty at first, then amended that later on, but I have it all in a chat transcript) so there is evidence, admitted from their end of issues with the meter.

Just a note of caution. A low level customer services staff member referring to your meter as faulty in a chat does not mean the meter was faulty, nor that the supplier will accept they believe the meter is faulty. I'd not rely on that being evidence that the meter is faulty.

Wrong as it is, if you believe the meter is faulty, the onus will be on you to provide the evidence to show that, either to the supplier (who will likely just ignore it) or to the Energy Ombudsman. 

CazeryBird

MeteredOut said:

CazeryBird said:

Also, they admitted that the meter didn't send them any readings in 2023 (they referred to it as faulty at first, then amended that later on, but I have it all in a chat transcript) so there is evidence, admitted from their end of issues with the meter.

Just a note of caution. A low level customer services staff member referring to your meter as faulty in a chat does not mean the meter was faulty, nor that the supplier will accept they believe the meter is faulty. I'd not rely on that being evidence that the meter is faulty.

Wrong as it is, if you believe the meter is faulty, the onus will be on you to provide the evidence to show that, either to the supplier (who will likely just ignore it) or to the Energy Ombudsman. 

Thank you, that's a useful and sensible point.

I'm not sure how I can prove that though? At the time I was focusing my time on my newborn baby and suicidal partner so didn't pay attention to the meter. I did have one conversation with a customer service person who said we were in credit and all fully up to date (with actual readings) so refunded me the credit and lowered our monthly payments. But that was the only contact I had. The customer service agent I spoke to recently said they shouldn't have done that and were in error 🤷🏻‍♀️

CazeryBird

I can show that over the same period of time last year our usage was much much lower. But that's all the evidence I have. Our plug in bit of the meter has never worked so I've not had a daily visual of usage.

CazeryBird

Oh and as mentioned earlier in the thread, all our readings apart from those two show normal levels of usage. So something weird happened with the meter around then but seems OK now. Even after using the heating almost constantly for the past month we've only used £258 of gas.
The only variable around that time was us having the kitchen stripped back to brick and refitted, but there's no gas in that room.

37pisntenough

MeteredOut said:

CazeryBird said:

Also, they admitted that the meter didn't send them any readings in 2023 (they referred to it as faulty at first, then amended that later on, but I have it all in a chat transcript) so there is evidence, admitted from their end of issues with the meter.

Just a note of caution. A low level customer services staff member referring to your meter as faulty in a chat does not mean the meter was faulty, nor that the supplier will accept they believe the meter is faulty. I'd not rely on that being evidence that the meter is faulty.

Wrong as it is, if you believe the meter is faulty, the onus will be on you to provide the evidence to show that, either to the supplier (who will likely just ignore it) or to the Energy Ombudsman. 

You could get the meter tested. I think if it's proved to be faulty you don't need to pay anything but if it's not then there will be a fee. 

I'm not sure the onus is on the customer to prove a faulty meter. It should be a joint decision to get it tested between the supplier and customer.

MeteredOut

37pisntenough said:

MeteredOut said:

CazeryBird said:

Also, they admitted that the meter didn't send them any readings in 2023 (they referred to it as faulty at first, then amended that later on, but I have it all in a chat transcript) so there is evidence, admitted from their end of issues with the meter.

Just a note of caution. A low level customer services staff member referring to your meter as faulty in a chat does not mean the meter was faulty, nor that the supplier will accept they believe the meter is faulty. I'd not rely on that being evidence that the meter is faulty.

Wrong as it is, if you believe the meter is faulty, the onus will be on you to provide the evidence to show that, either to the supplier (who will likely just ignore it) or to the Energy Ombudsman. 

You could get the meter tested. I think if it's proved to be faulty you don't need to pay anything but if it's not then there will be a fee. 

I'm not sure the onus is on the customer to prove a faulty meter. It should be a joint decision to get it tested between the supplier and customer.

Legally, perhaps, but in reality, that was my experience. The suppliers are useless, no-one wants to (or is empowered to) take ownership of an issue, and the Ombudsman's role is not to help with a case, but to make a decision based on the evidence provided by both sides.

CazeryBird, I'd get those details you do have (usage previously, usage now) and put that in a clear complaint to the supplier. If that does not work, take it to the Energy Ombusdman.

If you want to post it here first, we may be able to suggest amendments. But, make it clear and concise, so that an idiot can understand it - because it WILL seem that's who you are speaking to at the suppliers.

tim_p

CazeryBird said:

Even after using the heating almost constantly for the past month we've only used £258 of gas.

Are you sure? That’s a huge amount of gas, getting on for 4000kWh (unless my maths needs some work! - highly likely)