British Gas late bills after switch

Shadowyiayia

Hi there,
I'm new on here but have tried searching if anyone else has had issues with British Gas like I'm having now. 
I switched to EDF energy in April and had an outstanding balance of £400 and I set up a payment plan to pay that back and have never missed a payment. A few weeks ago I got a text then an email saying I owed £997.05! At first I thought it was a scam, but they kept on texting and emailing. I then answered the email asking for more details and how 7 months after switching this could happen. They never answer my questions, they just said transfer for the reason and they said they don't have the transcript from my phone call when I set up my payment plan. I have to wait a few weeks to raise a dispute with the Ombudsman, yet British Gas now are not replying but just sent me to a debt agency!
Also anyone with British Gas I must say EDF is so much better.

DE_612183

Have you got any written confirmation from British Gas of the payment plan you entered into?

Gerry1

Welcome to the forum.

Can you still access your BG account?  If so, does it show all your payment plan transactions having been  credited?  If not, submit a written Subject Access Request.

Make sure you're accessing the correct BG payment system.  BG have two billing systems and are moving customers from the old system to the new one.  Unfortunately (some would say predictably) it hasn't gone smoothly and has caused issues.  The payments may have gone to the wrong system, or BG may not have realised you've left and are continuing to bill you for estimated usage and standing charges.  Almost anything is possible with BG !

Does your EDF account show the correct meter readings and payments?

Shadowyiayia

DE_612183 said:

Have you got any written confirmation from British Gas of the payment plan you entered into?

I have emails which I have forwarded to them.

Shadowyiayia

Gerry1 said:

Welcome to the forum.

Can you still access your BG account?  If so, does it show all your payment plan transactions having been  credited?  If not, submit a written Subject Access Request.

Make sure you're accessing the correct BG payment system.  BG have two billing systems and are moving customers from the old system to the new one.  Unfortunately (some would say predictably) it hasn't gone smoothly and has caused issues.  The payments may have gone to the wrong system, or BG may not have realised you've left and are continuing to bill you for estimated usage and standing charges.  Almost anything is possible with BG !

Does your EDF account show the correct meter readings and payments?

I did go on my old account which showed they owed me £3.60! I emailed then this a few times and finally they have said they have deleted the £997.05 I supposedly owed them. It's unbelievable how awful they have been, I must have emailed them 20-30 timed. But thank you as your comments I do believe helped. Happy 2025

Gerry1

Congratulations !  It pays to persevere.

But keep all your records carefully forever because BG's hopeless billing system may kick in again and re-start the process... several times.