payment of supplied bill by British Gas

spannerman986

I have always paid my energy bills in full and on time ,Since 2023 I have has problems with British Gas and my electricity bill amount ,despite me sending in the meter readings they always end up trying to charge me much more . I write down my meter readings every morning ( have done for 2 years ) and I know what I use . if British gas send me incorrect bills , ( sent they say from the smart meter )despite me sending them correct readings can I dispute this with anybody apart from British Gas as I'm sure they haven't a clue 

Gerry1

Welcome to the forum.

What are the readings shown on the bill?  Are they Smart, Customer, Estimated, Meter Reader etc?

What exactly is incorrect?

Not doubting you, just trying to make sure I understand the problem.

• If you have chosen Pay On Receipt of Bill, that's significantly more expensive than Direct Debit.

Gerry1

You can make a complaint at https://www.britishgas.co.uk/help-and-support/make-a-complaint-select-type

However, please make it clear exactly what the problem is.

You can then go to the Energy Ombudsman upon receipt of a deadlock letter, or after eight weeks if they don't send one.

Robin9

How significant is the difference ?

If you, say, read the meter at 0800 and BG read the Smart at 23,59 then the difference  could be 20 kWh   - that's about £5

Conrad3000

Gerry1 said:

Welcome to the forum.

What are the readings shown on the bill?  Are they Smart, Customer, Estimated, Meter Reader etc?

What exactly is incorrect?

Not doubting you, just trying to make sure I understand the problem.

• If you have chosen Pay On Receipt of Bill, that's significantly more expensive than Direct Debit.

How much more would it be if you paid on receipt?

Is it by a few pounds if you pay monthly?

Gerry1

It varies between companies and tariffs, but paying by cash or cheque on receipt of bill is typically around 7% more than DD, so not trivial.

TheMilkmansDad

Basic question, does the serial number on the bill match the serial number of your meter?

spannerman986

Thank you to all who responded to my thread . I have hopefully now sorted it out ( at least for now) I have been recoding my meter readings every single morning since august 2023  in my diary so that I know what I have used in electricity and gas . ( I also use a graph to check it visually every wee ) I submitted a reading to British gas last November and this is on my bill .Today I took a photo of my smart meter readings showing the reading, the date and the time ,unequivocal  evidence ! They are now looking into the transaction between smart meter and British gas as it was giving a very high usage ,my normal usage is 600 units /month approx, their reading was 1400 units ,hence my stress !