British Gas - ongoing complaint

bucksboomer

Studley1970 said:

Don't suppose anyone has an email address so I can escalate my complaint with British Gas ?

Quick summary -- I haven't had an invoice / statement since Jan 2025, and my account is now over £1100 in credit.

Customer Services at British Gas are useless.  I was on quarterly billing, but requested to move to monthly billing, as I now have an EV, so like to keep an eye on my charges etc.

The advisor actioned my request, and also arranged for my old SMETS 1 smart meter to be replaced with an upto date SMETS 2 smart meter.

BG Engineer duly arrived, swapped out both my Gas and Electric meters, provided me with an nice new in-home display, which works just fine.

However, my 30 minute readings do not appear to be going back to BG as they keep asking me (whenever I call) to give them a current electric meter reading, plus my online account shows regular Gas meter readings, but nothing on the electric side.

I've had an ongoing open complaint regarding the lack of billing, but cannot seem to get anywhere with Customer Service.  They have continually stated that my bill has been produced, and it's gone off to a special back office team, so they can check it before sending it to me.

I suspect that the new Electric meter they installed isn't configured properly, and it isn't communicating with the DCC ...

However after 9 months of waiting, plus the huge amount of my cash they're holding - I want to get it sorted.

Help 

My understanding is that under backbilling they are not allowed to charge you for energy for more than 12 months, so let it ride and when they finally get their act together raise an ombudsman complaint.

Use an app to record the reads and use them to monitor if you are paying too much.

British Gas seem to be the most generous about compensation when they make mistakes like this, at least from what I hear on consumer shows.

A complaint would be based on the fact that without a bill based on accurate usage you were unable to cut back or figure out what devices might be over using.

born_again

Studley1970 said:

Don't suppose anyone has an email address so I can escalate my complaint with British Gas ?

Quick summary -- I haven't had an invoice / statement since Jan 2025, and my account is now over £1100 in credit.

Customer Services at British Gas are useless.  I was on quarterly billing, but requested to move to monthly billing, as I now have an EV, so like to keep an eye on my charges etc.

The advisor actioned my request, and also arranged for my old SMETS 1 smart meter to be replaced with an upto date SMETS 2 smart meter.

BG Engineer duly arrived, swapped out both my Gas and Electric meters, provided me with an nice new in-home display, which works just fine.

However, my 30 minute readings do not appear to be going back to BG as they keep asking me (whenever I call) to give them a current electric meter reading, plus my online account shows regular Gas meter readings, but nothing on the electric side.

I've had an ongoing open complaint regarding the lack of billing, but cannot seem to get anywhere with Customer Service.  They have continually stated that my bill has been produced, and it's gone off to a special back office team, so they can check it before sending it to me.

I suspect that the new Electric meter they installed isn't configured properly, and it isn't communicating with the DCC ...

However after 9 months of waiting, plus the huge amount of my cash they're holding - I want to get it sorted.

Help 

TBF, Given you have not had a bill, they are not holding your cash. As it will be going to pay the bill when it arrives.

Maybe look at a company that does billing where you pay each month for what you use, rather than the estimated monthly DD.

WiserMiser

Remember that the back billing rules don't apply if there's enough dosh built up in the account to pay for usage more than 12 months ago.  It would be a good idea to withdraw it.

However, don't cancel the DD because they'll put you on a more expensive tariff.

The best way to resolve a problem with such a hopeless supplier is to vote with your feet (unless you are more than 49 days away from the end of a fixed contract with exit fees).