British Gas Poor Customer Service 2025

Snoop2525

What has happened to British Gas? Customer Service is not fit for purpose!

They have positioned themselves where they are not accountable and how has this been permitted by law? You cannot complain to a proficient team or body until 8 weeks- so this means you can be without electricity or gas for 8 weeks or more until the case is picked up by the Ombudsman. As a British Gas customer, you will be offered an inadequate service, as they have structured the company with no accountability to customers.

First things first- they do not have a complaints department! How can such a large company not have an allocated complaints department? How are they allowed to get away with this? Why do they not have Google Reviews?

Description of the Incident/Events

On Friday 14th November 2025 [between 8am -12noon] an agreed appointment was scheduled with me XXXXXXX and British Gas to attend the property in question to install an up-to-date electricity meter, as it had reached the end of its certification period and needed to be replaced. The work is required under the governmental regulation of the Electricity Act 1989, with this information I contacted the professionals British Gas to complete the works.

On the day in question an engineer arrived at the property at approximately 9.45am [ engineer employment code XXXXXX - the engineer was reluctant to give this code when he was asked, he was asked 3 times for the code, proof of my statement will be on the 10am call made to British Gas] When he first approached the property it was not raining, he arrived at the front door to complete work without any tools in his hand. Then he stated “oh the meter is outside? They did not tell me it was outside” Once he entered the house, he looked at the old meter and then said, “what’s that?” at this point myself and the electrician who was at the property both looked at each other perplexed. It was clear that the engineer was not confident or adept to complete the task at hand, as his demeanour became overwhelming and stressful. The electrician at the property then interjected and said to the British Gas engineer “I do not want to tell you had to do your job, but all you need to do is install the new meter in the box outside as I am here to connect the electricity to the new meter you install “The electrician used professional jargon and explained to the British Gas engineer what to do, he stood in the hallway with the Electrician extremely confused. He walked outside to his van and then came back and stated “I cannot complete the work today because it is raining” when he made this comment it was spitting/drizzle, he would have been able to start the job, as it would have taken him no more than 20 minutes to install the meter outside. Now, I got on the phone to British Gas as the engineer stated that he was leaving, I asked him to wait while I call British Gas. The engineer’s behaviour at this point was evident that he did not attend the property to work and his urgency to leave was made clear. He need not make a comment - it has started raining but I’ll wait 10 minutes to see how the rain goes, he wanted to leave rapidly, which also reinforced mine and the electrician’s judgement and assessment that he was not skilled to complete the job, hence the fact he used the rain as an excuse. The electrician that was also booked on the day fulfilled his job and there were no weather concerns. [The engineer left the property at approximately 10.10]

Additionally, at 10am I contacted British Gas regarding the issue and concern I had with the engineer’s attitude to work, idleness, poor work ethic and lack of ability. On this call the agent was made aware of the complications and my frustration, as a result of this phone call, the agent stated that I would be compensated £50 for my travel cost to the property, as my sole purpose of attending the property was intentionally for the meter installation. At the end of the call I asked the agent for a call refence number and her name, as she is not in control of the finances at British Gas and I am aware that people can make promises which are not honoured and I wanted the reference number and name for culpability purposes, the female agent repudiated my request, then stated “ I gave you my name at the beginning of the call” she the information was not given and then she put the phone down.

A second call was then made to British Gas at 10.10am, I exampled the matters and events of the morning to the agent and asked to speak to a manager and then they put the phone down. A third call was made at 10.25am to British Gas [Call refence number XXXXXXX/ agent name XXXXX] on the third call the trials and tribulations were explained once again and I was promised a £80 travel cost refund and a £70 goodwill gesture as a result of the tension and unease caused by British Gas total being £150] I was told by XXXXXX that he would call me on Monday 17th November 2025 to rearrange a new appointment for an engineer to attend the property to install a new meter. Monday 17th November 2025 XXXXXX did not honour the verbal promise of calling me back to reschedule an appointment. [ 1.First. breach of verbal contract, a broken promise, and not upholding the agreement].

On Tuesday 18th November 2025 XXXXXX called British to reschedule an appointment for a new meter to be installed, I was told that the matter would need to be escalated and an agent would call me back in an hour to book and appointment. An agent did not call to book an appointment [ 2. Second, breach of verbal contract, a broken promise, and not upholding the agreement]. On the call I asked the agent about the verbal contract, promise, and agreement made with XXXXX reference 40893012 on Friday 14th November 2025, the agent informed me that there was no record of this and there was only a record of the £50 compensation from the first call made. [ 3. Third, breach of verbal contract, a broken promise, and not upholding the agreement].

On Wednesday 19th November 2025 XXXXXX Called British Gas [ Call reference number 41219149] rearrange an appointment for a new meter to be installed. I was informed by the agent that I will need to wait 14 working days for a call back to re energise the property and book  a new meter to be installed, hearing this information has left me with no choice but to raise a complaint as by law, energy companies in the UK must provide a minimum standard of customer service, primarily governed by the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and the specific licence obligations set by the regulator, Ofgem.  The key legal requirements have been broken on several occasions by British Gas. The reasonable time scale will not be met from the time I made the first appointment with British Gas; fair treatment has also been failed as the engineer sent to complete the work on Friday 14th November 2025 was professional and did not have the capability and proficiency to complete the work.

My complaints

·  Poor standard of service is against the law in a professional environment.

·  Considerable inconvenience and my time was not treated as valuable as a customer, resulting in financial loss.

·  Breach of verbal contract, a broken promise, and not upholding the agreements highlighting a lack of professionalism towards a customer.

·  Customer service agents did not treat me with pleasantness or care.

·   Lack of professionalism and qualifications of staff in regard to subject specific specialism and skill, linking to the engineers’ qualifications.

·  Engineers arriving to jobs unequipped to complete work [ The season of winter has been here since the beginning of time, if the engineer feels that he is unable to complete work in low levels of rain in the winter, why was he not provided with heavy duty yellow or orange waterproof trouser and jacket with a hood or an outdoor tent to complete work outdoors- this should be in line with British Gas risk assessment and health and safety policy]

This situation has caused me. 

To feel overwhelmed, frustrated and an extreme level of unnecessary stress, as a result of this I’m at a financial loss as each time I attend the property I must pay between £13 to £20 each way depending on the Uber cost on the day. This has now hindered me from putting the property on the market for rent, which is also causing me to be in financial deficit, as I do not know when an engineer will be able to attend the property to install a new meter.

To conclude, it would be beneficial if the staff members in question undertook continuing professional development training in customer service, conduct and professionalism training to better improve their skill and qualities when dealing with customers. Staff members must be provided with adequate equipment to complete the job to maintain customer satisfaction in the winter months or suspend meter installations as you need to respect and value individuals time, for example engineers arriving at jobs stating they cannot complete because of weather condition.  To date I have now called BG over 75 times and I have still not been able to book a meter installation, I am repeatedly told an agent will call me back in 72 hours, this has not been the case.

NorthYorkie

Have you sent a copy of this post to British Gas as a Complaint? (with redactions removed) Email it to service_energy@britishgas.co.uk and see what happens.

P.S. I agree they are incompetent and cannot be trusted.

Snoop2525

North Yorkie - Thank you for your help and assistance!