British Gas Back billing nightmare

BG_Nightmare

Hi all,

I’m having a nightmare with British Gas and their handling of back billing and would really appreciate some advice.

Background:
I’m a pay-on-receipt customer. I was moved to British Gas in September 2021 when my supplier went bust, and I never set up a direct debit.

From December 2023 to June 2025, I received no bills at all. When I finally received one in June 2025, I challenged it under the back billing rules. British Gas cancelled the bill and said it was being sent to their “back office” for review.

A month later, I received a new bill — unchanged. This cycle repeated until August, at which point I escalated the complaint to the Energy Ombudsman due to the poor customer service.

Ombudsman outcome:
The Ombudsman agreed with me and ruled:

• £200 goodwill compensation
• Refund of the Eco 7 difference
• Back billing to be applied from October 2024

Current issue:
I received a new bill yesterday. Only the £200 goodwill payment has been applied. The bill is still £3.8k for 15 months in a semi-detached ex-council property.

I contacted the Ombudsman again. They initially said British Gas had confirmed all actions were complete, but after pushing back, they realised that only gas back billing had been applied — not electricity, which is not shown in the bill, so I do not believe it has.

Based on my own calculations using British Gas’ figures, the total should be closer to £2.4k before credits.

My question:
Has anyone had British Gas fail to follow an Ombudsman decision before, and what’s the best way to get this properly resolved?

Thanks in advance.

gpman

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6652867/british-gas-back-billing-nightmare

"My question:

Has anyone had British Gas fail to follow an Ombudsman decision before, and what’s the best way to get this properly resolved?"

Follow the advice of the Energy Ombudsman. Part of their role is to ensure the supplier complies with their final decision (a decision that the supplier usually has confirmed to the EO that they would abide by before it it issued, if so demanded)

The EO should not close your complaint until the supplier has implemented any resolution agreed.

ETA: I should add that BG usually handle gas and electric accounts separately, even if you are supplied on a dual fuel tariff.

As you only received the gas part of the resolution very recently, it could well be that BG are still working on your electric account (or it's been delayed in the post).

The supplier usually has 28 days to implement the EO resolution. i.e. the EO will not intervene unless 28 days have passed and the resolution has still not been implemented in full.

BG_Nightmare

Thanks for your response @gpman

So the resolution was meant to be completed by the 24/12/25.

So well over a month now. The ombudsman has accepted that the bill is still incorrect and escalated with BG.

My concerns are that they won't implement them as everything has been so much harder then it should be. Everything is a battle.

What would my next steps be if they don't implement the decisions made by the ombudsman?

gpman

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81868072#Comment_81868072

As I said, leave it in the capable hands of the Energy Ombudsman; it is part of their role is to ensure the supplier complies.

Some may tell you that the Energy Ombudsman has little if any power to force a supplier to do anything, and that would be true, but one thing the Energy Ombudsman does have is the close ear of the industry regulator if necessary.

Your other option, as the EO will no doubt explain to you, is to fund your own legal battle against the supplier. But as soon as you do that, the EO will close your complaint. There is no guarantee you would win a court claim, although the agreed decision of the EO will go in your favour. But the EO does not necessarily form their decision on a legal basis.

I've had experience of a resolution taking 4-5 months after the initial implementation date to actually get fully implemented, but the EO almost invariably gets the supplier to comply eventually. The fact that the EO agrees with you that the remedy has not yet been fully implemented is not just half your battle won, but probably more like 90% won. Just keep nudging the EO every month if you still think the remedy is not fully implemented.