British Gas faulty Gas Meter

ZoeDemid

Hello everyone,

I need an advice what my options are with British gas. We noticed high gas bills when we switched off the heating this spring becuase it was very hot weather. But the bill we received in June 2026 was even higher than for winter months. Obviously we started to investigate and first thought about the boiler leaking or else. But then when reading all advices on here we switched off the gas stop valve and noticed that the gas meter was still running. We reported this faulty gas meter to British Gas via chat. Then reported again via chat and asked to email us their outcome because when we call BG their voice message always says we will call you back because your matter is not urgent. We got always their replies that they will contact us and the matter had been escalated. Unfortunately, since July 2026 our communications were going in circles and they say that the billing was correct. They claim that the billing was correct becuase it was based on the actual readings despite that our complaint was about the faulty gas meter. We booked the installation of new smart meter in July 2026 to stop us being constantly overcharged and asked that the old gas meter was being independently tested for faults. BG replaced the faulty gas meter but did not test it for faults. What can we do now? With the new smart gas meter our usage in August and September 2026 was under £10 per month which is very little compared to July when the faulty gas meter was still runnung the usage charched to us was £284 per month. April-June bill was very high £505 when we did not use the heating because the weather was very hot and we switched the heating. How do we raise this complaint with Energy Obudsman? Thank you all for reading and your advice are welcome.

QrizB

Welcome to the forum!

Do you know what make and model of gas meter you had? There are one or two with a track record of doing this sort of thing.

See for example this thread from @MeteredOut :

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6452074/gas-meter-still-increasing-whilst-gas-isolated-siemens-landis-gyr-e6s

We booked the installation of new smart meter in July 2026 to stop us being constantly overcharged and asked that the old gas meter was being independently tested for faults. They replaced the faulty gas meter but did not test it for faults.

It's really unfortunate that you allowed BG to replace it without insisting on it being tested, and that's going to complicate your case. Nevertheless you should still be able to sort all this out through BG's complaints process including escalation to the Energy Ombudsman.

ZoeDemid

Hello everyone,

I need an advice what my options are with British gas. We noticed high gas bills when we switched off the heating this spring becuase it was very hot weather. But the bill we received in June 2026 was even higher than for winter months. Obviously we started to investigate and first thought about the boiler leaking or else. But then when reading all advices on here we switched off the gas stop valve and noticed that the gas meter was still running. We reported this faulty gas meter to British Gas via chat. Then reported again via chat and asked to email us their outcome because when we call BG their voice message always says we will call you back because your matter is not urgent. We got always their replies that they will contact us and the matter had been escalated. Unfortunately, since July 2026 our communications were going in circles and they say that the billing was correct. They claim that the billing was correct becuase it was based on the actual readings despite that our complaint was about the faulty gas meter. We booked the installation of new smart meter in July 2026 to stop us being constantly overcharged and asked that the old gas meter was being independently tested for faults. BG replaced the faulty gas meter but did not test it for faults. What can we do now? With the new smart gas meter our usage in August and September 2026 was under £10 per month which is very little compared to July when the faulty gas meter was still runnung the usage charched to us was £284 per month. April-June bill was very high £505 when we did not use the heating because the weather was very hot and we switched off the heating. How do we raise this complaint with Energy Obudsman? Thank you all for reading and your advice are welcome.

ZoeDemid

The gas meter was Landis Gyr, I have photos and videos. I sent photo to BG chat when they asked about it. We emailed BG to ask to test the faulty gas meter before our appointment for replacement. We could not wait for their replies because we were constantly overcharged and BG would not deal with the faulty meter. They would reply that the matter of the faulty gas meter has been escalated to other team and we need to wait 5 days, after that they would reply the same to wait 5 days.

We have the same miscommunication problem still going on. They are not replying to our complaint about faulty gas meter but that the billing was correct based on the actual readings.

ZoeDemid

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82162582#Comment_82162582

Thank you! I just posted my reply below.

QrizB

We have the same miscommunication problem still going on. They are not replying to our complaint about faulty gas meter but that the billing was correct based on the actual readings.

When the complaint is eight weeks old you can take it to the Ombudsman.

Before going to the Ombudsman, make sure you have all your facts together and can make a case for how much you think you were overcharged by. Base it on your annual gas use (in kWh) before the meter went faulty.

MeteredOut

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82162594#Comment_82162594

Hi, can you post the exact model, or a photo. If it was the same as mine, there is a known issue that can impact (what still seems like a relatively small number) of meters.

What photo/video evidence do you have. The smoking gun for me was a video of the meter incrementing even when the gas supply to it was turned off.

You'll be lucky to get anyone at BG to even look into the issue before you raise it with the Energy Ombudsman. But, as stated above, get all your evidence together. The EO does not investigate on your behalf, and in my experience will believe what the energy company says over what you say if there is a dispute in the facts (read the last few pages of my thread posted above if you want to waste some time).

ZoeDemid

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82162815#Comment_82162815

Hi, thank you. Yes. it seems that someold meters could be faulty. I now have a deadlock letter from BG that I can take to EO. I have a very short video of the gas meter running with the stop valve off. Hopefully, this could be resolved by EO.

QrizB

That's an identical model of gas meter to the one @MeteredOut had. They're well-known for over-reading when their batteries begin to go flat.

Yours was fitted in 2013 so it's not surprise that the battery is failing.

ZoeDemid

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82163325#Comment_82163325

Thank you. We did not know that. We have been with BG for 10 years, never complained, I wish BG had advised us about the battery and sorted it quicker. Hopefully more people will know now to check theirs!

The_Groat_Counter

This speaks to the somewhat chaotic patchwork quilt of responsibility for and ownership of utility meters, and how matters concerning the meters are dealt with (or indeed not dealt with) across changes of suppliers.