British Gas Reviews: Give your feedback

[Deleted User] · 4 October 2014 at 6:44PM

My opinion is to steer well clear! Long story follows condensed down a bit!

I switched to them for electricity and gas (supposedly) from EDF in April 2014. Electricity switch was slow but happened OK. Gas happened in July, after the Cheap Energy Club had denied me £15 of cashback as the switch had been too slow. It turned out that as well as taking over three months to switch my gas, they took on the wrong gas meter (for a house over 300 miles from mine!) I was therefore paying both BG and EDF for gas. I tried to get in touch six times with no resolution, and was promised call backs during this time that I never received. I was completely ignored, other than getting a confusing letter saying they hoped my house move had gone OK! :mad:

I sent a timeline of facts to the Customer Complaints team on the 12th September as this had still not been resolved. I received a prompt response from a very nice member of the team who took ownership of the complaint. Co-incidentally at this time I also received a letter stating that as the complaint that had been raised by an online team member one of the first times I got in touch had been ignored for 8 weeks (it had been a lot longer than that!) I was now able to go to the Ombudsman

The wrong gas meter was removed from my account but my online account still has references to my "Gas Account" in the "Electricity Account" section and I have about six sets of random figures being levied as "electricity charges" and then removed, even though I have only submitted meter reading every 3 months as requested. In removing the gas account they have also somehow charged me 51 pence for non-existant gas

My complaints contact advised that I would get a call from the sales team to get my gas ported over (I had agreed to this to make it easier to switch both supplies away from them ASAP!) I got this today and currently the cheapest tariff they have for me would have me paying £38/year more than my current EDF tariff. When I explained the situation and that had they done everything like they were supposed to I should have been on a cheaper tariff she consulted her manager and said I had to pick from the more expensive tariffs and then open yet another complaint to "try" and get the difference back but she warned there was no guarantee they'd agree to do that!

As a result I have not ported my gas over and I have got in touch again asking them to waive the exit fee to get my electricity away from them as soon as possible. Cheap Energy Club are advising I can currently save £110/year by having both gas & elec from another supplier so hoping to do that. I should say that I have received £100 compensation and the complaints team have been very good but overall the experience has been so so terrible that I refuse to give them any more of my hard earned cash, don't care if you do get Nectar points with them!!! :rotfl:

SWone · 17 July 2015 at 2:12PM

Sainsburys energy is overcharging - they get their energy from British Gas, so I am sure ALL British Gas customers are being overcharged too, using the same Bill Calculation methods.
Sainsburys quotes and Contracts at 2 decimal places - for example, Gas is 3.28 pence per kWh. But they BILL at 3.2865.
Electricity is 9.29 per kWh, but they BILL at 9.2925
Standing charge EACH Fuel is 26.00 pence per day.
But they bill BOTH at 26.0085 pence per day.

So they overcharge a few pounds EVERY BILL, adding MORE to each product by charging to FOUR decimal places.

So overcharge for several million customers is a LOT of rip offs

Their Bills are presented in a way that makes it difficult to see the figures used per unit - I am sure taht is deliberate too

Woofwoof · 12 September 2015 at 12:10PM

More than 3 months after switching:

British Gas still owe me money, and have only just promised to repay it after my 4th time of contacting them

British Gas overestimated by meter reading by over 4x what it actually was (and I had a smart meter, so why didn't they know exactly what I had used?)

British Gas continued taking money by direct debit, even though I was well in credit with them

British Gas had not registered a change of meter on the National Database, hindering the transfer and final billing by them (and I had to give them all the details of the meter change, they seemed to not have them?!)

British Gas have not contacted me to discuss my complaint, even though I requested it be escalated, and the telephone operator promised I would be contacted by a manager yesterday afternoon.

Sarahspangles · 29 December 2015 at 5:14PM

I requested a switch on 4th November (TO British Gas FROM Sainsburys Energy) and soon had an email to say that both the supplies would transfer on 18th November.

But only the electricity supply has switched - Sainsburys website show the electricity account as closed but the gas as open, and BG vice versa. I'm still paying Sainsburys for the gas as well. The Sainsburys account has a healthy credit balance, so it's not that.

I've just called to query this and it has been escalated to a "Customer Advocate" who will call me back within two working days.

Really hoping this means I'm not going to lose the cashback, plus the dual fuel discounts.

Disgusted_Tunbridge_Wells · 30 December 2015 at 2:58PM

British Gas were the supplier when we bought the house. Didn't pick up the phone and took days to respond to emails. Billing was correct though.

Switched to Ecotricity now who answer the phone and emails promptly and have an iPhone app to let them know meter readings. Also got a surprise £50 John Lewis voucher for switching!

Sarahspangles · 8 January 2016 at 9:39PM

Update on mine - all sorted by the Complaints Team, they negotiated with Sainsburys Energy (they are partners though) to fast-track the transfer and honoured the tariff even though it had expired.

Okay, it would have been nice if they had got it right in the first place but at least they resolved it to my satisfaction.

rusty_f · 8 January 2016 at 10:15PM

I moved into a new build who the developers set up with British Gas. I called them up expecting a smooth move considering they didn't have to do any of the usual switching activities - oh how wrong I was. Electricity took around 10 days to go active, but gas took over a month and only ended up being resolved once I spent over an hour on the phone and the person on the other end did a load of manual stuff to make my gas account go active ’within 5 working days'.

I have a now had to send them a message because I have smart meters and, while my electricity meter readings are showing as daily updates on my account, my gas is only showing my opening reading at beginning of December and requesting I submit a manual reading to ensure my bills are accurate. Something obviously still isn't right....

I am also trying to switch from them as they are ludicrously expensive, but have had two switches fail because the meter reference numbers apparently aren't registered so the new provider can't verify anything. Another message sent and waiting a response.

madmumof5 · 25 January 2016 at 1:15PM

Advice please
At the beginning of October 2015 our boiler started playing up working intermittently sometimes leaving us for days without heating and water. I contacted British Gas regarding the boiler scheme and was told as I had children with special needs not only did we qualify but we also were a priority. So far so good.

An appointment was booked for the 27/10/15 for someone called Mohammed to come and check the boiler qualified take pictures and check paperwork I had requested a morning appointment as I had an appointment in the morning regarding one of my children. Mohammed rang the night before to confirm the appointment and informed me he would be round in the afternoon when I told him about my request he told me two other appointments had been requested for AM and there was nothing in the notes about my request, he said he would ring me to re book. I heard nothing I tried ringing him on the number he rang me on but it always went to answerphone I left messages but never any reply when I eventually got an answer he said I needed to phone the office to re book?? I did this and was given the new date of 24/11/15 a month later I was told there not in my area very often.
He did turn up and all was sorted and he said yes I did definitely qualify he would pass it back to the office and they would book the surveyor to check what work needed doing and the fitting of the new boiler.

After chasing them up yet again after hearing nothing I was given a date for the Surveyor called Eddy to come on the 23rd December 2015, I waited in all day at 5pm I phoned the office and was assured he worked till 7 pm and would definitely be coming, he did not turn up and your offices were closed by then.

The following day I rang and was told there was nothing on the system as to why he hadn’t turned up they would contact him and get back to me. Nothing for next few days so rang again same story and again nothing on third time of calling I spoke to someone called Callum he said he would sort it and it was not good enough that i had not heard, he would call Eddy himself and find out why he hadn’t come and get back to me but in the meantime he would re book an appointment then he advised me that they don’t come to my area often so the first appointment would be 22/1/16 a month later since the last one, but I would not have to wait that long as he would tell Eddy he needed to come sooner.

Guess what heard nothing I then phoned numerous times over the next week each time Callum was at lunch out of the office had a day off......
So today 22/1/16 i waited in all day for him to come 3pm still nothing so I call ask for Callum he is on another call but passes the message on that Eddy is not coming it has been passed to a Manager called Tom because of Eddy’s non attendance and no excuse last time and he is coming himself Callum is going to ring him to make sure and ring me back.
At 5.50 i phone the office as have received no call I ask for Callum to be told he left at 5pm today. I explain the whole sorry story to be told there is nothing on the system to say Tom isn’t coming so he will definitely be there I explain I was told this about Eddy but get the reply of but this is Tom he is a manager he will definitely be there. I asked for Tom’s number or for him to be called and was told they didn’t have it but they could email him I advised them if I had not heard from anyone by 7pm I would be contacting the papers that this is not good enough they are a big company with a reputation and they have let me and my family suffer for over three months with and intermittent boiler that stops for days on end and also a family with children with special needs the answer I got “well that’s your choice” it is now 7.10 no call no one turned up ????????

Lewie · 8 February 2016 at 12:19PM

Can someone who is already with BG tell me how their online payment system works.
Is it the same as Sainsbury's Energy as they use BG?
Example, when I was with Scottish Power I found their online system excellent.
I put in my meter readings, it told me how much I'd used and instantly told me my balance be it debit or credit.
I did the collective switch last year to Sainsbury's Energy and after initial hassle with my first meter readings all was fine.
Some months later I noticed that I was in 'credit' by a hundred or so pounds, then two or three hundred pounds until I was over six hundred pounds in 'credit'.
I knew there was no way this could be so I rang and asked them what was going on.
They told me they had changed from monthly updates to six monthly updates.
I told them this was unacceptable as there was no pint me paying monthly only for them to keep my money for six months.
Sounds like a wheeze to earn interest?
It could also confuse many people as it looks like you've been paying way too much.
Anyhow, I am now looking at the next collective switch but I wont be doing it if they have the same system as Sainsbury's energy.
Thanks

vigman · 18 February 2016 at 11:38AM

If I do go for a dual fuel switch with BG, my current gas provider, what is the process for arranging a new supplier or different gas account with BG at the end of the fixed period please?

TIA

Vigman

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