'British Gas keeps issuing incorrect bills'
Do you have an issue you need put right? Which? is here to help get your consumer problems sorted.
Dear Which?,
I switched from Octopus to British Gas in January 2025. Shortly after, I found that my account was unexpectedly in debit. Looking into it, I saw that my opening meter readings were incorrect and my bills were hugely inflated.
After multiple emails, British Gas admitted my bill was incorrect and requested up to two weeks to resolve it. But in March, the issue was still unresolved, and I escalated my complaint to the Energy Ombudsman.
Responding to the Ombudsman, British Gas confirmed that an incorrect opening meter reading had been recorded when my account was created. It also said that Octopus had not updated the gas meter exchange on the national database, resulting in the incorrect gas meter serial number on my account.
The Ombudsman upheld my case and British Gas issued a new bill on 20 March, as well as awarding me a £125 goodwill gesture. Despite the ruling, I received another incorrect bill a few months later, and had to request a correct bill to be issued.
In August, I finally came to the end of my tariff with British Gas and decided to switch to a different supplier.
But when my final bill was issued, I was shocked to see it had again reverted to the old meter serial and the wrong opening reading. The bill claimed I owed £508.75, but I'd calculated that British Gas, in fact, owed me around £285.
Can you help please?
Karen
Put to Rights
Hannah Downes, Which? consumer rights expert, says:
Switching energy suppliers should be a seamless process, but often we hear from consumers who encounter issues, which can be an uphill battle to resolve.
Which? contacted British Gas, which told us that the root cause of the issue on Karen's account was Octopus failing to register her gas meter correctly.
It confirmed that this had been corrected, and offered Karen a gesture of goodwill.
Octopus said that an error during installation meant the national database wasn't correctly updated. It apologised and reimbursed Karen.
But despite British Gas's assurances, Karen spotted another inaccuracy on her bill after we contacted the company, and she is still in the process of getting this resolved.
How to complain about an energy bill
- If you have bill issues after switching, complain to the supplier responsible to begin with. You can use our letter template to complain if your energy supplier has overcharged you.
- If left unresolved, consider complaining to the Energy Ombudsman. You must show that you've tried to resolve your dispute with the company in question before taking your complaint to the ombudsman, and you'll need to provide evidence of this.
- If the supplier fails to comply with its ruling, complain to the Energy Ombudsman again.
Get in touch. If you've got a consumer rights problem you need to put right, email us at yourstory@which.co.uk
Please be aware that we can't help with or respond to every email that we receive. The inbox is monitored periodically during office hours, Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm.
