Thankyou rebel ! I had an email from them this morning, They have written off the debt! I cant believe its an end to all the worry, at last! Thankyou SO much, and than,you to dx to! Not only is the debt clear, theyve given me £50.00 credit, so my account is now in credit for the first time since being with BG. I cant tell you how relieved I am! I just hope they dont suddenly decide they have changed their minds and send me another email, lol, nothing would surprise me with BG, I will be keeping a close eye on my account. credit where its due, they have come through for me, eventually, and while it doesnt change the stress theyve put me through for 2 years, at least they have put this right now. THANKYOU,!!!! : )

Thankyou for replying. I emailed them and told them I wasnt happy with that, but they wont budge. I guess I have to either accept it or take it further. To be honest Im tired of fighting them, Im sick of thinking of those 2 words " British Gas".

I was hoping they would take the bill back to the £332 that they said I owed before they suddenly decided to back-bill me, to be honest. Is that unreasonable?

Hi, I meed opinions please, on the following. I finally heard back from British Gas, theyve made " an offer". Im just not sure what to do about it, Because Im not really that happy about it, but beggers cant be choosers and if I refuse it and go down the "Ombudsman" route I may end up worse off? Anyway, this is the email they sent today. Any advice and opinions will really really be appreciated, thanks. Dear Ms ******+ Thanks for your recent email about the issue you’ve encountered with your account. I’m sincerely sorry this issue has been ongoing for such a long period of time and hope I can resolve the issue for you. Having looked back through the notes on the account and the previous investigations that have been carried out, I was left with questions that could only be answered by looking at the meter. As the meter was removed in July, I feel the best way to resolve the issue is to calculate the difference between two rate and single rate back to the start of the account and apply a credit to cover this. We amended your account to single rate from 1 April 2014. Working back from 1 April 2014 to 6 February 2012, I calculated, based on current prices, you would’ve saved £307.85 if we’d billed you at a single rate for all your electricity. This is probably a little higher than the actual figure as the unit prices are now higher than they were in 2012. To bring about a resolution to the complaint, I’d be happy to apply a credit of £307.85 for the tariff difference and a further goodwill gesture of £92.15 as an apology for the service you’ve received. This brings the total credit offered to £400.00 and would reduce the bill to £776.59. Your annual consumption prior to the solar panels being installed was approximately 12000 kWh which is around £1600.00 based on current prices. This is around £135.00 per month so the payments you’d made previously weren’t high enough to cover what you were using and resulted in the build up of debt. Now you’ve had the solar panels fitted, I’d expect your consumption to drop dramatically, especially over the summer. We’re due to review your Direct Debit payment in four months time. At this point we’ll look at the outstanding balance and what we think you’ll use in the following 12 months and split this over the next year. At this point, the Direct Debit may be increased but we’ll be happy to discuss what we can do to accommodate your circumstances at that point. __________________________________________________

Well still no word from anyone at British Gas. Ive resent an email every day but apart from a 2 line email by a member of the social media monitoring team saying he will chase up the complaint, British Gas have pretty much ignored me. Ive had to go to my doctor as Im not sleeping due to this worry and hes put me on sleeping pills. Thanks British Gas, for " looking after my world"

Ok thanks dx. Im hoping Joe can help too.

Well, I had an email from JoeBG saying he was going to escalate the complaint. Yesterday a lady from British Gas called me ( despite me saying on many occassions that I want correspondence in email form only due to my cognitive/memory problems) to tell me that someone was going to call me today. Nobody called today. Ive just resent an email to give them a prod. Ive also said again that I only want to be contacted via email or letter. I had a bill today saying I owe them £1189.00. Dx, have you managed to look at my bills yet, have you any idea, if youve had time to look, whats gone on ? Thanks a lot.

JoeBG Have sent a pm, if you cant get it please let me know thanks.

Hi joeBG, how do I send you my details? If you cant pm is there another way please? And what details do you need? Dx, of I send him a pm will he boe able to read it, or can he not read OR send pm? Thanks

Have pm,d you , thanks

Unfortunately no, i wasnt writing down the owl reading : ( Ive just tried getting on the website again but its still down being " worked on" apparently. As soon as i can access it will send you the bills dx, thanks, and anything else i think might help you. Thanks so much for helping me out like this, I cant tell you have worried i am about it all.

I actually feel like cancelling ANY direct debits to British Gas at the moment, and not giving them another penny until this is sorted, but thats not going to help is it.

Nope cant get onto the website, they are " updating" it or something. Just for info, I was on the day/night tariff from when I moved in here in Feb 2011...right from the start my bills were much higher than my old house ( a large 3 bed, 3 storey victorian, so it was a shock that the bills for a small 2 bed bungalow were tons higher!) I gave readings, they were always switched on the website. I queried my usage also, and on more than one occasion BG took out double the amount of direct debit, leaving me with no money, which they apologised for but then did again. and eventually I guess they got sick of my emailing them because they sent me an OWL monitor so I could watch my usage. It was always high even though I didnt use huge amounts of electricity. On one occasion when I spoke to a customer services rep she told me that because I was on the day/night tariff it was very likely costing me more so she advised me to go on a single tariff. But when I did that, I found I couldnt submit readings, so was at the mercy of huge estimates (based on usage before I got solar panels, which wasnt accurate) so after speaking to them again about the high estimate they put me back on the day/night tariff..and the whole merry-go-round starts again. My housing association put in the solar panels, choosing tenants who were struggling and on a low income, in the hope it would help. They are amazing, my usage is less than 30p per day amd I havnt had to put my hot water on since they were fitted. So they were supposed to be helping me with my bills, and enabling me to lower my DD, now, because of all this, I cant lower the DD and they are more than likely going to be put up, which I cant afford. So theres not a lot of benefit to the solar panels because of British Gas ensuring my bills are not going to lessened anyway.

Ok will get the bills sent to your mail dx, thanks for all the help you are giving me, I really appreciate it. I was only put on the single tariff in the beginning of May this year, because they told me it would lower my bills. Ive been in contact with them concerning my bills since October 2011, so its something thats been going on for a while. I will go ( or try to go, as I can rarely get onto my account on the website) to the website and copy & paste the bills to you.

Hi dx, Ive sent you a couple of the emails from/to BG...ive got in a bit of a mess doing it cuz Im a new ipad/goolemail user and find it all a bit complicated, lol, sorry if they come in a bit of a confusing way or are duplicated.

Thanks a lot dx, have sent you the pics. The taking of meter readings daily now wont be much help really though, my housing association had solar panels fitted on my bungalow in Feb and my usage has gone down a lot because of that so couldnt compare to last years bills. I feel theyve got me at every turn to be honest, as I cant prove I didnt use that amount of electricity due to the panels now, and what with them removing the old meter I wouldnt be surprised if it wasnt conveniently destroyed : (

Cant seem to do it, sorry. Ive emailed them again, saying I dispute this amount, and that the fault lies with BG and that I want the old meter inspected. Ive also said I want to officially complain. Im sorry, im at my wits end and my health really is suffering because of this. I simply cant pay a £1200 odd debt. I struggle with bills as it is, how can I be expected to pay 3 times the amount I struggled with before. But do I even have a leg to stand on? If they dont check the old meter, im never going to be able to prove its faulty. And it MUST surely be faulty? Who uses a grands worth of electricity suddenly, in 4 month, summer months, in a tiny 2 bed property!

Hi ive been trying to post the pic i have of the old meter but i cant seem to get it from my ipad album to here. I will keep trying, thanks.

Hi Rebel11, thanks for your reply. Im a bit confused because they told me I was on a E7 tariff but on my bill it says a standard tariff? The meter was changed yesterday to a normal one with just one reading on it, which thankfully means that British Gas cant cock up the readings anymore, but it doesnt help me with the debt Ive accumulated with them. I looked up " back billing" after reading your post, and Im still pretty confused to be honest. Most Ive read seems to be about consumers not being billed for a year or more then having one large bill, would it apply to where BG has consistently put the transposed readings in? ( they said its not their fault that happened, a computer does it automatically apparently) Plus, seeing as the bulk of the bill is the Grand ( almost) that they say I owe for the period of July-November 2013, that amount would fall under the "one year" period wouldnt it? How a spike of usage could suddenly appear in that 4 months, to the tune of almost a Grand, is beyond me! But they say its right. Im at my wits end here, Im exhausted from battling them for the last 2 years. Would this be a case for taking this further do you think? Im never going to be able to prove I didnt use that amount of electricity though am I. Even though I know 100% they are wrong.

Hi, im hoping someone can help me . I moved into my home 2 1/2 years ago, its all electric, with BG. Ive had problems since the start, with BG getting readings that Ive given the wrong way around on their website, over and over again, bad communications, umpteen emails, extortionately high bills for the property Im in, and so on. When I moved here it was on an Economy7 tariff, but with combination radiators apparently ( Im not even sure what that means), and I used them as normal radiators as I am in bed by 9.30 each night and home all day. Each meter reading I gave was transposed, and I kept telling them but it kept happening.. .actually if I post the last 2 emails, one from me and the reply from BG it may make it a little clearer, I couldnt afford the bills and queried how high they were, believing the transposed readings were at fault...here are the last 2 emails... Dear British Gas...you are making me ill !! Seriously, you are affecting my health to such an extent Ive just had to sit for an hour over-coming a panic attack. I dont know how much longer I can deal with this. I am disabled. i have MS and I also have an autistic daughter and I can say hand-on-heart that BG is causing me MORE stress than both those things at the moment, but making them worse! I am on benefits and a single parent. Please PLEASE read the following email, slowly and carefully, in its entirety, and respond to the points one by one, NOT a standard reply fob-off ! I have kept ALL my correspondence to you and frankly it makes shocking reading , the left hand of BG doesnt know what the right hand is doing. Not only do my meter readings constantly be pit in the wrong way around on the website but I keep being told different things and the estimates are a total joke! Right..here goes with the letter I received today. Now saying I owe £1357.72 .... ..This is the final straw for me and I burst into tears. I cant deal with it anymore! I cant even phone you because part of my Disability means I get muddled when talking a nd cant get my points across properly and I have short term memory loss and whatever tou say to me via phone is soon hard to remember. So tou have me over a barrell as all I can do ks email you and you keep sending me standard letters. So, these are the points I want raised...looking through the bill you sent me, showing usage and cost from feb 2012 - july 2014 not only am I being charged wrong due to the readings being reversed, there are lots of estimates that cannot be right. To remind you...i live in a tiny, 2 bed bungalow for disabled people. I dont have lots of electrical stuff, i dont even have a tumble dryer! Ive spoken to other residents in the same bungalows and none of them have bills like me. A 4 bed house opposite mine has bills similar to me! An estimate for 6th jan 2013-6th april 2013 is for £495. Very high but if i thought that was bad, i was in for a bigger shock! On 6th july-20th nov 2013 the bill is a whopping £936.28 !!! Close to a thousand pounds for 4 months electricity in part of summer??? A tiny 2 bed bungalow, not a mansion! Im not paying it, I CANT pay it, and I want to complain strongly. I will not be staying with BG a nd will make sure everyone knows the distress you have caused me in the 2 years Ive lived here. I keep goimg around in circles with you....I keep telling you the readings are being reversed, you send me a monitor to keep check of bills and I send to regular readings. im then advised that bills may be high due to being on an Economy 7 tariff because I have combi heating but as I am in bed by 9.30 every evening, I use electricity in a " normal " way...but the day rate will be higher on that tariff. So you switch me to normal tariff...only then that means I cant give you readings, so all bills are estimates, which is a worry because you seem to estimate me as living in a mansion! So I have solar panels to lower my bills....waste of time because you still keep giving me estimated bills based on HUGE amounts of usage. .even though I can SEE on the monitor that I am using less than 30pence A DAY in electricity!! You have taken money out of my account in the past without telling me you are taking more than the agreed DD amount, and left me with NO money to live on, the list of problems you have caused me is endless. I am SUPPOSED to be having a meter change over tomorrow but have no faith that this will even happen. I have no faith in BG to sort all these problems out once and for all. If this is not resolved this time, I am stopping the DD, and will go to court. I am not a vindictive person but when you are making me as ill as you are, I have to do something! I am now going to be worried constantly that you will take more money out of my account than the agreed £88.00 per month, and leave me again with nothing! Please please please look into all Ive written here, and in particular the bill of a thousand pound for 4 months bloody electricity!!! Before you drive me to something stupid! ---------------------------- And their reply today.... Dear Ms ******** Thank you for your email about the electricity bill. I'm sorry that your electricity bill amount has upset you. Trust me, it is never our intention for you to experience distress as a result of our actions and I am very sorry for the difficulties caused to you. I can certainly understand your situation and I would have felt the same if I was in your place. The reason I asked you to provide the meter readings and its registration code was to confirm that we have correct details before escalating it. You've provided us your meter readings as 35870 (day) and 20797 (night). The meter readings on your electricity have been corrected as you've mentioned that we had the meter readings wrong way around. For example: The meter readings taken on 31 March 2014 were updated as 20461 (day) and 35104 (night). We've corrected it to 35104 (day) and 20461 (night). We had to cancel all your previous bills in order to correct your all the meter readings. This is the reason; we have re-billed your account from 06 February 2012 onwards. We've billed your account to the meter readings of 36401 (day) and 21076 (night). The debit balance on the account is £1357.72. We've received your payment of £88.00 on 15 July 2014. The debit balance on the account is £1269.72 (£1357.72 - £88.00). I assure that I've cancelled your above estimated bill and re-billed the account based on your actual meter readings. I've re-billed your account to the meter readings of 35870 (day) and 20797 (night). The current debit balance on the account is £1131.01. The billing period is 06 February 2012 to 02 July 2014. You'll receive your bill within 7 working days. Your account is up to date completely based on your meter readings. I understand the bill amount is higher than your expectation. This is because as we've re-billed your account based on corrected meter readings. Thank you for letting us know about the new meter. It takes 28 days to update your new meter details on the account. You can ask someone to check the meter and reply to my email with the following details. 1. Meter removal reading: 2. New Meter Serial Number: 3. Start Read: 4. Current Meter Reading and Date: I'll store the above mentioned details on your account for the information purpose. We can make arrangements to amend the new details in case your meter details aren't updated after 28 days. I regret that your impression of British Gas is not good at present and would like to assure you that this is not typical of the level of service we strive to provide. You have my assurance that your comments have been noted in our records. We strive to provide the highest levels of customer service at all times and I regret you have not experienced this. As one of the UK's big six energy suppliers, we take any complaint regarding our service extremely seriously. Please get in touch by 31 July 2014 on the details above, so we can progress this for you. Don’t worry if you’re unable to provide this information, just contact me so we can discuss our next steps. If however, you don’t need us to help or you’re happy that this is now resolved, you don’t need to do anything and I’ll make the arrangements to close your complaint on 31 July 2014. I look forward to hearing from you shortly and resolving this issue for you. If you’d like information about our complaints handling procedure you can view a copy by either going online at britishgas.co.uk/energycomplaints, or by getting in touch and one of our advisors will arrange to send you a copy free of charge. Thank you for contacting British Gas. Kind regards XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Customer Service Advisor --------------------------------------- So please, Im hoping someone can help me make sense of this, as it really is affecting my health now. Ive no idea what any of the above means, Im thinking possibly that Ive highlighted the transposing of the readings to BG, hoping my bills would be lowered as I struggle to pay the huge bills, and now, because BG have been billing me wrong due to THEIR mistake, they have now re-billed me, even higher! And no matter what they say, there is NO WAY on earth I use almost a grands worth of electricity in 4 months! How is that even possible? Can they do this? Do I just have to try to,pay it off a small amount at a time, which is going to be hard as I struggle financially now, and can you also tell me if its possible to switch suppliers or cant I do that because of the debt? This company is going to make me seriously unwell and I cant afford to be as I care for my disabled daughter too. Thanks, I hope you can help and tell me what I should do next.

Hi again, yep I realised after I posted it that it was probably a dummy address, lol, Im not too quick Im afraid. Ive had no internet access untill this morning so couldnt update untill now. I sent the letter, and Cabot replied saying they will have the appropriate information that I asked for, within 40 days. What happens next? I just wait untill Cabot send me the original loan docs etc? And what do I do when they send them? Thankyou so much again for all your help, I would have been lost without it.

right, thats all done, thankyou so very much! Before I address it, the address you gave on your copy is different to the one on the letter they sent. They do say that if I want to write to them, I should use the address theyve given, which is CABOT FINANCIALS EUROPE LIMITED PO BOX 241 WEST MALLING KENT ME 19 4NA Should I use that one or the one in your post? thanks again.

ok will do, thanks. When you say not to sign it, do you mean totally no signiture at all as to that Im the sender?

ok thats great, thanks very much for that. The default date says 13.10.2011 I will copy the letter and send it off to cabot with the p.o. Should I make sure the letter is to be signed for at cabots end?

hi, the last payment was taken by lloyds from my currant acc in 2011, the last payment I actually made myself was in 2009.