British Gas deliberately rubbish online services?

[winewolfhowls]

Trying to look at our usage, this area of the website/app has never been available and is always down.

We are over 400 in credit, paying over 250 quid month for a mid terrace two bed with four people, noone in 8-4 all week or on one weekend day. It still says we will be in debit by next pay date.

Online chat is also never available. Miraculously got through to the online chat advisor after months of trying this morning to ask for a smart meter monitor and then the reply I couldn't click on, then it said chat automatically closed after 60secs of no reply.

So frustrating.

Does anyone know if there's any other way to get a smart meter monitor?

I spent 2 hours on online chat to them yesterday as I don’t want to pay by direct debit , tried to call them and conveniently their enquiry lines were down due to the alleged high volume of people needing boiler call outs . Just when I was getting somewhere with the chat advisor he left the chat bang on 5 pm ! I’ve recently moved and I don’t actually want to be with British Gas at all I want to pay monthly with my debit card for what I use . If anyone can suggest how I do this I would be eternally grateful as they are insisting I pay by direct debit .

@Always4Brenner I'll bear it in mind!

I was going to have a gas smart meter fitted by them on Friday and just cancelled it as the website is too unreliable, I don't like the way I can't see any of my electric use from the electric smart meter, or even if they are getting my readings, the fact that if it doesn't work probably I won't have a clue how much gas I've used, and if it goes wrong I won't be able to get in touch with them easily. I will probably get one in the spring or summer when I'm not relying on the gas apart from a bit of hot water. I was only getting one because mine is very ugly and old, its quite easy to read and I just send my reading in, funnily enough I can see my gas usage with the old meter but not my electric with the smart meter

I think they try to make everything as hard as possible, because after all they are earning the interest from your money I suppose if you are well in credit.

Our problem is we can't put our meter reading in.
BG insist that we have smart metres, but we don't.
An engineer came round during one of the gaps in lockdown. He said that he can't connect the gas due to the pipes. He then said that there was no point in doing either and left.
I'm assuming he said the job was completed. It wasn't.

BG say we have something we don't and will not believe that we don't! I have no idea how I can prove something I don't have.

They are also apparently taking readings from something that doesn't exist!!

Same thing happened to us. They somehow lost our gas account by moving it, and we couldn't pay anything towards it. Absolutely no one wanted to help us in their customer service department, until we complained to the Ombudsman, where - surprise, surprise - we got a phone call from a very helpful woman the very next day. That was last week and I'm waiting to see what the outcome is.

Put the meter details into the citizens advice smart meter check page and that should come up that you are not connected to the DCC then tell British Gas, maybe send them a screenshot or something
smartmetercheck.citizensadvice.org.uk/

That's super helpful thanks, I didn't know that website existed

In the interest of fairness, after many days of phoning I eventually got through to humans and they were very pleasant and helpful and our dd has come down over a hundred pounds and changed from quarterly to monthly. Fingers crossed they make the smart meter work too!

No I tell a lie, just checked the app and the wankers have taken over seven hundred quid randomly off us, plus 60 quid for a 'document' when for the last three months they have had over 250 each month off us.

It's driving me up the wall.

We switched to Octopus last month because I could not take dealing with British Gas's absolutely shocking customer service. They've had me in actual tears from the frustration. I've had to wait a 15 mins a few times, few times no wait at all, with Octopus but when you do speak to someone they are actually helpful. British Gas used to just make answers up as they felt.

I can recommend complaining to the Ombudsman. With regards to my pp, BG have now sorted my issues after months and months of trying it do it myself. Go through Revolver and they'll take you through the process.

They are dreadful! I wouldn’t consider my issues resolved, have a deadlock letter I need to sort out with ombudsman. I eventually got that by posting screenshots of my complaint conversation with shit customer services on Twitter. I’m sure they don’t take email complaints because it’s too easy for the customer to have evidence.

Do have managed to get out DD down to £150 a month. I also asked for monthly billing rather than twice a year, but I'm not sure if they understood what I was asking. I think they thought I wanted monthly DD rather than an actual bill! Will wait and see what happens.
Did it via we chat and was transferred to diff people 3 times! At one pint they said my account was closed. Absolutely hopeless.

Check the "document" thing again. You will probably find it is a credit not a debit, that is how the government payment shows up on my account.

BG resolved my issue. I hope!