British Gas

[Seemsok]

So my daughter has been cut off because BG messed up with her new account! She has been jumping through hoops to get reconnected for over a week.
She has a toddler and studying .
She has tried the online chat help which has been a waste of time ,cannot speak to a human being !
Is this a sign of the general lethargy and incompetence of the country we live in ?
I despair 😩
Surely this is not acceptable and people should not be expected to think it is OK .

How have they cut her supply off? Like PP says they are meant to get a warrant & usually install a paygo meter. Contact MP, ring the CEO/customer service director of British Gas? If she has a complaint put in (they're meant to be hot on CEARS/customer dissatisfaction) you can escalate it to the Ombudsman

She shouldn't be off supply with a child

She is entitled to an emergency pay as you go gas meter install, she needs to call them rather than emailing obviously. How have they messed her account up - are they saying she's in debt? Have they mixed up her meter with a neighbours in the flat?

Check if your supplier is allowed to disconnect you

If you've reached State Pension age, your supplier can't disconnect you between 1 October and 31 March if either:

you live alone

you only live with other people who have reached State Pension age or children under 18 years old

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British Gas Breakdowns and enquiries:
0333 200 8899

Our team members are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Thank you for your reply but she didn’t get a letter. She only realised she had been cut off when she didn’t have hot water and the letting agent arranged for an engineer to go to the flat ..he worked out that she had been cut off ! Absolutely no reason apart from the fact that BG had messed up with her account!

So is this gas or electricity or both you are talking about? are her meters inside or outside her property? What have BG said when she has contacted them?

Thank you . Yes am wondering if previous tenant didn’t pay bills! We shall be on the case again tomorrow. Shall show daughter this thread tomorrow after she has finished Uni .X

Get your dd to email the CEO'S office on [email protected] with a copy to her MP. Take a photo of the meter, set out details in bullet points. This appears to work.

BG are updating their billing system and bringing their call centre back to the UK. Apparently there is currently work being carried out to update smart meters and make them universal

What type of meter is she on? Does she top up with a card?

It is only gas ,meter outside ! Read the posts from me explaining replies from BG .

Thank you 😊

I regret the day I ever signed up with them. At the moment, on the app it says I'm £100 in credit but on the online/desktop version, it says I'm £58 in debit and need to update my monthly payments. Their online chat is always broken and on Twitter, their DMs are a bot.

I am not surprised OP and no, YANBU.

I dont understand why you keep telling me to read your thread. No where on this thread have you explained what BG said to your daughter when she contacted them to complain about being cut off which presumably she has done.

Just what I was going to say, dealing with the CEO's office of the holding company (Centrica) is usually an easier experience. You'll probably get an executive assistant. However they can be awful, it's 50/50. Fingers crossed for you.

I know it's not ideal, but can she not use a kettle for washing up/strip washes while she's off supply with the gas?

Ermm yes …which she has obviously been doing ! Not really the solution or ideal though TBH .

She needs to go to the meter outside and look at it - does it have a screen and a card slot or buttons on it? If yes, it is a pay as you go meter. A card slot = an old style. Black and orange buttons = new smart meter

To me it sounds like she has a pay as you go meter and it has run out of money/needs to be rearmed. This happens when property is empty for a while? perhaps before she moved in?

sse.co.uk/smart-meters/pay-as-you-go/how-to-reconnect-your-supply

Exactly…they havnt replied 😩

Has she tried phoning them?

If you daughter has called them they cant not reply the person on the end of the phone has to say something. If she hasn't called them why not?

OP why are you so snippy and shitty with your replies?

Thank you for all the helpful replies. Shall show my daughter this thread with all the great advice….just so frustrating that we live in such a complicated world .

Hopefully it is just a simple case of the gas meter needing a few buttons pressed and some money whacked onto it! I feel like the gas engineer the letting agents sent out would've said if it was capped or not. It's possible the guy they sent was just a handyman not a gas engineer, so he could not have a clue. She just needs to go to the meter herself and check it out tomoz :)

findmysupplier.energy
is also useful to double check she actually is supplied by BG. x

@Keroppi Thank you ☺️

OP I have an ongoing battle with British Gas since moving into my new home in June. I was previously with BG and moved into a house supplied by BG. You couldn't have got a simpler situation yet it has been horrendous trying to deal with them. Speaking to different people each time WHEN you eventually get through, getting different solutions, none of which work. I can totally belive the problems your poor DD is having based on my own experience. I hope she gets it sorted soon.

Thank you …am now realising there is a general trend . Thank you for replying. Am switching phone off now 😂Need to go to sleep 😴

Something is not right here. Energy suppliers don’t cut off the supply to properties in between tenants. Are you sure it isn’t a prepayment gas meter that’s run out of credit? Your daughter needs to phone British Gas and speak to an advisor, you don’t need to use the online chat.