British Gas say I owe them money

[Mylovemine]

I left British Gas the other month because of an issue I had with one of their staff members. The problem was, I couldn’t pay the bill by the bill date. I contacted them as they tell you to do and asked for two more days to pay - But they threatened debt collectors and a late payment charge.
I needed to submit my readings as part of leaving and they sent me my final bill shortly after for both gas and electricity which I paid in full and I was also advised in an email that their 3rd party agreed with the readings and that was that.
For some reason British Gas have now sent me a letter where they have decided that I owe them more money. But I thought I had already paid my bill to British Gas in full And that the third-party had agreed with the readings. So how do I work out if I owe this or if British Gas has charged me incorrectly, and how did they come up with the figure. I am hesitant to speak with them directly because of my experience with

Unfortunately no one can tell you apart from them.

Did you check all the meter readings ? Do you have any paper bills from them that say ' actual ' meter readings and not ' estimate ' ?
If they are saying that you owe them more money they have to prove it. British Gas are an absolute nightmare to deal with. You can contact the ombudsman for help if you don't get any sense from them and it drags on. Keep any and all information for proof.

I worked for BG/their parent company Centrica for 17 years and as with any similar large company, you’ll unfortunately sometimes get people employed who leave a lot to be desired in terms of their capability and service skills. BUT that isn’t the case for all of their customer service agents - many of whom are very good.

Please call them and get to the bottom of it. You want to put this behind you and hopefully confirm all is paid and nothing more due. But remember, it’s as much in their interest to resolve this promptly as it is yours - if there is a genuine balance outstanding, you’ll be far more likely to pay it off promptly if they are able to explain to you how that balance has come about. They will want to avoid the rigmarole involved in protracted debt chasing etc if they can, so it really is best to contact them and get to the bottom of it.

I left in 2019, but I’m sure they will still have Customer Relations teams, so you could ask to speak to someone in one of those teams, and refer to your previous poor experience and wish to avoid a repeat. Generally the agents who work in the CR teams are most experienced, knowledgeable and much more skilled in service delivery.

Edit - spelling mistake