Silly question about gas billing and meter readings

[WeylandYutani]

I am with British Gas. My gas smart meter is not sending readings. According to my bill breakdown for this month, they have estimated I am using about 400 times the amount of gas I actually am.
I have now manually entered an actual reading. Will this adjust my direct debit? Weirdly enough the day before my direct debit came out I had an email saying it was being reduced. But according to my online account I am nearly £300 in debit.

Did they increase your DD when the incorrect bill came out? They will rebill to the correct reading and SHOULD reduce the DD again but I would contact them to make sure it happens in time that the higher DD is not taken.

If you are £300 in debit that suggests that the big and wrong bill is still showing on your account but you haven't paid for it.

Therefore once the new reading is applied to your account it should sort itself out.

Whether your DD will be reduced depends on whether you're paying by regular monthly DD where you pay the same amount each month and then your account balance fluctuates generally due to seasonal variations in use, or whole bill DD where they just take whatever is billed each month, which some people prefer, but can be hard to budget for because you pay a lot more between about December and March, which is also often expensive due to Christmas. It could also cause issues in cases like yours when they produce a bill that is too big and then take the money.

You are not alone,have you been on social media,Facebook.We had issues with British gas charging us for Homecare for 9 months.When we cancelled the policy & moved home.They then had the cheek to get a debt collector to recover the revenue.I joined the group chat reference British gas,smart readers not fit for purpose.What is Ed Millaband doing about it F**k all!

My direct debit comes out on the 8th. I had an email saying it was being reduced on the 7th. Then my statement on the 8th said I owe lots and my estimated usage is about 400 times what it actually is.

I have given an updated meter reading but am worried they will increase my direct debit anyway and take it out next time bill is due. I am on benefits and cant afford what they are saying I owe.

Once your new bill is produced to your correct meter read it shouldn't increase but give them a call to put your mind at rest.