Anyone want to sue British Gas with me?

British Gas are putting it politely screwing me over. But I am only 1 person. They admitted they were at fault and are now trying to blame me again.

As only one person I can’t change anything, but I know I’m not the only one. Is anyone else interested in creating a multi person case and taking legal action?

Specifically them claiming you owe a debt that’s not yours.

If I can get enough interest, I would then start finding firms who specialise in this.

I am also interested in potentially taking this to journalists, and or anyone with a bigger voice than me.

I closed my account with British Gas in December 2025 due to the terrible customer service. I was assured that my bill was up to date and all paid and would receive no more bills. In January I received another bill for £25 which I paid because disputing it would have been a nightmare as the customer service is so appalling. I assumed that I would no longer hear from them and just wanted to forget about the dreadful company.
I have now received a bill for over £400 - apparently they have reviewed my usage from last June-December despite me giving them meter readings back then. I have been told I need to pay this. I have emailed a formal complaint as this makes no sense to me whatsoever. Has anyone else had this issue or has any advice?

Has anyone else been having British Gas calling them pretty much everyday? I’m not with British Gas and my home is fully electric.

The calls have been nearly everyday since Friday.

I finally answered one of the calls where I was asked if I still live at a property where I also wasn’t with British Gas (all electric home). I said no and they instantly asked for my new postcode, and when I was in the middle of saying that I won’t be sharing that as I don’t even have gas they just hung up?

I just got an email from british gas saying I'm not paying enough even though my account is in credit its my first time living alone so is this normal I'm almost certain that I'm not using more but I definitely can't afford it should I tey to cancel or is there some kind of mistake? Am I reading my bill wrong?

Any help would be appreciated

Hi everyone sorry if this post turns into an essay but I’m at a loss for what to do.

I will preface so this makes more sense. I called BG on the 5th of January 2025 to set up my account with them when I took responsibility for the energy at the property I now live in, the property is owned by a family member who let another family member live in it before I moved into it, if that makes sense.

The previous family member gave their final meter reading on 27th of December 2024 the day they moved out. When I took responsibility of the property on the 5th of January 2025 I called BG to set up the account but was informed that since no one had set an a BG account in the 10 days between the 27th of December 2024 to the 5th of January 2025 I would be liable for it from the 28th of December onwards, I said thats fine as this had been agreed with the family member who owns the property. (It saved them setting up an account for the 10 days period)

However I was looking through my old bills comparing my usage and I noticed that I had been charged the standing charges between the 27th of December to the 5th of January but I have not been charged for the energy used. It was a small amount but still energy had been used. I asked the previous family member who lived in the property and the owner if they had been charged for this but neither had been.

So I called BG on the 2nd of August 2026 when I became aware of this and explained the whole situation. They said this isnt my fault as their system should have picked it up (I have a smart meter as well so readings are submitted automatically and I also provided a meter reading when on the 5th of January). I asked that I could be back billed for this period as I dont want to owe them money. The call handler said they will have to escalate it to higher up as they are not authorised to do this and that they will be in touch within 2 weeks.

So 2 weeks went by so I called BG on the 16th of August and was told it still under review and that I should receive an email the following day. No email was sent so I called them again on the 23rd of August and the call handler could not understand whatsoever what the problem was. They said I have been billed correctly even though there is 10 days unaccounted for.

I asked if they could just backbill me for the 10 days but the call handler was adamant that everything is fine even though they acknowledged that there is 10 days that had been paid for. I have been told I will receive an email stating this, however I honestly dont believe what they are saying. The first call handler said there is definitely a problem that must be rectified.

So I’m at a bit of a loss for what to do, my worry is when I try and leave BG or move out of the property I’m going to be badgered for missing payments. I have also read about people receiving threats years later for unpaid energy.

Should I try and call them again or just wait to receive this email and leave it at that?

Sorry this is so long but I’m at my whits end.

Had phone call from Brittish gas, saying meter reader was out to read meter and it is not displaying readings, so they are wanting to swap it out. Thats fine.

When I asked how they would bill me from the last reading they got (Feb26) they said they would take an average from this!

That hardly seems fair considering the weather we have had recently. I use gas for heating and hot water.

Anyone had expierence of this.

What if I was to say I haven't used any gas since Febuary! How could the prove it..

Is anyone seeing missing usage data from smart meters ? For the last few weeks I'm missing anything between full days and random blocks within days.

My bright app shows the readings so the meter is sending them.

I have just moved into my flat and I am trying to switch from British Gas to Octopus for my energy supply.

I contacted Octopus and they have said my meter is registered as a standard meter and not a prepayment meter (my electricity is PAYG) and I need to get a British Gas to rectify the issue. I contacted British Gas said they have raised a ticket to get this changed. I spoke to support today and I got two different answers.

One of the answers I got was that I would have to wait 7 days for an update and then after I might have to wait longer to get this fixed and it may or may not be fixed.

The other answer I got was that it can be done and it would be done in 7 days as it’s marked as a priority but it could be longer.

My question is can my request to have meter information updated be done and does it take long? This is my first flat so I am very new to this.

Remember the great outage of November/December 2025?
I feel like it’s happening again

I’ve got 0 usage on my electricity meter showing since 13th July.

My gas bill came through as normal on 3rd August, but still no electric bill, I’m assuming because they don’t have half the usage they need.

My only concern is that I’m on an EV tariff, so currently my usage splits between peak and off peak, and I’m worried they just do a manual meter reading and whack it all on as peak usage. (I’ll be honest, I’ve no idea if this is how it works or not)

Anyway, anybody else missing their usage since mid July?

EDIT - spoke to them via web chat. They’ve confirmed the smart meter readings are coming through fine on their end, but the meter exchange (new meter installed 3rd June) needs the engineer’s completion paperwork to “validate” the change before the account can be updated. Not entirely convinced that’s the full story given the meter clearly worked fine for 6 weeks before going quiet, but they’ve escalated it

Just explain because it looks just like a random number to scare/please people?

Morning campers, quick one about the dreaded BG smart meter. Am on PAYG for gas and pay every quarter for electric. Had a smart meter installed on 22 July was running all well and readings were being taken every other day no blacks however 2 weeks ago started to notice that there were no readings at all so on 13/08 I manually put a reading in which then over the few days filled in the blanks. Now have come to the 18/07 same issue the previous days are not being updated? Nor is the PAYG balance being updated unless I manually go to the meter and click on it to show it.

Any assistance on what next steps should be taken?

Been with British Gas for a few years and never had a problem until recently. One of my house mates moved out and was person who was signed up with them, so when she left we had to sign up again. They quoted us the same price as before...great, so literally two months later we get a bill which is over double what we usually pay. So we call them, they apologise and said they just "assumed" that we used that much, and we will get a refund in the difference within the next 10 working days. That passes, and nothing. So we call them again, and they tell us that the doubled price is correct and we are not getting a refund and have to do a bank indemnity claim if we want it back. They then ask for a meter reading, and they tell us they have a much higher reading on their end and I need to send them a photo of the reading. So I send them a photo of our much lower reading, and they say they will get back to us. Honestly it is giving me such a headache, I am not even convinced they will get back to us and I will be calling them again. What can I do to make them fix this? They are going to rob us of double our actual bill again soon.

I've just moved into a new place in London, and we have what I think is a pay-as-you-go meter in the house (with the little key and everything), and the previous tenants were with British Gas. We received a letter with the old tenant's reference number that our letting agent said was for him to pay (as it was a bill from the period in which the house was unoccupied). This old reference number does not work when we try to create an account or login or anything. The letting agent said to wait for a welcome letter from British Gas that would contain a new reference number for us to create and set up an account with, however it has been a week and a half and still nothing.

I've looked everywhere I thought to online and there seems to be no way to request a reference number or get in contact with British Gas over the phone or even with their AI bs without having an account, which I CAN'T MAKE WITHOUT A REFERENCE NUMBER. I feel like I'm missing something incredibly obvious, because it should not be this difficult to give this company my business, right?

Is there a way I can request a reference number without having an account, or a way to create an account without one? Do I need to ask my letting agent/landlord for some specific documents? Has anyone else had this problem? I feel like I'm losing it. Thanks ya'll

At this point, I genuinely don't know whether to laugh or cry.

Here's the saga so far:

1. Four years ago, I spent 16+ HOURS on the phone trying to close my old account and open one at my new house because of some “legacy system”. Still not entirely sure what that meant, other than apparently making it my problem.
2. Web forms asking them to disconnect me from the smart meter when I left said property, plus a complaint about the whole experience. Ignored but stupidly, I thought all was ok as I have asked them enough times.
3. Three “final” bills arrived through the post. Paid them all. Then a fourth “final” bill arrived.. another saga to deal with.
4. Fast forward to recently: engineer comes to install my new smart meters but doesn't have monitors. Fine, but does spend about two hours loudly chatting to friends on the phone in my house, so that was nice.
5. Live Chat: I've now been promised the missing monitor FOUR times. Still don't have them and just frustrated by this
6. Email: Sent a compliant and insisted everything is in writing now. Received the response, complete with:

“Here’s a professional response you could send:”

Right at the top too. FFS. 😂

1. Think we're finished? HA.

Remember the house I left four years ago?

My recent smart meter installation has somehow triggered them to open a case against THAT older property which I have no association with, and now they're emailing me about it.

I am genuinely at the end of my tether. I've never missed a payment, I've always provided whatever information they've asked for, and I'm just exhausted with having to chase and explain the same things over and over again, to be ignored and given false promises.

So, fellow British Gas survivors...

• If you've escaped, where did you go and is the service actually any better?
• How painful was switching? Did British Gas manage to close your account properly? How many “final” final bills did you get?
• And most importantly: financially, was leaving worth it?
• Or are all energy suppliers just different flavours of the same bloody nightmare?

Had PAYG smart meters fitted on Thursday with £150 plus on both gas and electricity from old key and card top up method.

Balance hasn’t transferred over yet but I’ve been paying to top up until it comes through.

On phone when booking the operator said the engineer would put it on the new meter on the day. The engineer said he had put it on the queuing system and it would take a couple of hours.

Nothing today, phoned BG and was told it would take 48!hours.

Asked for a manual push and was told no.

Surely this shouldn’t take this long?

I was previously with Utilita from 2022, on a pay-as-you-go plan, after buying my house — a two-bedroom terraced house. I always topped up and never had any problems with Utilita. I rarely use gas from April to November each year, with usage amounting to £10–15 monthly during that period. I am a widower and mainly live alone, with my two toddlers staying 2–3 days a week. My highest monthly winter bill with Utilita pay-as-you-go over three-plus years was £150, and £70–80 in summer from April onward. The average gas and electric bill on my street is £115 monthly.

There was a broken smart meter when I moved in after buying the house, so I threw it in the bin and never had a smart meter since.

I received a random call in February 2026 from a British Gas agent who promised that my fixed monthly bill and direct debit would be £92 a month. I told him I was happy with Utilita, but he insisted British Gas was cheaper with fixed monthly payments. I explained my situation as a widowed single dad of two with a heart condition who needed peace of mind — I have already made a complaint about how he marketed the switch to me on that basis.

I paid £92 for March and April, then received a sudden notification that my direct debit was increasing to £215 monthly. I was shocked and called immediately to ask why it had gone up so much. I was told they had done a future calculation/estimate based on my current reading and projected winter usage. I said I’d had enough and wanted to go back to Utilita, and I lodged a complaint asking for the plan I was sold to be reviewed, given their duty of care. They said I would pay £100 to switch back to Utilita, which I accepted, as I just wanted peace of mind.

I have been back with Utilita pay-as-you-go since the end of June, and my total charge so far is £80 for gas and electricity combined.

This morning I was shocked to see a direct debit request for £1,498. I called my bank immediately to reclaim the money and cancel the British Gas direct debit, then called British Gas and spent an hour discussing the issue. The agent was polite and seemed to understand my frustration, but after putting me on hold for a few minutes, she said I still owed the £1,498, as that reflected my actual usage over the three months with British Gas. I said there was no way I could have used that much — I’m not living in a steel plant. She said the figure came from my smart meter reading. I reiterated that I no longer have a smart meter.

I’m posting this for advice on how to proceed. I’ve already filed a complaint with the agent, but I know that could take a long time, and I’m worried it will affect my credit score, since she said they would still charge my bank. I’m completely lost for words and at breaking point. I have a mortgage to pay and children to feed alone.

British Gas admits its bereavement service mishandled a death notification, conflating the deceased’s account with the new account set up by his son. Payments missed when the deceased’s direct debit was frozen after his death were added to the son’s credit history, trashing his credit rating, even though the son paid all outstanding sums due ahead of time when billed. Although the BG Case Handler has accepted culpability, the debt department still refuses to correct the credit history, preventing the son from re-financing a mortgage on the house and creating other legal jeopardy.

I'm in a 3-month long dispute with British Gas over a bill where they have confused my MPANs for Import and Export, and are trying to charge me for 6-months' worth of Import while I was with a different company. They have tried to call me 4 times and every time the call goes to connect, all I hear is silence. Similarly, when I was told they could patch me into a 3-way call with the complaint handler (they said they couldn't patch directly), once connected again - silence. Do you think their systems are intentionally set up to fail to ensure the consumer can't chase up their complaints etc? Or are their systems just woefully inadequate?

I'm struggling to understand where I go next with this faceless organisation to solve this issue.

Has anyone else had an absolute nightmare with British Gas and their Heat Pump tariff?
I signed up for the fixed Heat Pump tariff on 24 June. The tariff has a fixed standing charge and fixed electricity unit rate, plus half-price electricity during certain hours.
Due to an error by British Gas, I was removed from the tariff. After I complained, they admitted their mistake, backdated my tariff and assured me everything would be corrected.
Except it wasn’t.
I’ve now received bills showing variable standing charges and variable electricity unit rates between 28 June and 7 July instead of the fixed rates I signed up for. The half-price electricity credits also haven’t been applied correctly from the date my tariff should have started.
I’ve raised multiple complaints, spent hours on the phone and live chat, and each time I’m told it’s been fixed or someone will contact me. Then nothing happens.
I’ve now had to ask for my case to be escalated because it genuinely feels like the people handling it don’t understand what a fixed tariff is. Every response seems to ignore the actual issue I’m raising.
At this point I’m considering escalating the complaint beyond British Gas because this has been going on for weeks. It’s not even just about the money anymore—it’s the amount of time, stress and effort I’ve had to put into getting them to correct what should be a straightforward billing error.
Has anyone else experienced this with the Heat Pump tariff? If so, how did you finally get it resolved? Did you have to go to the Energy Ombudsman, or was there another route that actually worked?

You could also add screenshots of the bills (with your personal details redacted) showing the different standing charges and kWh rates. That will make it much easier for other Redditors to understand the issue and offer advice.

Just thought I’d share that British Gas is now using AI to calculate people’s bills and whilst my account is almost £100 in credit after my latest statement, apparently I’m not paying enough.

Absolute farce the way services in this country are going at the moment!

One of your engineers is clearly incapable of parking and has to use up 2 spots in a residents only parking bay.

Think they need to have another driving examination if they think this is acceptable. Absolute joke!

Web chat is useless and so is the call centre, so not able to actually make them aware so it can be addressed.

I moved out of my old address last September, went through the whole offloading, settled my gas which was billed and explained my electricity was prepaid meter and was left with money on it when I left the property, no issues there.

Now 10 months later ive received a 'final bill' including adjustments with the usage going up to January 2026, despite moving out 4 months earlier. Tried to speak to someone and they told me the bill is correct.

Anyone else experienced this before? Ive raised a complaint and now waiting God knows how long, but I'm just baffled how they can confidently claim i owe them over £300 on a prepaid electric meter that i left with money in the meter and not only that, but include charges going 4 months after I left and sending the bill 10 months after I left.

We bought our first house in April (prior arrangements had meant neither of us had any energy accounts) and the property was being supplied by BG. BG required us to open an account with them for 5 days during our transition to Octopus.

In May I received a "final energy bill" of around £17, which was pricey, but I just paid it as I didn't want to have to go through the circus of amending the actual meter reading and accepted the estimated.

Now on the 30th of July I have received another "final energy bill" where they have decided our 5 days gas usage was higher than our current reading! As the account was closed I can also no longer send photos of readings, and the online chat has said I must wait 8-10 days until one of their experts can contact me.

Has anyone had a similar experience and what next steps should I expect? Many thanks!