I have a ridiculous ongoing situation with British Gas, if I was paying them to waste my time and money, I would owe them loads!

I have British Gas kitchen appliance cover. Last year the door hinges on my dishwasher broke, I called British Gas and got an engineer out. The engineer said, the door hinges were broken and he would need to order some… he also made the repair process sound like a nightmare. He said he would order the parts and get in touch… I never heard from him again and I didn’t chase it up as I was worried by the nightmare scenario he had painted.

About 2 months ago I got a call asking if I wanted cover for my plumbing etc. I declined and explained what happened with my dishwasher (why would I pay more for the same experience with plumbing). I was advised to get an engineer out as I am paying for the service.

The British gas engineer came out, opened up the dishwasher and said he needed to get a Tecknik engineer to come out and fix it (1 day off work).

Next appointment – Technik engineer comes out on behalf of Brtisih Gas… he said… the door hinges are broken and he needs to order the parts (I could have told him that) (2 days off work).

Next appointment – Technik enginner comes out with the parts he was told to bring and says… Oh, we don’t look after these dishwashers, you need a Whirpool engineer (3 days off work).

I rang British gas and complained and said I am not taking any more days off and I don’t want another engineer to come out and tell me the hinges are broken…

Next I get a call from Whirlpool to arrange an appointment, all they know is that the door is broken. I call British gas and explain that they need to make sure the engineer knows what’s wrong and brings the parts… I don’t hear back until today…

I get a call from an engineer saying he will be round in 30mins… I explain I didn’t arrange an appointment. I also ask if he knows what’s wrong and he explains that all he knows is that the door is broken. He also explains that he had been out before to my address but was given the wrong telephone number… I don’t know who arranged that appointment either. I have to rush home from work (4 days off).

I complained to their customer service team today and they get someone to call me back (the engineer had arrived by this time). The person on the phone explain that the engineer is in my house (just in case I didn’t know) and then they ask me what the problem is… I explain to the lady that she needs to go away and find out what my problem is and call me back!! She eventually calls back offering me £76 compensation!!

I am now waiting for her manager to call me with a more adequate apology! How ridiculous!!! Think twice before using British Gas!!!

This is a complaint I have with BG:

I called their CARDIFF call centre today at 5pm. I explained to them that you had sent your rep to read my meter and he left a card as he had no access. On the card he left his mobile number and requested I call it to arrange access for which I did. When speaking to their rep he said he no longer worked for them and told me to call the number on my bill. I did this and instead of sending another rep out the advisor who answered asked me for both Gas and Electric readings and I gave him this. He then said an accurate bill would be sent out within 10 days. This bill I got today and I have questioned the amount due to the fact I restricted usage on my appliances deliberately this quarter to reduce my bill. My boiler was hardly ever used and fire was never used leaving my gas hob from my electric oven as the main appliance used which I am questioning the bill for £183.05p for the quarter for gas alone. They said if I wanted someone to check my meter and there is no fault it will cost me between £60 and £300 as her stats tell her that only one in 10,000 are faulty and she was quite amused by giggling at my given dilemma. I would hate to think how elderly people get on with their call centre people as it was only last year you discovered you were over charging my elderly father to the tune of £950 and would have still being doing it had I not intervened. My complaint is not only the attitude in the way I have been treated but the worry that nobody actually cares until you find a problem as you are quite happy to go on charging seemingly without checking. I pay them £180 by DD per month for both gas and electricity and I am regretting ever getting involved with them as they seem to be a wee bit of a bully to me. Quite simply I am disgusted and will be looking for a company that does care very soon if I do not get satisfaction. Once I get time I may get around to sending both my father's experience and my own to the press as I hate to think how our pensioners are treated by their call centres.

British Gas just doesn't know how to deal with the harsh realities of today's economic climate. If you're behind on your bill but have actually been trying to keep up you get treated exactly the same as someone who hasn't paid a penny.

Avoid these guys at all costs. Do not get into a DD agreement with them, the slim amount you would save if everything was perfect is brutally swallowed up if you get bank charges.

Trying to get a refund that's due for over £200, they say they've sent two cheques out to me witch I've not received, but all my other mail is coming to me ok, they now told me there's not a lot else they can do? I have another account direct debit with them but they will not pay it into there, it's £200 that I need, before that they said I owed them £700 and hammered me with debt collectors who were very rude and aggressive, still trying to get my £200 back but with no joy. I will never deal with British Gas again.

My boiler broke down on Thursday 29th Jan. I telephoned BG and was told someone would attend the next day Friday. I informed BG I had a five year old in the house but no joy.

On Friday, (I took the day off work) an engineer attends and says I have to first get a carpenter to dismantle the boiler housing as he could not get to the boiler and he went straight back into his car. I unscrewed the cabinet in two minutes, went out to get him, only to be told that he had to order parts in any event and wasn't going to be back till the Monday (PS: this is the weekend snow was expected in London, like it hasn't been in two decades!!!). I asked him how he knew what to order if he hadn't even checked the boiler and was told that it could only be either of two things so he would order the two things.

On Monday, I took another day off again, he turned up and struggled with the boiler for over two hours at which point I needed to heat up food for my little boy to eat - only to be told that it was not polite for me to do so whilst he was working and that he would walk out if I proceeded to. Anyway, after a while he claimed he had finished and it was working. But just as he left the boiler went off again. I telephone their offices, complained about his behaviour and the fact that the boiler was still not working and requested they send someone else. I was told that his area manager would telephone me within the next 24 hours..... It's 10 days now and no one has called.

On Tuesday 3rd Feb, the same engineers was sent despite my requesting another one. He struggled with my boiler again for a few hours and left saying it had been fixed. As soon as he left the light went off again. I quickly telephoned their office to inform them of this and they sent him back again. He then fiddled once more for some time and said he was going to have to get another part and if that didn't work then whatever was wrong with the boiler was an unrelated problem which would cost me more money!!!

After he left, I started smelling gas and had to report this. When the man from National Grid turned up, he said it was so bad he had to shut me down completely. So now I have no heating, no hot water and could not cook!!!

On Thursday 5th Feb, the BG engineer then turns up again, fiddles again with the boiler and now says he has to order yet another part and will be visiting again tomorrow Tuesday 10th Feb.

As I stated earlier, I live with my five year old son. I have not had heating or hot water since Thursday 29th January. If I had called in cowboys I would have been blaming myself thinking I brought it on myself but with this experience of mine, I believe BG are the biggest COWBOYS in town and sadly are getting away with it!!!!

I have taken five days off work in total and still no joy with BG.

I don't know who else to call but now phoning round friends for a recommended plumber/Corgi registered person I can ask to come help fix my boiler. I will never have anything to do with BG again and would like to complain to whoever governs them which I think is Offgas but couldn't find where to complain on their site..... HELP!!!!

British Gas is the worst company I have ever had to deal with. First off when you ring them, it takes several minutes to even get through to the correct department , there are so many messages to listen to and numbers to select and then you have to wait ages in a queue to speak to someone. I have had several problems with them the latest being that they have overestimated my final bill and despite me ringing to give them the correct reading (2 weeks ahead of scheduled direct debit date) they have gone ahead and taken an overcharged amount from my account anyway and are now telling me that when this happens no refunds can be made until issue has been resolved . What issue I phoned them with correct meter read on the day I received the bill and they assured me that it had been changed and a new bill would be sent!! Low and behold 2 weeks later and they take the incorrect amount and now they tell me no refund until we sort it. This is absolute nonsense, as far as I am concerned British Gas have overcharged me and will only refund my money when they see fit. If you were overcharged in a shop and went back to complain you would get your money back straightaway but not with British Gas.

I wouldn't care if British Gas were giving away there products for free I still wouldn't go back to them - horrendous company.

Not complaining about the cost of my gas, however, for the second quarter I HAVEN'T HAD MY BILL AND I CAN'T ACCESS THE INTERNET SITE. How am I supposed to pay? DISGUSTING SERVICE, taking the public FOR A RIDE. I must take my custom elsewhere.

Twice in a row they cancel a service appointment at the last minute too late to not have a day off work. I have cancelled my homecare 200 agreement and demanded my subscriptions be returned. I am leaving British Gas and I suggest everyone does the same.

My meter went down and I rang BG, they told me that it would be sorted in 6 hours. 9 hours later no engineer so rang them back, same reply and told me it was not their fault National Grid was busy, so I rang National Grid and asked them the same question. BG did not tell them that I had children and my wife was ready to give birth as well or it would have been sorted that same day. I am disappointed with BG and cannot wait to move.

I have had endless problems with BG/Electric. My DD was changed, after a review in '07 from £17.50 to £35 pm. I then in April '08 received notification from BG/E that my DD would be raised to £200 pm due to a miscalculation on their part! They then took the money out on consecutive weeks! The bills received are just a laugh really - one was dated 11 11 1111. Upon enquiring to BG/E was told it was a computer error and to forget it. They then, after numerous telephone calls to numerous operatives, said they had 'found' £400 + that had 'not been added to my account' and that 'it was now paid in'. What?! To date I am still in dispute in spite of following the procedures as laid out on the reverse of their bills. I have since found out when contacting the Energy Complaints office that the named head of complaints person, one Ms Mansini, is in fact NOT now the head, it is a man. Throughout my communication with BG/E at not time was I informed of this. It is definitely a case of the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing. There is no continuity or consistency or correct procedures in their 'help' departments. The only procedure followed is their protocol for sending out threatening letters for the collection of the 'debt'. There should be a government enquiry into the business really as it seems that when the utilities were privatised (how this was every allowed I do not know), the only important thing is is that the shareholders get their money and that the profit (!) margins are kept. Unprivatise all of the utilities - this is peoples' well-being they are dealing with here. Talk about stress! I agree with all that have posted on this site being a recipient of BG/E's totally unprofessional attitude and incredibly incompetent way of running a business. By-the-way, I have no problems with my gas account with them whatsoever.

I have a Homecare policy to cover everything or so I thought. I have had no heating for 5 weeks now. 3 men have been out including a supervisor. None of them have fixed it and the temps outside have been -3. They then told me that it would cost £700 to flush it all through. I had to get another plumber to do it as I couldn't afford that. After he had done 3 days work it still wasn't working and then he thought to have a look at the pump and it turns out that they had put it in the wrong way round. All of this has cost me £300 over and above the money I pay to BG. Not once have they phoned to see if I have heat yet. I am a sick pensioner and this has done nothing to help me as I have been frozen.

British Gas must have the worst customer advisors of any of the Utility Companies in the UK!
When one of them phoned me up to query why I was changing Suppliers (I DID NOT CONTACT BG), he was bordering on the abusive. The simple fact that gas has gone down in price coming out of the ground yet BG's charges to me have gone up by 57% in the last 3 months seemed beyond the limited capabilities of the poor fellow to grasp!
The fact that gas is supplied to the domestic household as a gas and therefore is measured in cubic metres (i.e. Volume) at the meter also was beyond his grasp!
In the end, I put the telephone down on him with the comment "I'm sorry you've wasted my time but you've just wasted mine!" If British Gas is reflected by its Advisors, then the Government should hammer them with the biggest Windfall Tax ever!
They're ripping off the consumers!

British Gas are absolutely rubbish. I had this bloke come round on a Sunday which I have been told is against the law. He said he was from the government saying everyone was going to get a rebate from having a certain type of meter and apparently I have one of the meters. I told him I didn't want to go over to BG as they were rubbish I didn't sign anything and next thing I knew they were taking over my supply and I rang them up and told them I didn't want them but I would have to wait 6 weeks before southern electric could take over. 6 months later I had a bill for 95 for 20 days which was estimated since then I had moved. I have written letters to them and they never responded so off I goes to CAB and they ring up and was told I need to write again which I did. Now it's apparently going to court. Back to CAB tomorrow. I will never have BG again!

I am waiting in for a engineer from British Gas to come and sort my gas meter. I have had no gas since 8.20pm yesterday, my husband was told that someone would call between within 4 hours of making the phone call. At 12.30am my husband phoned as engineer had not turned up, he was told that some came out out 12.10 am. We waited up, nobody came. Apparently he knocked but got no reply, rubbish! If you know someone has no gas and all the lights are on in the house, you keep trying to get an answer, the truth is nobody came out.

I am a single person living in a 2 bed house and British Gas are trying to charge me just over 1500 for 1½ years gas!! That's over eighty pounds per months!! My heating comes on twice a day in winter and is off all summer. I am so sick of the way they treat customers, I'm in the process of changing and still have had no joy in reasoning with them that there is no way on earth that bill is correct :-(

Never before have I written a complaint on a web site but the way BG have dealt with an error on my bill is unacceptable. They have also overcharged my mother in a completely separate incident. No one there seems to know how to sort the problem out. Their only response to me wanting to leave them was, I quote 'you may find that every other energy company is as bad as us'. I think every one should jump ship and leave this useless company bankrupt!

This company should not be aloud to trade in the UK. I have been ripped off by their Homecare service: 6 months of problems, paid 2 times for service and still have a faulty boiler. Yes, they want me to pay again for a problem they have not yet managed to repair. An utter disgrace!

Am pasting copy of letter I just tried to put on BG complaints site which turned out not to be working!!!! Anyone else with this problem?

To British Gas
I would like some feedback to an issue with the electric prepayment key cards. Mine showed an error immediately after being topped up at our corner shop. It was after six in the evening and I phoned customer service. I then found out that it would cost me 8 pounds for a new card, 6 more pounds to top up (having just spent six pounds) and the petrol to get to the nearest replacement shop over a mile and a half away. I was told that the shop shut at 7:00 and luckily my husband was home with the car. We sped down having been told to allow half an hour for the code to be registered. The shop was open but should have shut at 6:30. The code had not registered and shop had to shut. The owner was kind, took code and money and said he would keep trying and ring us to collect new key when he could get it to process. He did that and we made a second trip to get it approx an hour after shops closing time. Now here is the scary part - what if I was disabled,elderly or a single mother down to last pound of electric? I could not have got there - limited buses after 6, no one to look after children and possible no money for taxi. If that had happened I could have been in below zero temperatures all night. In addition not everyone has an extra twenty pounds to hand out for a new key and credit. The solution to this is to provide everyone with access to a new free key at the nearest credit supply point that is open as late as possible. Only being able to replace your key at two places, both of which close early in the whole of Derby is negligent. Our corner shop /post office does provide extra keys for another supplier but not British gas. For a vulnerable person to have to travel that far can be dangerous. Many people including myself have low incomes and live week to week. I work but still have to struggle to pay bills which is why I have chosen to use a prepayment plan which guarantees that British Gas will get their money with no risk of default on payments. The fact that no one can predict when a key will go wrong (ours worked right before we got credit put on it) means that better access need to be provided to new keys for customers. I was not upset with the service received from the agent I spoke to, he was as helpful as he could possibly be but I can imagine that your customer service agents must face a fair amount of abuse over this situation which is very unfair to them. Could you please let me know as soon as possible what you intend to do about this situation as I am considering changing supplier to the one that I can get new keys for at the local corner shop. I sent off my claim for my refund today and would like an idea as to when I can expect that refund really do not have any money to spare at the moment.
Thank you,
Andrea Evans

I currently get gas and electricity from BG. The amount I'm in credit for gas is more than I owe for electricity.
Will they offset the credit against the debt? No. It's easier for them to charge me an extra £14, and threaten to cut off the electricity.
I've had enough, and am about to switch.

Here we go again, just like last year BG has increased my direct debit without advising me. This time is up by 44% when I am over 3 months in credit and the meter was read by them. They tell me I was posted a notice regarding the increase 4 weeks ago but like last year I never got it. So I am off on the complaining path wasting time and paying for 0845 telephone calls because BG have such a rubbish billing system and customer service staff that are not a lot of direct help. I have a theory when considering how many people have suffered the same fate with BG this year I suggest that these 'mistakes' are part and parcel of a '0845' revenue earning scam. You try and get someone from BG to call your home number - the response I got was 'we are an inbound system only'.

I will be changing my gas supplier as British Gas is a totally diabolical company. I rang for an engineer to come and fix my boiler, I was asked if I wanted a homecare plan at £28 a month, when I replied no, I just wanted a one off repair service I was told they do not do that in my area. I immediately responded that I had been a long standing customer of BG and if they would not do it then I would change my supplier and get someone else to repair it. Suddenly I was told BG did do repairs of such kind in my area. I booked and paid for it and took an afternoon off work on Monday and no engineer! I have rang and complained asking for an explanation, I was told I am in a 48hr complaints queue! 48hrs have passed I have not had an explanation, apology or anything. I will therefore be changing my gas supplier as a result of their service. They still have my money! 48hr complaints queue just sums up the incompetence of this company.

What can I say BG has been screwing money out of me for 18 months. Despite repeated calls to them they never sorted anything out, the story is too long to tell but this should say it all. I am on a prepayment meter and this week I had to put 85 pound in gas to just stay warm in the evenings, even a lemming can see thats not right! British Gas should be closed as a company and I am rarely moved to be an activist but I am making an exception with BG. First a solicitor to see what I can do, them whatever else is needed to deal with this seemingly unaccountable people. BG here I come be prepared to pay me every penny you owe me quickly because I am adding my costs for every minute I spend even contemplating you. Seems like bankruptcy might your only option when I file for it!

I have had a shocking time trying to get back money owed to me by Scottish gas . I am now in contact with energywatch to try and get something done about this ridiculously bad company. Scottish Gas by their own admission told me that I was still owed £48.94 from them, only to phone WEEKS !! later to say that they had rechecked the figures and owe me nothing (sounds familiar!). I have kept every bill for the last year or so and know that they are wrong. The service from this company is appalling and I have spent a fortune phoning them on their number, which ridiculously for a query line is not an (0800) number. Why should I pay to sort their mess ups? I am lucky enough to still be in my thirties and can only imagine what this motley crew is doing to the more aged amongst us.
It would sadly appear that anything with the name British preceding it now has a license for highway robbery.

Where do I start??!!! To begin with, it took 18 months to connect to British Gas, then it went downhill from there. To resolve the incorrect gas bill I had to do a lot of time-consuming running around and phoning to solve their incompetence and 'passing of the buck'. As a working mother of 2 small children, the way they treated me was unacceptable.

On the BG site they have a section OUR COMMITMENT TO YOU.
What a total load of tosh: “We are working on giving you the service you deserve.” Guess they don’t think we deserve much. It's about time they took customer service seriously.

I bought my flat last July. Due to building work, we didn't connect the gas until November. Somehow BG made up a gas bill of almost £1000 to cover 3 months for a two bedroom flat that doesn’t even use gas for cooking, and we don’t get home till late so we use very little gas.

By contrast my recent 3-month bill was less than £50. Despite hours spent on the phone and letters BG haven't bothered to deal with it. Instead they have threatened to smash down my door and disconnect. And have billed me £14 for the letter.
Who the heck do they think they are – acting like a bunch of storm troopers?
We now suspect that BG may have merged a previous unpaid bill into ours - if this is the case the Police have told us that we can bring criminal charges against BG – this would count as fraud and even a utility like BG can’t avoid the criminal law – watch this space.
This would make a historic first and I would relish seeing Phil Bentley in the dock.
Either way we are now planning to sue BG for over £1200 to cover my time and stress caused.
I think that BG has created a historic low in customer service and that Phil Bentley should resign. Guess having previously been group finance director, all he really cares about is the money.
As soon as I can I'm moving to any other supplier.

I, too, am having a nightmare with British Gas. Due to illness, I completely let my gas bill slip. My fault and I accept that. Since May, I have been attempting to set up a payment plan to repay it as I live on Incapacity Benefit.

For every British Gas rep who tells me I can easily do that, another one tells me I can't. I have been given a number to ring which they said caters specifically for people in my position. It didn't exist. Now today I have received a warrant for them to enter my home and put in a prepayment meter. Despite the fact that yesterday, someone else told me my payment plan had been accepted and the documentation regarding it was on its way.

I have just spoken to two incredible cretins at their debt department who simply told me I should have paid by now and I shouldn't have been told I was getting a payment plan.

Even though I explained my situation, and accept my fault, there was not even a hint of apologies for the fact that various people in their company are either totally incompetent or just waffle out a pack of lies.

I paid my electricity bill by DD 2 months ago. Then I get another bill for another meter that's not at my house demanding £170.04. After lots of phone calls, British Gas assured my there was a block on the meter so I wouldn't get any more letters while they sort it out so I took their word for it.

Low and behold, I came home from work today to receive another letter saying they are obtaining a warrant to turn my electricity off!!!! There will be a police presence as well and they're going to charge me up to £361 for fees!!!
Help!!!

British Gas are rubbish.

British Gas made me pay £94, although I had always paid my bills and had proof.

Under constant threats of disconnection, foolishly, I paid this huge amount of money. They said that they would sort the problem out and give me a refund but they would not give me my money back, although every bill that came said I was in credit of varying amounts from £900 to £800.

They even wrote letters to say I was in credit and when I wrote back and asked for my money they said we never sent you this. From March 2006 to date I am still trying to get this sorted out, is there anyone out there who can give me a solution?

Even Energy Watch couldn't get any sense from British Gas.

I think British Gas should be investigated for all the money they have taken from their loyal customers unfairly.

I, too, am unfortunately with Scottish Gas.

I'd moved from Scottish Power, and received a final bill for 7 times higher than it should have been. They said SG had given them that figure. We disputed this, so back and forth I had to go between the two companies trying to get them to sort out their own errors. Eventually sorted out, and no apology from SG (Scottish Power were great...)

For the past two months I've been trying to get them to issue a statement showing how much I should have paid along with how much I have paid (which I know is over £600) . I really want a refund on the excess and want to move to another supplier, I've already taken steps and cancelled my direct debit with them. Since then, no response for 10 days. Their inability to provide the most basic in customer service is an absolute disgrace.

Have not had a bill from British Gas (for electricity) since 16 Jan 2007. Have been requesting further bills since early June, by phone, email and letter. Despite numerous promises - nothing has been received. Attempted to sign up for online billing in the hope that would resolve matters - systems says my Customer Reference Number doesn't exist !
Have sent complaint to-day to Energywatch (by email). Monthly Payments by DD up to date - last payment 5/8/07 £90.00.

British Gas have spent a fortune on rebranding and marketing the business but they have taken no real steps towards dealing with the customer satisfaction issue. Phil Bentley would do well to leave his office for 5 minutes and talk to customers to learn what the real problems are rather than paying a small fortune to a PR company to use spin in order to promote his company as something which it quite clearly is not, Efficient!

I moved to my new home in December of 2005. When I called British Gas to change the account number, they said that they could not find any details of the place and that they were not the provider.
In April of 2006 my first bill came from British gas in the company's name that built the houses. I have paid all my gas bills from them. Now they are threatening me with police action and bailiffs. Even though I have sent proof of payment and have made several phone calls. Will MD Phil Bentley please help me!!!