British Gas customers furious over major change causing huge bill chaos

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LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - 2022/02/03: A British Gas van parked on a London street. Energy bills will rise as regulator Ofgem lifts the price cap. (Photo by Dinendra Haria/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

BRITISH gas customers are furious after the supplier made a major change to bills.

The change has left some feeling “very angry” after they’ve noticed that any energy credits held have disappeared from their account.

We’ve explained how you can complain to your provider below

Last August, Centrica announced that it would move more than seven million domestic and small business British Gas customers over to a new billing system.

Customers should be able to manage their accounts, view their energy consumption and look over their bills without needing to speak to an agent.

But it appears the roll-out of the new system hasn’t gone as smoothly as hoped and customers claim energy bill credit has ‘disappeared’ from their accounts.

One customer posted on Facebook about the errors.

They said: “So British Gas has moved everyone onto a new system. I received my first bill today after we moved over.

“It reads as if we’re a new customer with a new account number, and a new balance of £0.00.

“We were over £1,000 in credit before the switch to their new system. Where’s that money gone?”

Other British Gas customers have also had similar problems, with some waiting up to three weeks for the situation to be resolved.

It appears that customers have not lost their credit – but that a glitch has occurred during the switchover process, which means there are issues showing account balances accurately.

HOAR has asked British Gas for a comment.

The news comes after millions of Ovo Energy customers were urged to check their bills last week due to a data glitch.

It came as several Ovo Energy customers received erroneous bills – with one unlucky household wrongly being told they owed £49,000.

How can I complain to British Gas?

If you’ve got a complaint about your energy supplier, don’t just bury your head in the sand, ensure it’s heard.

You should first complain to your energy provider.

Your supplier’s phone number and website will be on your energy bill.

Explain what the problem is and what you want your supplier to do about it – you can use template letters from Citizens Advice.

Energy suppliers have up to eight weeks to come to tell you their decision on the complaint.

If you can’t reach an agreement with your supplier after eight weeks, you can ask for a “deadlock letter”, which enables you to take your case to the free Energy Ombudsman.

The Energy Ombudsman will then decide which party it agrees with and how to resolve the issue.