hochimin67:

I think they are just trying it on.

Perhaps they are but maybe they think the same of customers who accept estimated bills.

Whatever, you are entitled to be properly and fairly treated. TT Lady is right, £200 a month (allegedly actual) does seem high. I would slightly disgree with her use of the phrase "your responsibility" though customers at least share some responsibility.

Google for something called "The Code of Practice for accurate billing". BG are signatories. Go through it with a fine tooth comb and ensure that BG have discharged all their responsibilites. For example, they are required to estimate based either on previous actual consumption or on average consumption for your type of property. No way is £38/month average, so something doesn't stack up here.

In the case that the only omission on your part is not to have challenged estimated bills then I would say you are in a strong position to expect reasonable terms for the actual consumption. The Code of Practice customer perogative is only that it is "a good idea" to compare the estimate with actual.

In the first instance you need to verify that the BG Jan reading seems reasonable and obtain evidence of the previous actual reading. Then you need to check that the BG calculation is accurate for the type of meter you have. Details on your bill.

Have you checked the meter readings they have based their bill on ? If the figures are right then I suspect BG are right and you owe the money. Did you check the estimated bills as they came in and were they close to the actuals ? If they were then you might have a case but you should have notified them of the actuals as you went along.

I seem to recall reading on another thread that they have to have an actual meter reading once every two years. In the intervening period it is your responsibility to make sure the estimates are reasonable and notify them of actual readings.

I'm not surprised you've got a bill as £38 a month is extremely low for a 4 bed house even without kids but an extra £190ish a month seems high. Monitoring your usage for a couple of weeks might help you gauge how much you are actually using.

Hi, Ive just received a bill from BG for £3500.00 Yes 3.5k!! When I spoke to an advisor he said basically they were back charging me to Sept 07 because they had only estimated my bill up to Jan 09 and my £38.00 pm direct debit had not been covering it and now they had taken a proper reading in Jan, that was what I owed. The house is a four bed detatched but with no large consumption items, just the std dishwasher, washing machine cooker etc, heating is gas. We dont have kids so the washing machine only comes on twice a week at most and thats on 30degrees. I was under the impression that energy suppliers are obliged to carry out regular accurate meter readings and not just estimate for near on 18months. Can somebody advise me on my position. I have spoken with two other people who both have had 3k + bills.... I think they are just trying it on.