British Gas
Complaint 160348 Details

Hi,
I received keys for a small rented 1 bed appartment in December 2011 but did not actually move in until Feburary 2012.
The appartment is very small with electricity only.
Shortly after moving in I accidently opened a letter which I assume was for the previous tenent Johnathan Boyce from British Gas demanding £2000.
I thought this was strange as the appartment is so small with only a couple of storage heaters and wondered how his bill could be so big. I rang British gas to query it and was told to ignore it.
I moved into this small appartment as I was setting up a business nearby and working 70+ hours a week.
Im rarely in the appartment, dont cook in the appartment and have always been good at unplugging everything etc when not here. I dont even have the freezer plugged in as it is used so little and spend alot of time abroad.
My first bill arrived in April and was much more then expected.
When I quried it, I was told to give them a metre reading which I did expecting bill to decrease, instead they added another £400 a few weeks later.
Between moving in in Feburary and now Sept, 8 months they claim I have used £1485.00 of electricty which averages £186 a month which is ridiculous especially due to me rarely being here. I paid £400 and explained that I would not pay anymore until somebody checked this and was planning to switch supplier.
I was away for 3 weeks until recently and upon my return discovered that a prepayment metre was installed and a letter stating that I would now be paying £10 a week on top to pay arrears of £1085 and the balance should be cleared by November 2014.
Prior to going away I did ring British Gas to see what was being done about extorinate bills and was simply told it was no different to going to a supermarket checkout with a shopping trolley, that the goods had to be payed for.
The general attitude seemed to be that it was my problem and they did not care.
I have no way of switching supplier now and have to consider moving home as I have given up dealing with them.
I dont seem to have any rights or any explaination for these costs and feel trapped. It is just wrong..
I have friends living in much bigger homes who pay alot less including a collegue with a family in a 4 bed house.
I filled a complaint form on their website but didnt expect and havent received anything back.
Winter is coming and judging by costs so far, my annual bill could be over £3000.
While home I rarely use anything other then basic lighting, tv and my laptop from time to time.
Please help me,
Paul.