British Gas bill warning after Mum was told she owed £9,000

Roxanne Pitteway was a loyal customer to the energy giant for nearly 10 years since moving into her four-bedroom detached home in 2015.

But when the 39-year-old says she received an email in November saying her direct debit was increasing from £250 a month to £460 she contacted them about the steep increase.

Through British Gas’ live chat system, Roxanne submitted a meter reading to check her balance and was shocked to be told her account was apparently £9,000 in debt.

the 39-year-old says she received an email in November saying her direct debit was increasing from £250 a month to £460 she contacted them about the steep increase. (Image: Kennedy News & Media) Even when she questioned this, she claims she was told it was ‘correct’.

It was only after the horrified mum-of-four refused to cough up and pushed for them to check the figures, she was then told a company ‘mistake’ meant she was actually £5,462.16 in credit.

When Roxanne initially saw the £9,000 debt on her account, she said it was ‘disgusting’ that British Gas had not contacted her about it despite it being incorrect.

While Roxanne says she could afford the proposed direct debit increase, an extra £200 a month could ‘destroy someone’ so close to Christmas.

Roxanne is now speaking out about her experience to ensure other British Gas customers check their energy accounts to ensure the company isn’t ‘making interest’ on their hard-earned cash.

British Gas said they emailed a recommendation to Roxanne to review her direct debit and increase, due to her usage being estimated higher than her reading, but that it wasn’t a bill or confirmation of a direct debit increase.

They said the account was rebilled over a period of 17 months, which was when the last accurate meter reading was noted on the account, which is why her total energy costs for the period were showing at one point just over £9,000.

Roxanne, from Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, said: “My direct debit had been £250 a month for a little while and then I got an email saying it was being raised to £460.

“I went on the live chat to ask them if this was right and that I was using this much more energy as it seemed quite a jump.

“They asked me to send them a meter reading to check and said it [the direct debit] was coming up as this because I was £9,000 in debt.

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“I said ‘wow’ and asked them to check this because it seemed quite a lot and felt like they should have told me beforehand if I was in this much debit.

“They said it was correct, which is why they had to up my direct debit.

“I am a single parent and have four children so it was a bit of a shock and obviously would impact what I would be spending over Christmas and your monthly budget.

“I still didn’t believe it was right as there had been no real change in the way we use our energy.

“I asked them to double check and they came back and said there had been a mistake at their end.

“They [British Gas] told me I had £5,400 in credit, which was nice to hear.

“I asked for this to be refunded but they advised me not to as you build up an excess over summer to pay for fuel in winter.

“British Gas asked me if I could afford this and I said yes. They said if I did receive the refund they would have to put my direct debit up to £700.

“They said this was so I could build up credit again because if I took the refund now I wouldn’t have anything banked.

“This is what made me post about it.

“I could have afforded my direct debit to be raised to £460 without it affecting my life too much but for people right on the line, an extra £200 a month and the thought of a £9,000 debt, that’s enough to absolutely destroy some people.

“Right before Christmas everyone’s budgets are tight, it’s awful really.

“I don’t know how much of people’s money they have that is earning them interest, it must be earning them quite a lot.

“If people were aware that they had such a credit building up [with British Gas] they would ask for a refund so they could build this up in their own account.”

Roxanne said after requesting her £5,462.16 credit to be refunded, she received the lump sum in her bank account on November 26 and then switched to Octopus Energy.

After her experience she says she will never use British Gas again and wouldn’t recommend it to others either.

Roxanne said: “I’ve now received the refund. It was great to receive this, that’s Christmas sorted.

“After I received the refund, I cancelled and moved to Octopus Energy.

“I got a phone call the next day after cancelling, offering me a better rate.

“I was a loyal customer for 10 years and I didn’t get any of this but then as soon as I said I was leaving, they offered me a better rate.

“With your energy you expect that you are getting the right price. I wouldn’t recommend British Gas to others.”

A spokesperson from Centrica on behalf of British Gas said: “Mrs Pitteway’s bills were being estimated for some time.

“When she contacted us on November 19 we took a meter reading, billed her up-to-date and then informed her of the large credit balance.

“Our advisor processed the refund on the same day – this was then received in Mrs Pitteway’s bank account within 3-5 working days on November 26.”