British Gas FORGET to charge me for years and then give me a bill for £3,000

A mother has told how she was left stunned when she received an electricity bill for more than £3,000 after British Gas FORGOTTEN to charge her for more than two years.

Julia Shields, from Bristol, usually pays the energy huge around £130 per month for delivery gas and electricity.

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But earlier this month she received a bill asking for £3,264.20 to date back to October 2021, when the company took over People’s Energy’s supply after it went bankrupt.

The 45-year-old said: “I opened the letter and couldn’t believe the figure I was staring at. We usually only pay a fraction of that, so I thought it was an administrative error and put it aside, thinking I would call when I had time.”

A few days later Julia called British Gas and was told there had been no mistake.

She continued: “They told me I owed them thousands of pounds because they hadn’t charged us for the whole time they had been supplying us with electricity.

“I was terrified about what to do next soil I would find things like that money. It dated from two and a half years ago. In today’s climate, it’s hard enough to feed a large family, and yet just to find extra money to pay off that kind of debt.

“They admitted on the phone that it was their fault and asked me to set up a payment plan. I refused to do that because it didn’t feel right that I would be left with a huge amount of debt because of someone else’s mistake.

“We had given them the readings and someone had even come by to check the meter. We didn’t notice it the bill was for gas only, we have just received a bill with the British Gas heading at the top and paid the amount.

The concerned mum scoured the internet for rules and discovered that according to energy watchdog Ofgem’s website, if you haven’t received an accurate gas or electricity bill for more than a year, you may not have to pay for all the energy you’ve used. .

Ofgem’s website states: “Under back-billing rules, your supplier usually cannot bill you for the energy you used 12 months ago.

“The rules for retrospective invoicing do not apply if the supplier has sent you an invoice before the end of the year and you have not paid.”

Writer Julia, mother of squirter Will, 20, Ally, 16, Eric, 13, and ten-year-old Ted, said this was the first bill she had received.

She has now written a complaint to British Gas, detailing the ruling in Ofgem, and is waiting for a response.

A spokesperson for British Gas told The Sun: “We have contacted Mr Shields to reassure him that the bill, which includes previously unbilled electricity, will be recalculated under post-billing rules.

“We understand this is frustrating and we will continue to stay in touch with them as we update their account.”

An Ofgem spokesperson said: “Suppliers must comply with strict rules to protect vulnerable households, including repayment plans. While suppliers can issue a catch-up invoice if customers have been undercharged, they cannot reclaim charges that are more than twelve months old.

“If a customer is not satisfied with the service they have received regarding their billing, they can file a complaint with the Energy Ombudsman. More advice is available on the Ofgem and Citizens Advice websites.

It comes as British Gas has expanded an initiative to offer customers half-price electricity.

The energy supplier has postponed the closing date of its ‘Peak Save’ scheme from today to March 31.

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