British Gas thinks I live in a pub and wants me to pay £800 for a business account

I have been a residential British Gas customer since February 2021 when I moved into a converted pub.

I went through many hoops to get them to move me from a corporate to a residential rate. I paid my bill via direct debit and all was going well until February 2023 when I received an email saying they were sorry I was leaving!

I immediately contacted them by phone to say I was not leaving and had not asked to move. But I was assured that it was a mistake and that I was simply moved from one part of British Gas to another and had to ignore letters.

However, it got worse.

I emailed, called and used their online chat facility where everyone I spoke to told me it was a mistake and that I had actually been transferred to British Gas, being a pub – despite having been a residential customer for more than two years without any problems.

Again I was told to ignore all payment requests until this was sorted out.

But now I have received correspondence from a law firm acting on behalf of British Gas pursuing me for payment suggesting that I enter into a payment plan to clear a debt of over £800 which I do not owe.

Even British Gas employees don’t know what to do. Please help me if you can. J.D. by email

Helen Kirrane from This is Money replies: What a mess. I’m sorry you’ve been the victim of this confusing situation.

You told me that the meter British Gas registered in your name is in the house next door, but the meter registered on the National Grid is your own meter in your property.

Even after making a complaint they were unable to deal with your situation, in fact it seemed to make it even more confusing and you were given conflicting information about what went wrong and how to fix it.

You said you were informed that an erroneous transfer to the British Gas business account would revert the account to a residential account, but that didn’t work.

You were then given complicated instructions on what you had to do to remain a British Gas customer. But these were riddled with jargon and you said they were beyond your capabilities.

It sounds like a catalog of errors and British Gas is to blame for not telling the story so why jump through hoops to fix it?

You told me that it has been a great source of frustration that British Gas closed your account out of the blue and that it caused you anxiety and stress that you don’t need.

I asked British Gas if they would get their act together and settle this for you once and for all.

I am pleased to say that the company has agreed to refund your previous gas payments.

They will also create a new account for you. This is Money understands that British Gas will cancel the incorrect bill of £816.47.

While this is good news, I think British Gas should have looked into this better when you informed them of the matter in February this year.

Instead, you got the turnaround from several customer service members who didn’t seem to understand the situation.

A British Gas spokesperson said: ‘The wrong gas meter data was on record with us before Mrs D moved into the premises.

“We are sorry for the frustration caused and we accept that we should have resolved this sooner.

“We are contacting Ms. D to reassure her that we will refund her previous gas payments and open a new account for her from February this year.”