B Gas and multiple invoices.....headache time
Discussion
Just a small rant.
We have an industrial unit and BG have supplied the gas since 1995. We change tariff and check prices - it's not the cheapest but we only use £800/yr approx.
The meter is in a cupboard on the outside back wall - accessible from car park no need to call etc etc
For the last 18 months they haven't read the meter. Haven't asked us to, either. Just send an estimated bill every quarter.
Last week, we received seven separate bills, in seven envelopes. Each cancelled the previous - some were for only a week or two, others a month. They'd read the meter and somehow the computer has decided to apportion bits to varying dates up to present day, even cancelling the last two quarterly bills we've paid.
As there is VAT involved I'm wondering just how diligent I have to be in entering each frigging bill? The end result is less than £50 outstanding - which I'm inclined to enter as a one off bill with no VAT (so we will not reclaim any).
When I rang them they wanted me to open up a new online account so they can deal with me that way. How about they just bill me regularly and efficiently?
We have an industrial unit and BG have supplied the gas since 1995. We change tariff and check prices - it's not the cheapest but we only use £800/yr approx.
The meter is in a cupboard on the outside back wall - accessible from car park no need to call etc etc
For the last 18 months they haven't read the meter. Haven't asked us to, either. Just send an estimated bill every quarter.
Last week, we received seven separate bills, in seven envelopes. Each cancelled the previous - some were for only a week or two, others a month. They'd read the meter and somehow the computer has decided to apportion bits to varying dates up to present day, even cancelling the last two quarterly bills we've paid.
As there is VAT involved I'm wondering just how diligent I have to be in entering each frigging bill? The end result is less than £50 outstanding - which I'm inclined to enter as a one off bill with no VAT (so we will not reclaim any).
When I rang them they wanted me to open up a new online account so they can deal with me that way. How about they just bill me regularly and efficiently?
The Don of Croy said:
How about they just bill me regularly and efficiently?
My father in law actually designs and implements the new billing systems for BG.From discussions with him, they are hampered by the fact that they were lumbered with numerous, localised, archaic billing systems from when they privatised.
Over the years they've been updating it. However, updating a billing system for 10 million customers and aligning them to the same system can't be done overnight. You can't just 'go offline' for a couple of days while you put something on a new PC.
It's like moving a set of oil tankers moving in formation.
Dave_ST220 said:
They were privatised in 1986. Surely nearly 30 years is long enough to sort their systems out!
The cost for even relatively minor changes is quite horrific. It is literally dozens of iterative changes that cost seven and eight figures each.It's a classic case of diseconomies of scale.
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