We have been in the house for 7 years but they changed the metre in 2009 and since then it appears to have been estimated bills. When we had the old metre the bills were high but we thought that they were billing us wrongly as it was an imperial metre and they were billing us as a metric customer. I think that's why they changed the meter. But since then the bills have appeared normal. We did a metre reading yesterday and it appears the numbers have moved by 16 in one day. Not sure how that measures in real money, but we are monitoring it each day to find out what we use daily. As I mention all we have on is the central heating, we don't have a gas fire but we do have a gas hob but we don't use it excessively.

No they don't know yet. I wanted to understand my rights before I contacted them.

Three live in the house and we pay all of our bills regularly. We have a gas boiler and it is only used to heat the house in the morning and evening as we are at work. It is a very old house and very draughty but we also have a log burner to supplement the heat. I agree that this is a very large shortfall and that's why I am worried.

I think they have read the meter but they don't appear to have used the readings which is why we appear to be in the situation. If we can prove that they have received reading but not used them will we still have to pay the whole amount?

Is it the law or is it just best practice? Does anyone know?

Thanks for your advise. I thought all energy companies had to have an official reading every 2 year to avoid this kind of situation. Isn't that the case?

No British Gas why does it make a difference?

Can anyone help me? I have recently done a customer reading for my gas account and it appears that I have not been billed correctly for the last 4 years due to estimated reading. We currently pay all of our bills on time on receipt of a bill but it appears that no meter readings have been used to provide an accurate bill for over 4 years. I am sure that we have supplied meter readings in the past but as we have an online account I cant seem to find any record to support this and I know that our meter has been read over that period by meter readers. Please can anyone advise us on our rights before I submit the reading as this is a great shock and we do not have the funds available to pay this.