We had our gas and electricity bills this morning. As we're with
British Gas (please, no diatribes about changing supplier) the period
billed includes the price rises on the 1st of March. To calculate the
bill BG therefore had to estimate the readings on the 1st of March.
Fortunately the previous figures and present figures were both genuine
readings. I hadn't read the meters on the 1st of March myself, but as
my readings are closer together than BGs (23rd Feb, 6th Mar) I can
probably more accurately estimate the actual reading than they.

Of course, their estimate comes out lower than mine, meaning that
according to BG I used less gas and electricity before the price rises
than according to my own calculations.

To cut an exceedingly long story short, after some fiendishly
complicated calculations I worked out that I had been overcharged 37p
for electricity and 59p for gas (give or take a penny due to
differences in rounding strategies). It doesn't sound a lot, but that
96p represents just 7 days between the 1st of March and the meter
reader's figure from the 7th of March.

I'm in two minds whether or not to ring BG up and make a point about
this (I'd probably spend more on the 0845 call), but the thought
occurred to me that we're probably not the only ones. What if all BG
customers have been overcharged? What if it's about a pound for each one
of them? What an easy little money-spinner!

Hwyl!

M.

--
Martin Angove: http://www.tridwr.demon.co.uk/
Making sense of technology: http://www.livtech.co.uk/
.... My mother is NEVER on time! - Worf