The short version is, in the middle of an already terrible period in our lives, British Gas took loads of money out of my account, draining our emergency fund - I realised there was a problem when my bank started sending me SMSes - and dragging their heels about refunding what they shouldn't have taken in the first place.

In the aftermath of a burglary and two bereavements, and whilst our attention was on dealing with those situations (I acknowledge that everyone experiences loss but this all occurred within a period of 1 week and really hit us hard):

- Took more than £8k from my bank account

- In doing so, completely drained our emergency fund

- Because our attention was on dealing with the bereavements, and clearing one of the related properties, I only realised there was a serious problem when I started getting SMS messages from my bank

- Had to stop direct debit because they still thought I owed them £8-9k, otherwise I would have missed mortgage and other bill payments in September

- Once they'd sorted out the billing mess, it turned out that I was over £9,600 in credit (which they assured me was correct)

- Promised us a refund on 4th September 2023

- Did not contact us when there was a problem processing this refund (I originally requested £9,100 to allow some credit for winter energy usage)

- Said that refund was rejected due to "an issue with the billing of the account" - no kidding, this is why we've ended up in this situation

- Still haven't refunded me as of 1st October 2023, and I've now threatened them with county court action (small claims), this time asking for the full balance to be refunded because I simply can't trust them with the money

- We have a number of expenses we're deferring as a result of this (one is holiday deposits which is like, OK, it's crap, but not the end of the world, but a couple are much more serious and necessary)

I work in software so I know that systems sometimes go wrong, but the key thing is how you deal with it when that happens. British Gas have dealt with this incredibly badly and left us in serious financial distress as a result. They posted £2.1bn in adjusted operating profit at the end of June. They should be ashamed for not refunding us what we're owed.

I strongly recommend you find another supplier.

Atrocious customer service. Spoke to about 10 different people today, all passing the buck to another department. I literally just needed to confirm a few details for a home move but it's taken all day. I halfway finished setting up with one person, who then gave me the wrong tariff information. After I pointed it out and asked for the cheaper tariff, I was hung up on. I then received a cursory 1-second call-back-and-hang-up, assumedly so she could say she attempted a callback. Waited 40 more minutes for a real callback as assured by the robotic machine voice, didn't happen.

Was also promised £150 credit for sticking with British gas. Nobody I've spoken to has been able to confirm this. At this point, I will probably be switching to a cheaper company with better customer service. The credit was the only reason I was staying with BG, but if they can't even deliver on their promises, there's no point putting myself through the hassle of this terrible customer service.

Also, your website logs me out after about 20 minutes every time, then I have to go through two pages to log back in. It's 2023, your website shouldn't be giving a 2005 customer experience.

Edit: Cancelled and went with Octopus. Set up in 36 minutes. Still waiting on that callback from British Gas. Lmao

Edit: Since leaving British Gas, they've continually sent me threatening letters and emails regarding a "final bill" that was paid via their own website well before these started. Threatening to send a debt collection agency and then charge me for it. They don't list any phone number and make it as difficult as possible to contact them to say "HEY! I PAID IT OVER A WEEK AGO!" So glad I've left this utterly terrible company.

Edit 2: I spent an hour on the phone to an advisor who said that they would sort it out. Then I got an email saying that I paid the money on the new system but they needed me to pay it on the old system (?). They refunded my money to my bank account and have asked me to pay it again, but differently, but have not explained how paying it again will lead to a different result or how to pay it so that they'll actually accept the money. It seems like British Gas is deeply confused about their own processes and is passing that confusion on to the customer.

So, back on the phone I go for another hour to speak to more people who are more confused than I am.

Let me give you a brief history of my interactions with British Gas, regarding the EBSS vouchers that all British Gas customer were supposed to receive.
19th October 2022 I first contacted British Gas to find out when I would receive my first voucher of £66. I was told I would get the voucher THAT WEEK. I didn't.
26th October 2022 I contacted British gas for the second time. I told them that a week ago I was told I would get the voucher that week, but I still hadn't received it. They told me that due to the royal mail strikes, they were delayed, but it will be with me in a few days.
4th November 2022 I contacted British gas for the 3rd time. I tell them that I still haven't received my OCTOBER voucher and its now November (all my other post was arriving on time so the Royal Mail strike had nothing to do with the voucher not arriving on time). This time they tell me that they'll send me the voucher to my email address. It will take a few days. Not sure why an email would take a few days but I just accept I'll have to wait even longer.
9th November 2022 I contact British Gas for the 4th time. I tell them I haven't received my voucher in my email like they promised. This advisor tells me that I won't receive an email, that the voucher will definitely be coming in the post (so the previous advisor just straight up lied when she said she'd sent them to my email address), and I would definitely get them in a few days. I really don't believe them at this point but I decided to wait a few more days.
16th November 2022 I contact British Gas for the 5th time. You guessed it, I still haven't received my voucher for OCTOBER. We're halfway through November now. This is getting ridiculous. This advisor tells me that the vouchers all had to be cancelled and reissued. Not sure how you cancel something which was supposedly posted 4 weeks ago, but once again I decide to wait "a few days" like this advisor suggested.
23rd November I receive a text apologising that the NOVEMBER voucher was late. I still haven't received my OCTOBER voucher. This makes me angry, so on
23rd November 2022 I contact British Gas for the 6th time. I tell them I'm not waiting anymore. I want my voucher to be sent to my email now, or I want to speak to a manager.
They tell me I will get BOTH VOUCHERS this month (November 2022) so to wait a few days. I've had enough now. I ask to speak to a manager.
Manager Vikram Singh tells me that they don't actually know when customers will receive the vouchers, and that every single time over the last 6 weeks that a British gas employee has told me I'll get the vouchers, it was a lie. They are lying to all their customers. They never sent the vouchers, and they have no intention of doing so anytime soon.
I've posted my ordeal online to see if I get a response, but British Gas don't seem to care.
So I'll be submitting complaints to the energy ombudsman services, and obviously leaving scathing reviews anywhere I can.