"We've had to estimate your usage" (gas)

[WillGee]

Just received my gas bill for August-November. It says,

"We've had to estimate your usage."

It then states,

 "22% higher cost compared to last year

On average you're spending more per day on your energy than this bill period last year"

How does that work?

"We saved money by not sending out a meter-reader, but we know that you used 22% more gas since the same period in 2019."

Sounds like a scam to me.

They give you the option to enter your meter read (ie. you do it, because we are not sending out meter-readers), and the bill will be fixed up next bill.

NOT GOOD ENOUGH, AGL.

[David_AGL]

Hi @WillGee ,

I appreciate your concern here. Hearing about estimated bills for the first time can be a bit of a surprise, but they're pretty common, they're nothing new, and they're definitely not a scam. 

The company that reads your meter is not AGL, but rather your local distributor - the company that maintains the pipes etc in your area. They send your meter readings on to AGL, and we bill you based off what they send. If they weren't able to read your meter (for example if it was behind a locked gate), your bill is instead estimated (temporarily) based on your local area, your past usage, the time of year and so on. 

Then, when we next receive an actual reading, your bill is adjusted so you'll see either an additional charge or a credit applied, depending on if the estimate was too high or too low.

If you don't like the idea of ever receiving an estimated bill, you can actually submit your own meter reads to avoid the situation. Either way though, you won't be out of pocket, because your bill will always be corrected.

[WillGee]

Having now spoken to the Resolution Team, I have found that this was an error in the AGL system. The meter WAS read, and the bill calculated on the correct reading. In addition, the email containing the error also did not include the detailed bill as an attachment.

Hopefully the errors are being addressed within the Company.

[David_AGL]

Hi @WillGee , glad to hear you got the issue resolved. Although the bill notification emails do not include the bill as an attachment, there's a "view your bill" link in the email which will allow you to download the pdf bill immediately, with no login required. If there's any problems with that link, please let me know.