Experiences yes, good ones no. Eventually they will probably sort it out but it might take a lot of hassle. These companies do make billing mistakes quite often, but they won't go out of their way to correct them because they don't make money by doing that. It's quite possible that your details will end up being sent to a debt collection agency unless you can get them to recognise it as their mistake.
The only advice I can give is to not make one mistake I did: make sure you write to them, on paper. If you do that they have to make a record of it and can't claim not to have been aware of the problem later on.
Also does your bill have meter readings on it? Is it based on an estimated reading or an actual one? Does it match the current reading? What about the reading before your final one? Can you point to a discrepancy in the readings that could be the cause of the amount on your bill?
Aside from writing a letter you can also keep calling in and trying to explain the problem to the call centre operator. You have about a 1 in 10 chance of finding someone sympathetic who will give you the number of a managers' office instead of a call centre. That will help quite a lot. If you get someone who says you have to pay the erroneous bill, just hang up and call again. It might help to make a point of asking for their name. They will be more likely to be nice to you if they know you have that information, because you could write a letter of complaint that identifies them.
Finally, if it's at all possible, leave British Gas and go with another company. British Gas are the worst of all companies for this sort of thing and it really isn't worth it unless you're saving a very large amount of money.
The only advice I can give is to not make one mistake I did: make sure you write to them, on paper. If you do that they have to make a record of it and can't claim not to have been aware of the problem later on.
Also does your bill have meter readings on it? Is it based on an estimated reading or an actual one? Does it match the current reading? What about the reading before your final one? Can you point to a discrepancy in the readings that could be the cause of the amount on your bill?
Aside from writing a letter you can also keep calling in and trying to explain the problem to the call centre operator. You have about a 1 in 10 chance of finding someone sympathetic who will give you the number of a managers' office instead of a call centre. That will help quite a lot. If you get someone who says you have to pay the erroneous bill, just hang up and call again. It might help to make a point of asking for their name. They will be more likely to be nice to you if they know you have that information, because you could write a letter of complaint that identifies them.
Finally, if it's at all possible, leave British Gas and go with another company. British Gas are the worst of all companies for this sort of thing and it really isn't worth it unless you're saving a very large amount of money.
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