British Gas

As its name suggests, British Gas is British owned and based. It's the biggest gas supplier in the UK and serves more than 8 million homes and businesses with gas and electricity.

The firm is a subsidiary of Centrica, a multinational energy and services company, which also owns utility suppliers in the Republic of Ireland. It's known as Scottish Gas in Scotland.

It also sells boilers, renewable heating, smart home products from the Hive brand and HomeCare insurance. Its PeakSave scheme gives some smart meter customers 50% off electricity between 11am and 4pm on Sundays.

Looking for a new tariff? Use our tool to compare energy prices.

British Gas score 

We combine the results of our customer survey with an in-depth assessment of companies’ behind-the-scenes practices and policies to give you an overall view. 

Take a look at our table below to see our score breakdown for British Gas:

Here's how British Gas customer and policy assessments break down:

To find out how British Gas compares with other energy companies, see our full results of the best and worst energy companies.

British Gas customer review

British Gas performed poorly compared with several energy companies based on our annual survey of 11,984 members of the public.

Its customer score of 61% means that British Gas is slightly below average. Many of the biggest suppliers scored similarly, with the exception of Octopus Energy, which had a much higher customer score of 78%.

British Gas star ratings were poor to middling, and comments from customers were mixed. One said: 'They do not seem to value their customers and they are very unhelpful in resolving problems.' 

However, another was much happier, saying: 'I've always had great customer service whenever I've had a problem and it's dealt with very quickly.'

Which? verdict on British Gas

• Pros Good support for customers who need it, and the survey results suggest customer service is reasonable
• Cons Poor value for money according to customers; among the worst for switching, handling complaints and meeting its smart meter targets

Our British Gas supplier assessment

In September-November 2024, we looked at five aspects of suppliers' business practices and procedures:

• Customer service – including how and when you can get in touch, and the quality of self-service help online
• How well they deal with complaints – how many complaints suppliers get and how quickly they resolve them
• Supporting customers who need it – including web accessibility, those in vulnerable situations, in financial difficulty, who use prepayment meters, and those who need materials in languages besides English.
• Switching – how easy it is for customers to switch over to British Gas from an old supplier
• Smart meter targets performance in 2023 - The most recent figures available

We did this using a combination of the responses to a survey we sent to suppliers and our own assessments.

British Gas received one of the higher scores across suppliers for supporting customers who need it and one of the lowest scores for switchin, handling complaints and its performance against smart meter targets.

British Gas customer service

British Gas received three-star ratings in a number of areas, including accurate energy payments and customer communications. However, most suppliers got at least three stars in these categories. 

It was one of only four providers to receive a two-star rating for overall customer service and one of only five providers to receive a two-star rating for value for money. 

In our supplier assessment of customer service, British Gas scored well. It received 10 out of a total 13 points thanks to its comprehensive methods of contact. It only lost points because its main phone line isn’t an 0800 or 0808 number. 

British Gas Energy Trust and other energy bill help

The British Gas Energy Trust is an independent charity that helps customers who are struggling to pay their bills – and you don't need to be a British Gas customer to get help. 

You can get advice via local services that it funds, and it can give grants to some customers in financial hardship to help them clear their energy debt. 

In 2024 British Gas also announced We Pay: You Pay, a scheme where it matches the payments of eligible customers for six months. 

To qualify, you'll likely need to be in fuel poverty and facing debt (though there's no minimum debt level). British Gas will contact you to do an assessment if you're likely to be eligible. 

British Gas common complaints 

When we asked British Gas customers, 7% said they had engaged with the company to make a complaint in the past year.

The most common complaints were about incorrect bills or statements (18%) and estimated meter readings (18%). Other common complaints included a smart meter breaking or not working (16%), followed by 13% saying that their meter was inaccurate.

British Gas got less than half of the possible marks in our assessment of its complaints handling. British Gas received more complaints in the first half of 2024 (the most recent data available) than most other suppliers - only OVO and EDF received more complaints - and wasn't the fastest to resolve them.

Does British Gas support prepayment meters?

Yes. Here's what you need to know:

• You can top up at a Post Office or Payzone outlet. If you have a smart meter, you can also top up on the British Gas website, app or automated payment phone line.
• You can get £10 emergency credit if you run out of credit but can't afford to top up.
• Friendly credit is available overnight, 6pm-9am Monday-Friday and 6pm Saturday-9am Monday, plus bank holidays. It's activated automatically on smart meters and newer non-smart electric meters if you run out of credit, but you can also activate it yourself. If your meter can't do this (no traditional gas meters can), British Gas has a 24-hour service for customers without gas or electricity supply. Friendly credit will only activate if there was at least £0.01 in the meter at 6pm.

Find out whether a prepayment meter is right for you.

How sustainable is British Gas?

Sustainability credentials when choosing an energy supplier are important for two thirds of those responsible for choosing their provider. That’s according to our online survey of 3,000 UK adults in August 2024.

So we factor in a range of sustainability criteria in our annual Eco Provider assessment.

Here’s how British Gas fared:

• Proportion of renewable electricity sold to customers: 20%
• Generates renewable electricity at two solar farms.
• Operates fossil-fuel generation: it has a gas-fuelled plant, which provides power on demand to maintain grid stability.
• Sells green gas comprising 0.01% of the gas it sells to domestic customers.
• Offers a range of time-of-use tariffs including discounted overnight EV rates, and half-price electricity during specific hours on Sundays.
• Offers installation of solar PV, battery storage, heat pumps, insulation and EV chargers.

Find out more about the differences between energy companies renewable electricity, and find out how we assessed energy suppliers for sustainability.

Based on information supplied by companies in August 2024 and their most recent published fuel mixes, where available.

Making your home more energy-efficient will save money on your bills in the long term and lower your carbon footprint. Get started with our guides to home energy efficiency.