British Gas is one of the main energy suppliers in the UK. It supplies customers with gas, electricity and boiler cover, in addition to various other home services. The company has operated for over 200 years and serves around nine million households in the country. In order to properly deal with customer enquiries and problems, British Gas operates a number of call centres in the UK.
When you phone British Gas, you may think that you will be put through to a local call centre. This isn't always the case, however, as many customers have found in the past. In some instances, your call may be forwarded to a call centre that isn't based in the UK.
You may want to speak to a customer services representative at a UK call centre to help you with your enquiry. Alternatively, you may be happy to contact British Gas through email or via webchat.
There are various ways to contact British Gas, so we've compiled the different phone numbers, online forms and addresses that can get you in touch with customer services at the energy and home services provider.
Over 12,000 people are employed in British Gas call centres across the UK. There are call centres in Manchester and Leeds, which specialise in general enquiries from customers. Edinburgh and Cardiff also have call centres, which are more focused on account and billing enquiries.
British Gas also has call centres located in Leicester, Stockport and Oldbury, as well as Uddingston in South Lanarkshire. Your call won't necessarily be directed and processed at the call centre that is geographically closest to you. Instead, your call will be sent to whichever centre has the capacity and specialist skills to deal with your request.
When you phone British Gas, you will be given a number of options to choose from. You will then be directed to the centre that is equipped to help you with your enquiry. Your call will also be sent to centres that are less busy so that you are able to speak with an advisor more quickly.
British Gas will typically queue your call and direct it to the next available call operator. In some instances, you may be put through to the main switchboard and able to request which centre you wish to speak to.
There are various British-based companies that operate call centres in South Africa, including British Gas, Asda and Virgin Media. This is mainly to reduce running costs, as well as improve customer wait times. British Gas also has call centres in other countries, including India.
The energy and home service provider opened its first call centre in South Africa back in 2011. Since then, numerous other call centres have been opened in the country, although British Gas still operates multiple call centres in the UK.
In 2022, the minimum wage in South Africa was set to 23.19 rand, which equals about £1.14. The minimum wage in the UK is currently set at £9.50 for employees aged 23 years and older. This type of wage difference can save British companies significant amounts of money if they choose to operate some of their call centres in South Africa.
The head office for British Gas is located in Windsor, Berkshire and is open 8am to 8pm every day except Sundays. All areas of the company are based here, including energy, home services and business services.
The main office address for British Gas is Millstream, Maidenhead Road, Windsor, Berkshire SL4 5GD.
You should contact British Gas if you have any queries about your contract or the services that you are being offered. It's a good idea to contact British Gas directly if you have a complaint so that they can try and resolve the issue for you.
British Gas can answer queries involving energy and home services through their telephone helpline. You can also contact the company if you need an engineer to come out and look at your appliances. The engineers can be called for one-off repairs to fix problems such as a faulty boiler, as well as annual services and boiler replacements.
It's advisable to get an annual service on your boiler so that you can keep on top of maintenance and make sure that your boiler gets the necessary repairs. Missing regular services could mean that your boiler develops more issues, which could lead to costly repairs or even the cost of replacing the appliance entirely.
If you smell gas in your home, you should contact the Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999 immediately rather than British Gas. The smell may be an indication that you have a gas leak, which could be escaping from a gas appliance such as your boiler, fireplace or cooker. A gas leak can be dangerous and should be addressed as soon as possible so that you and others aren't at risk.
You can also call the Electrical Emergency number on 105 if you have a power outage or electrical emergency. This telephone service will direct you to the local emergency number in your area. The 105 number is free for mobile phones and landlines in England, Scotland and Wales.
You can contact British Gas directly by emailing, phoning or using their live chat feature on their website. British Gas has a separate phone line for Energy and Home Service enquiries. Both phone lines are open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. The Energy phone number is 0330 100 0056, while the Home Service number is 0333 009 5784. All calls are recorded for monitoring and training purposes.
You can also communicate with a virtual assistant via webchat on the British Gas website. Alternatively, British Gas allows you to talk with the webchat team if you have logged into your online account. The webchat operates from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm on Saturdays and 10am to 4pm on Sundays.
On its website, British Gas features various articles that aim to answer any questions that you may have. This includes instructions on how to submit meter readings and ways to update your direct debit. However, these articles may not be relevant to your question so you may need to use the webchat or phone the call centre.
To make an official complaint, you will be asked to use the online questionnaire to identify the area that you are complaining about, such as Energy, Installations or Home Services. You will need to specify what type of customer plan you are on (such as regular payments or meter top-ups).
Once you have answered the short questionnaire, you will be prompted to choose how you would like to proceed with your complaint. The easiest and quickest route is via an online form, although you can also choose to make a complaint through webchat or by phoning the British Gas team on 0333 202 9532. The team are available to take calls Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm.
You can also write your complaint in a letter and send it to the Complaints Management Team, PO Box 226, Rotherham, S98 1PB. Alternatively, you can send an email to British Gas by contacting [email protected].
In 2020, Which? conducted a survey to review the response times of leading energy suppliers in the UK. It revealed that it takes customers nearly 25 minutes on average to be put through to a member of staff when they phone British Gas.
The survey also found that customers were able to reach staff members more quickly when they used the live webchat feature on the British Gas website. However, it still takes around 11 minutes on average for customers to reach a human on the chat feature.
British Gas blamed ongoing issues with staff working at international call centres. The energy supplier suggested that the response times were extended due to broadband issues, as well as regular power cuts that disrupted some international call centres.
British Gas has multiple call centres in the UK, including general enquiry centres in Leeds and Manchester, as well as specialist bill and account enquiries centres in Edinburgh and Cardiff. The energy supplier also has call centres based in South Africa and India.
If you would prefer to contact British Gas via another way, you can use the webchat feature on their website or fill out the online form. You can also send an email or write a letter and post it.
If you have a gas or electrical emergency, you should phone the Gas Emergency Service or Electrical Emergency number. You should only contact British Gas for non-emergencies, such as booking services, updating your account information or general enquiries.
