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British Gas returned £1,264 owed to a former Rebel Energy customer after an 18-month effort to recover the credit, according to This Is Money. The supplier also increased its goodwill payment from £200 to £350 after the newspaper’s consumer columnist challenged the amount.
British Gas has returned £1,264 in energy credit to a former Rebel Energy customer after an 18-month effort to recover the money, according to a report by This Is Money. The customer, identified as S.N. and based in Edinburgh, also received a goodwill payment that the newspaper says was increased to £350 after its consumer columnist intervened.
S.N. told This Is Money that her credit balance had been held with Rebel Energy, which closed in 2025. British Gas took over Rebel’s customers under Ofgem’s supplier-of-last-resort arrangements, but S.N. had started a switch to Ovo around the same time. She said that left her unable to get the balance back through repeated contacts with British Gas, whose representatives did not recognise her as a customer.
According to the report, S.N. began the switch on April 1, 2025, the day Rebel went bust. British Gas began supplying Rebel’s approximately 90,000 customers on April 6. S.N. contacted British Gas repeatedly between May and December 2025, and raised a complaint that was closed without resolving the issue. She was directed to Ovo or Rebel’s administrators, Teneo, despite the report’s account that the credit had become British Gas’s responsibility.
The refund did not arrive after British Gas told S.N. in June 2026 that payment would be made within two weeks. She later contacted Teneo, which said the account information British Gas needed had been handed over in late 2025 or early 2026. After columnist Sally Hamilton contacted the supplier, British Gas confirmed the refund; it arrived on October 6, with an initial £200 goodwill payment. Hamilton said she challenged that amount, after which British Gas raised it to £350.
How the Switch Blocked the Refund
The case shows how a customer’s credit can become difficult to recover when an energy supplier fails and the customer is also changing providers. S.N. said British Gas did not recognise her as a customer, while the report says the move to Ovo meant a temporary account needed for the refund was never created. That left her chasing money for bills she had already paid in advance.
For other consumers, the episode highlights the value of keeping final bills, account details and correspondence when a supplier closes or a switch is in progress. It also shows why clear ownership of balances matters: a customer may be passed between a former supplier’s administrator, a new supplier and a supplier of last resort even when the balance is ultimately due from one party. The report describes a single case and does not establish how often similar delays occur.
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Rebel’s Closure and the Supplier Transfer
Under Ofgem’s arrangements, a supplier of last resort can be appointed when an energy company exits the market, taking over supply for affected customers. In this case, British Gas was appointed after Rebel Energy’s closure and began supplying its customers on April 6, 2025. The report says Rebel had about 90,000 customers.
S.N.’s switch to Ovo was initiated on the same date Rebel went bust, according to the account she gave the newspaper. British Gas later explained that a temporary account should have been created to process the former Rebel customer’s credit automatically. The report says that account was not set up because she left British Gas before the transfer process was complete. It does not give details of her Ovo account or indicate that Ovo held the £1,264.
“I have been trying to recover the credit I had with Rebel Energy for nearly 18 months, after the supplier closed.”
— S.N., the former Rebel Energy customer, in a letter to This Is Money
Details Behind the Delayed Payment
The account comes from This Is Money’s report and from statements attributed to S.N., Teneo and British Gas; the full correspondence and account records are not included. It is not clear exactly when British Gas first received all information needed to issue the credit, or why the complaint was closed without resolution. British Gas’s explanation, as reported, is that the temporary account was not created because S.N. left before the transfer process finished.
The report says the payment arrived on October 6 but does not specify the year in that sentence. It describes events extending from April 2025 into 2026, including a June call and a later September update, placing the refund after those contacts. The article does not identify the date the £350 goodwill payment was made or explain how that amount was calculated. No wider figures are provided on complaints or delays involving other former Rebel customers.
Refund Completed, No Further Action Reported
According to the report, S.N. received the £1,264 balance on October 6, alongside the final £350 goodwill payment. The published account does not say that any further refund action or complaint review is pending, nor does it report a new deadline or remedy for other former Rebel customers.
Consumers who believe a supplier owes them a credit can check their closing statements and keep records of supplier-switch dates, complaint references and communications with administrators or the replacement supplier. In S.N.’s case, the report says the matter was resolved after the newspaper contacted British Gas; it does not establish that the same route or outcome will apply to other customers.
Key Questions
How much did British Gas refund?
British Gas returned £1,264 in credit that S.N. had accumulated with Rebel Energy, according to This Is Money.
Why was the refund delayed?
British Gas said a temporary account intended to process the credit was not set up because S.N. left before the transfer process was complete. The report says she had also been told by customer-service staff that British Gas was not responsible.
How much goodwill compensation did she receive?
The report says British Gas first added £200 as an apology, then increased the goodwill payment to £350 after columnist Sally Hamilton challenged the initial amount.
When did British Gas take over Rebel Energy’s customers?
British Gas began supplying Rebel’s approximately 90,000 customers on April 6, 2025, after being appointed supplier of last resort, according to the report.
Has British Gas reported similar delays for other former Rebel customers?
The source describes S.N.’s case but gives no figures or information about whether other former Rebel customers experienced the same problem.
Source: thisismoney.co.uk
