It sounds like british gas have been billing you a standing charge, but as the service has not been used, they should be refunding immediately. Replacing the meter seems to be a common theme between all the big energy companies. Once replaced, any refunds are given back (after lengthy complaints are made) upto the date the meter was changed, instead of years earlier (clearly not applicable in your case) but one for us all to watch out for. Energy companies then tell the customer that faults found with a meter are unobtainable as engineer's only take meter readings, before replacing them. This proceedure is not limited to gas either, the same has happened with our electricity meter. I would advise your girlfriend opens a complaint with british gas, obtain the complaint reference number and keep it for reference. Next speak to consumer direct and they can advise what steps to take if you are not happy with british gas' response. If your complaint has been running for 8 weeks from the first day you brought it to british gas' attention, and british gas provide you with a "deadlock" letter stating they can do no more, then this opens the door for a complaint with the energy ombudsman, who will look at it for you. It's a joke that you the customer have to jump through hoops in this way, but until OFGEM buck their ideas up and start regulating to protect customers then that's all we can do. Sorry I cannot be more help

Similar questions here as well. Unable to find answers as yet. Can a ccj be enforced when it is no longer being collected by the business that put it before the court? I was under the impression that to transfer a debt over, the original company would have to inform the individual in writing? As it stands, random out of the blue letter from DLC, no contact at all from black horse, is not the factual basis to be paying upon, this company could be anyone!

But Casper, do you have to go to the branch to pay the £1? I understand your logic though The internet banking route can be done from the home, without any counter charge. The standing order option, with my bank, issues a charge if not enough funds are available (which is a scandal in itself) Protection with direct debits as was said, takes not only the running around, phone calls back and forth, and doesnt always get resolved the same day. Can lead to other charges as well. Protection is there, but the regulators dont seem to care about the here and now, preferring to take months to deliberate over each case, which is no use to anyone but the company that took the money incorrectly in the first place. There have been reports of DCAs monitoring bank accounts, especially income going into an account - not sure how though or wether reports are accurate.

Many people who are having trouble paying out money owed, also live on what I would call the "bread line" - ie, week to week Paying by direct debit or standing order can quite easily result in bank charges draining the purse strings. Here's what I would do. First, obtain from any DCA, preferably in writing only, the DCA's account number and sort code. Next, set up your bank account so that it can be used on the internet. Make a reasonable offer to any company/DCA, so that payments can be made each week, that fits in with your own personal budget (DO NOT give details of this to the DCA) - by this I mean, don't leave yourself short every week. Make your offer something achievable, so that they cannot come back at you if you are struggling to meet your payment in any one month/week. Log into your bank account online and set up a payment - this should hold their account number and sort code, using their reference number or debt account number as a reference for them. Now you are good to go, keep your payments regular. When you want to make a payment, you can, using "make a payment" via your account (most banks now fast track payments within a day.) This way there are no unexpected payments, amounts remain at your discretion not theirs and you have the added bonus of not incurring any bank charges.

Crem is spot on. Blocking you in is causing an obstruction, but even with dropped kerbs, if you have no car on the drive of your house and someone parks across it then there is not a lot you can do. There maybe another way to skin this proverbial cat, not ideal but your local highways dept could help. In many areas, parking in a cul-de-sac is not permitted, it can prevent emergency vehicles from access. Have you thought about insisting via your local councillor about having double yellow lines put down? It would prevent any long drawn out feuds with the neighbours concerned, as no one would be able to block you in, with double yellow lines down, the police would have to act as its an offence under the road traffic act. You would inadvertantly be giving the police a law to enable them to act. I know its not ideal for all your neighbours, but Im sure they would come around once they saw that you tried to mediate and be polite but it was ignored. Some county councils highways permit home owners to clearly mark out a parking space in front of their homes, although this may only apply to disabled parking. Still worth asking about though.

I forgot to mention.... eon go by the name of @talkenergy on twitter, they also favour releasing statements from their MD via youtube, i suspect this is so nothing ccan be printed off or cross referenced against them in the future. alternately, you can search for #eon

Join the argument on twitter.... other factors from that letter (yes I received one as well) after reading the financial editor of the telegraph and guardian state clearly, with proof, that wholesale prices are now below march levels (when the Japanese earthquake hit) some energy can be purchased now at prices equal to november 2010! if you are a prepayment customer (it might be for all customers I dont know?) the rise in standard charges is a 19% increase. eon have been asked on twitter how the wholesale price "rises" affect a standing charge increase of 19% - eon replied that transportation costs have also increased. Eon were asked how this was the case when the 40% increase in charges by the national grid (eg, transportation costs) dont come into effect until 2013 - amazingly, Eon have not answered. Eon did say that there are other factors, such as government policy and costs from this that also push their prices up - for instance, in March the company announced that due to the new german nuclear fuel tax, it would cost eon in the region of 1 Billion euros over this financial year. Eon have been asked several times in the past few days how much of this new tax in germany is being passed on to UK customers via price rises in our energy, eon have again, not provided any reference to it nor have they answered the question. Eon pointed to OFGEM (read useless regulator) stating that wholesale prices havent fallen, and provided a link to the report, which is so far out of touch if it wasnt costsing millions of customers more money, would be laughable. In the OFGEM report summary, it states that "the net loss of increases in wholesale prices, would cost an average duel fuel customer, an extra £15 per year" (yes not a mistype, fifteen pounds a year.) Its way above this level for a single fuel customer nevermind just a customer of eon. There maybe be a glimmer of hope on the horizon, it was revealed by which? today (again on twitter) that a new ish energy company - ovoenergy - have increased their electricity prices, but have at the same time CUT their gas prices. The overall increase for a duel fuel customer is around £2 If a company stretched and without the huge customer base that the big 6 have, can afford to make modest profits and provide gas at a now cheaper price, then there has to be, at the very least, a competition commission review that has to be done. As OFGEM said back in march 2011, if there is sufficient evidence/complaints, a referral to the competition commission could be made - sad but true, they also added that this "review" would take months/years to complete. Yet again the regulator failing to protect the public. Whats the answer? I dont know, but something has to give, even the duetche bank (apologies for the spelling) has projected that as consumer spending slows around the world, the price of wholesale energy will fall further, to the point where they state clearly that prices are weak and will continue to be for at the least, the next 5 months. Its time the UK public got together to stop this profiteering nonsense and pressurised the so called energy minister into action or resignation. It cannot go on.

Sounds like someone is piggy backing on your connection. Do you have wireless BT broadband by any chance? Is it secured with a password? I left BT broadband after months of connection problems and slow speeds, which they couldn't solve nor figure out. I switched to o2 and within 1 day, my speed more than doubled and the price went from £16.99 to £7.50 per month for "unlimited use" It transpired that BT were using old cheap technology in their exchange, once it was changed to the latest standard by o2, it all worked fine and the speeds more than doubled. BT want people to have wireless hubs in their homes so they can increase the coverage that they offer to customers, I was told this by a BT engineer, which is why I only use a router that is connected to PC via cable. Good luck.

If I was in your position - I'd tell them to "shove it" No contract, no sale then. I cannot recall a case of implied terms (via email or anything else) being legally binding where no contract/sale of goods receipt has changed hands. Given the fact that you have written evidence that you declined to agree a contract with them, I cannot see that they have a chance of claiming anything. You cannot be held responsible for any losses or non rental monies they have missed out on, when you made an enquiry and then declined to do business with them. It sounds like they are trying it on.

Under the direct debit guarantee, if payment amounts are increased by the company receiving them, written notice must be given. As many people have experienced, with various businesses, this does not always happen. With either standing orders or direct debits, if for example, you have a difficult month moneywise, it can lead to charges. My own personal preference would be to cancel these, and set up a payment via online banking. This way if you are stuck for money for a couple of days, payments can still be made without incurring any charges. For example, with santander, you access your account online and click on "make payments" - there you can set up payment details and transfer money to that payment as and when you wish, rather than the bank trying to take money from your account to pay them and risking charges being applied. Yes, it would mean manually logging on to your account once a month to type in the payment amount and clicking send, but rather that than deal with chasing up a refund of a bank charge. Hope this helps.

First of all, write to them quoting the Administration of Justice act Instruct them that all contact MUST be in writing only, any further phone calls (after say 14 days) will be deemed to be "Harassment of a would be debtor" and a breach of the act. Instruct them also to remove all contact telephone numbers from your file. I would normally give them around 14 days to carry out this action, the calls will stop. If it fails you can always report harassing phone calls to your telephone provider and change your number. Do not contact balck horse by telephone again, if they ring you, simply put the phone down on them, you have no obligation to speak to them. Obtain from them, their bank account number and sort code. If you have online banking, or set up your account so you can bank online, you can make payments to anyone with a sort code and account number, for free with most banks, via your regular account. This way you wont have to phone them or anything and your bank statements will be your proof of payments. My personal view would be to NOT give them a statement of income and outgoings. The only person I would be happy to provide one to, would be a small claims judge. As far as I am aware, although it can be requested, there is no legal obligation to provide a breakdown of income/outgoings to a debt collection company or loan company, etc. This may have changed in the past year or so, if it has, then other members will be along to correct me. As far as your payments go, £50 a month is quite high. More than enough for any judge to knock back a ccj. Regular payments you have made also stand you in good stead. Tell black horse, in your recorded delivery letter, that you will continue to pay £50 per month, or reduce the payments and tell them the new amount if you are struggling. If they do not like it then tough, let them try and convince a judge to award a ccj etc, on an account whereby they are receiving £50 per month payments. Just keep making your payments regularly, independant of phoning them up, and watch for any sudden interest or charges being added. Hope this helps...

I have always returned forms for ccj to the court, maybe this is because charges/fees were always objected to, so it was only a partial admittance? The £30/£40 per month offer should not go against a person at the hearing. In a case I worked on for example, I opposed the charging order, just the minimum £5 payment was offered. The judge was told by their solicitor that it would take 114 years to pay the debt off, the judge dismissed this argument, saying times were difficult for both creditors and individuals, the £5 per month offer was deemed to be adequate by the judge, as it was a low priority debt that had been sold on to a dca and they refused the charging order as payments were being made despite being unacceptable to the plaintiff. It is vital that closetoyou does not get into a position whereby they could promise a payment they may not be able to afford in the future (bringing with it more action), better to pay a minimum amount and pay extra as funds allow. The fact that closetoyou has made payments is a far more important factor, than the actual monthly amount.

as i understand it, in this case a charging order should not be granted as payments are being made. I have always understood it, that court papers should be returned to the court, as it is the judge who is deciding what action to take, be it ccj, charging order. A charging order can only be requested from the court, once a ccj is in place and no payments are made? The charging order is being more commonly used by dca's seeking security of unsecured debts that they have purchased, as its immediately enforceable at a judge's ruling, as opposed to the other methods used to obtain payments. These other methods were an attachment of earnings order, or use of the court bailiffs, both actions which are commonly used for high priority debts, such as council tax recovery, council rent arrears, etc. In this case I would definately oppose the charging order as with an unreliable dca - conveniently not receiving court papers within a 14 day period so they can request a charging order - there would be a high probability of the dca solicitors requesting immediate payment of the amount in full and putting closetoyou's home at risk. It is quite obvious to me, as I would hope it would be to a judge, that in this case closetoyou has not made attempts to hide away from the amount outstanding, has made efforts to pay this debt off and has made offers that, at £40 per month, are more than a reasonable amount. There really was no need for the dca in this case to seek to secure the debt, common sense and good will with the customer should have been used to stop things getting this far. I'm hoping that closetoyou puts together a number of valid arguments to present before the judge and has this attempt at a charging order stopped. Hopefully this will also stop all the messing around and needless worrying that yet another individual has been subjected to, and payments can be made in a regular manner and at a value that does not overstretch closetoyou's budget.

an after thought re: charges on your outstanding balance. you could phone mbna and ask them to look at your account history and tell you the dates when charges were added to your account, dont tell them why, just write down each date - charge amount, what it was for - go back as far as you can, if they only have say 2 years, then at least you have something to contest. include these in your timeline and your case, you have another reason for contesting the ccj/charging order if you dont defend against this charging order, then it will go through. if you try to stop it, you might win and stop it and have a regular set amount to pay instead of increased worry/stress and difficult payments, i dont think you can lose anything more by fighting it.

it is essential that you are prepared to defend against the charging order, even though you will first be trying to set aside the ccj. Last thing you want is to get in there and be unable to set aside the ccj then find you are up against it on the charging order. print out 3 copies of all your defence documents, 1 for the court, 1 for your reference, highlighter pen will assist you, and 1 for whomever the dca send. often it is a locum. please remember that the court is their to help resolve the issue in a fair manner. sorry if i sound arrogant, but i have always found that a defence works much better, if you give the judge something to go on against the dca in your defence. the dca may be able to fend off one from the top of their head, maybe two, legal points, but given 3, 4 or 5, the judge starts to see this for what it is, wrong and unwarranted. the dca's try to secure the debt, increasing the chances of getting their money, you are just a number to them, another profit to make, etc. they dont see the human cost of their actions, they are to put it bluntly, not bothered how they get their profits. write down each individual argument you have why the charging order should not be granted, then work on each one, gathering legal cases to quote where the courts ruled against things like fees, charges, etc, that help your case. keep your personal view to a minimum, use hard facts. where you can find a law or common law to back up your point, eg, an unfair advantage over other creditors, even better. highlight any inconsistancies between what the dca are demanding each month and how they have stated that you can pay a reduced payment, using your bank statement as proof mention that you havent run away from the debt you have stayed in contact and made payments, etc. you are not denying what you have borrowed, you just want charges (for which they havent produced a breakdown to show they are "actual loss") taken off the balance outstanding each time finish by throwing a suggestion or claim back at the dca.... the judge can then use this directly. the best form of defence is to arm the judge with facts, happenings, laws, and then he can use your questions or raise his own, questioning the dca instead of the questions being fired at you. prior to going before the judge, send a polite letter to the court, outlining that you intend to contest the ccj, as instructed by the court, i would include a brief "timeline" sheet starting with month/year when you started having problems and how mbna/dca have acted, delaying court action whilst sending out letters and charging you for them? saying one thing on the phone but no record of it on your account notes when youve spoken to them about it at a later date? etc. you will meet their representative/solicitor outside the court prior to going in. say as little to them as possible, play dumb. in one case i dealt with, the solicitor informed me that he didnt understand why we were even defending against the charging order, it was a formality for security, as soon as we sat in front of the judge he immediately stated he wanted the charging order and would seek full immediate payment of outstanding amount, in effect, actioning the charging order forcing the sale of my clients home. it is stressful, it is worrying, but try to keep calm and remember the judge is their to help you resolve matters, the judge will not make you pay anything you cannot afford.