British Gas ? urgent help needed

[dicklett]

HI Can anyone help or offer me some advice ?

 

Im writing on behalf of my sister who has got herself in a right tiz, and its not surprising as BG seem to really not be interested and keep fobbing her off, shes at the end of her tether and im worried.

 

Basically, BG messed up her bill and increased the amount she was paying, she fell behind and has ended up with a £600 electricity bill which in my eyes isnt a HUGE bill really but its big enough, anyway shes fell on hard times so shes tried to sort all her finances out, a debt advice company has helped her draw up a budget and shes sent letters out to everyone she owes. Shes made several smaller payments to BG to tide them over but they have not released their grip. Theyve told her she has to pay thr full amount she owes and wont set a payment plan up for her even tho she has offered to pay £50 a month to lcear the debt which i thought is a fair offer. They have continued to decline a payment plan and they have now sent her a letter saying they have obtained a warrant to gain access to her property and they are comming round on Thursday to get access and install a payment meter, however they are also going to charge her £400 to install it ? They have also said that the tariff will be set at £28 a week to cover her o/s balance, so bascially they arent cutting her off directly but allowing her to cut herself off which i think is terrible, especially as she has 2 children under 16 in the house with her. Has anyone else expereienced the same ? can anyone offer advice ? if the meter goes in she is screwed bascially expecially at that rate but why would they refused a payment plan ? Please can anyone offer some advice ? Thanks

[dicklett]

in addition the letter they have sent stating they have a warrant to enter the property is not addressed to my sister it just states: To the user of electricity at ADDRESS, surely thats not right ?

[thebigFerret]

hi dicklett,

 

firstly sorry to hear about the idiots at british gas can you tell me is your sister on any benefits other than the child benefits for the two under 16's. the reason i ask is that the goverment have a thing called a third party agreement form. you fill it out and they contact the utliltey companies on her behalf and they use the hardship legislation, amongst other things to agree an amount but your sister will have to agree it as well. it just stops the likes of british gas asking for what ever they want. my friend used it for a £1200.00 water bill and she never heard from them again.(the benefit lot do all the work) so if she is on benefits then they can help. if not i do believe there are charities on line that will help pay off the bill (on a one time only) as long as you can show that you are fallen on hard times. i will try to find some of the charities for you. how long is the bill oustanding for i know british gas can be a right pain in the A*** i have a dispute with them myself at the moment. get back to you

[scared001]

i am also having the same problem with british gas. theyve set me on a payment plan of £104 per month which quite simply i cannot afford. my biggest ball and chain, ie the mortgage is my biggest headache and hence have fallen behind with everything else. this is thanks to me being made redundant in january and now having to do a job where the pay just about covers me for bread and water!!!

 

i clearly dont have the money to pay to BG so am wondering what advice is out there to get some help with?

[14Steve14]

A warrant of entry can and will be granted to things like 'the occupier'. I have applied and been granted warrants llike this. A warrant of entry will also be granted even if its in the name of a previous occupier. The utility company would always prefer a prepayment meter to an arrangement. Arrangements can be broken. If you dont pay a pre payment meter you get nothing from it.

[MRSWESTHAM]

what happens if the occupier has changed suppliers by then?

[14Steve14]

If there is a new occupier in the premises, B gas will need to see proof of occupancy, and they can not touch the supply as its no longer their supply.

[mattlamb]

Bit strange why BG are billing the OP's sister in the name of the occupier when the OP is suggesting that there has been contact between her sister and BG previously. Either BGas have well and truly messed up (and therefore the outstanding arrears is likely to be inaccurate) or the OP is being economical with the truth.

I would suggest that £600.00 is a large amount to be behind in on a utility bill - seeing as most people don;t get billed more than £200 per quarter.

[lisalegs11]

Bit strange why BG are billing the OP's sister in the name of the occupier when the OP is suggesting that there has been contact between her sister and BG previously. Either BGas have well and truly messed up (and therefore the outstanding arrears is likely to be inaccurate) or the OP is being economical with the truth.

I would suggest that £600.00 is a large amount to be behind in on a utility bill - seeing as most people don;t get billed more than £200 per quarter.

 

Actually I am in the same situation - I apparently owe BG £600 - from Aug 08- May09 - I had been paying £40 a month DD, then when I move to EON the final bill from BG was £750 ish ( paid the £150 at the time)...however I am disputing the bill as I believe the metre is incorrect - I think it is reading way too high.

So if the OP's sister doesnt think she should owe that much then I would suggest if they do come and change the metre then she needs to make sure she gets theold one tested - she needs to make sure other wise they just get lost in the system and she will never know.

I currently have Wattson Energy monitor on my ectric system and its recording loads less than the metre! Just need to get EON to test it now!

 

Also it depends how often she had her metrer read - my parents live in the stick and for a few years it was done on estimates - eventually my mum rang up with the real reading and ctually they had been paying too much each month - so maybe the OPs sister hadnt given a reading and all previous bills were estimates?

[MRSWESTHAM]

Sorry What I Meant Was What If You Have A Huge Bill Fir Previous Property But You Move And Then The Gas Supply In Your New House Is In Your Sisters Name?