The Ever-Loathable British Gas and a Dodgy Default

[danson79]

Hi,

 

Last year, after years of sorting out various financial messes, my credit rating was finally repaired.

 

A couple of days ago, I logged into my credit report to see all of the fixing completely undone and a default from British Gas, from an old address in 2009, had appeared. This is the first time this mark/account has appeared on my file.

 

The address is an old rented flat - after digging through my old correspondence, It appears I left the flat, notified them, paid up the final bill (letting agent wouldn't allow the deposit back if I didn't prove this) and then they tried to charge me for the period between vacating and a new tenant taking over because it's scientifically proven BG can't get anything right.

 

Further digging shows Buchanan, Clarke & Wells sending me threatening letters for a gas bill a few months after vacating (Nov '09). I challenged their

letter, because I didn't owe the money and they wrote to me and said no further action would be pursued. Sadly the only record I have is my own letter and memory of their response.

 

Now it transpires the 'debt' - which covers when i had left the property, told the imbeciles at BG AND paid up my final bill/reading - has resurfaced five years later on my credit report out of nowhere, just a few months before I plan on buying a house (of course ).

 

Where do I start to try and sort this mess out?

[citizenB]

First of all you need to send a Subject Access Request to British Gas in order to obtain data - this should include at the very least your final bill and any communications between you - 6 years hasn't passed so they should have retained this information.

 

Within this data, there should be a communication log/diary of events which should identify any communications they SHOULD have sent to you - not least an indication that they forewarned you of a default marker/notice and transferring the account to Buchanan Clark & Wells.

 

The SAR will cost you £10.00 - they have 40 calendar days in which to respond. You can use the draft SAR request I have linked you to below.

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?387306-Full-Subject-Access-Request

 

From this point on, you need to keep all communication in writing - obtaining at the very least free proof of posting for any letter you send to them. Send all communications to their Registered / Head office.

 

You should also send a Formal Complaint to BG, advising pretty much what you have already said above. You must head your letter Formal Complaint so you can escalate to the Ombudsman if necessary.

[silverfox1961]

Hi, first of all, sorry CB for adding to a thread you are already on.

 

British gas are notorious for their appalling customer service and record keeping. The SAR should show the chain of events leading up to your cancellation and final readings.

 

What I suggest you do is not waste too much time on this or with the ICO. If they won't remove the unlawful default, sue the buggers. This is not as hard as you may think and there is many people on CAG who have taken action who can help.

[BankFodder]

I completely agree. The big energy companies are completely out of control. They are worse than the banks because the regulatory system is even weaker.

 

What passes for the energy Ombudsman - Offgen is even more limp wristed and powerless than the Financial Ombudsman – and frankly just seems to want a quiet life. It seems to be run at the moment by some guy called Lenton who seems to put his name to reports or decisions which he probably hasn't even seen. They say themselves on their website that they don't carry out investigations. I don't know what they do carry out but it's not a lot of use.

 

If you want to make headway on this then I totally agree that a small claims action will sorted out very quickly.

 

You need to get out of the customer service loop where you speak to Drones who don't seem to care and who just want to get onto the next telephone and then get home in the evening. When you put yourself into the customer service procedure, you are putting yourself into procedure which is designed to be long winded and to exhaust you so that by the end of it all you have no energy left to make any real trouble.

 

This is the customer service trick everywhere – in all industries. It looks good but is designed to dilute and deflate customers and also to make sure that you never managed to make any contact with the executives of the top who were too busy planning how they can please their shareholders and how they can increase their next bonuses.

 

A small claims action is very easy to take. It is very cheap and pretty well risk-free. If you win you get your claim fee back. If you lose, you will be out of pocket to the tune of your claim fee and a hearing fee – and not much more.

 

If you are dealing with a very serious issue like the blighting of your credit file by British Gas because of their incompetence, then it is well worth a punt.

 

You are presently being treated like some of the brown stuff by British Gas. Just watch them jump to attention when they get the court papers. It's a complete transformation.

 

It sounds to me that you have an action here for breach of contract or breach of data protection. If you want, we will help you. You will probably get a small amount of compensation at the same time.

 

If you decide to go down the usual channels instead, you will be beating your head against a wall for a very long time with a very uncertain outcome – but probably a failure.

[danson79]

Hi all,

 

Just a quick post to thank you for your advice - I haven't got time to go through it properly until this evening but wanted to let you know it's appreciated.

 

A couple of points missed from my first post:

 

BCW wrote to me at a different address chasing up a bill that covered the time i'd vacated, followed procedure, paid up etc. The amount was the same as the default that has now appeared.

 

At the time, I wrote to BG asking what was going on. They responded by sending me a bill that was an estimate and double what BCW were asking for (!).

 

I wrote back to both (I only have the letter I sent to BCW on my computer, because it was five years ago and I presumed the matter long closed). BCW wrote back and said the matter was closed. That was the last I ever heard from either party regarding this until last week.

 

I'm thinking i'll SAR before court action, just to see if they have any correspondence. I'm sure that, being BG, they won't and it will give me more leverage in small claims court?

 

Thanks again, i'll have a through read through your advice this evening.

[BankFodder]

I notice that you say that BCW simply said no further action. This doesn't mean that they accept that there is no debt.

SAR them as well

[danson79]

Just a quick update - i'm hanging on for pay day, when i'll send the SARs (the info request, not to be confused with the deadly illness). I'll keep you updated.