@britishgashelp British Gas standing charge.I've never even used Gas.

[stephenXL]

I moved to my current address late December 2012.

 

 

There was a gas meter in a utility cupboard just by the front door of my flat.

 

I have not consumed a single "breath" of gas since moving in.

 

 

Indeed gas has not been used in this flat for a number of years past.

 

 

Back in 2012 I contacted BG to come and remove the meter.

 

Quelle suprise: nothing happened.

 

Recently someone came to read the meter.

 

 

I told the meter reader that I had asked for its removal.

"Thats ok Sir, let my take your details and I'll get that done for you" says he.

 

 

I unwittingly gave my name, Dob etc., and the date that I moved in (day before calling them asking to remove the meter).

 

48 hours later I received a bill for £118.29p from British Gas for the "outstanding" standing charges

for the meter from the day I moved into my flat.

 

A week later the meter was indeed officially removed...................................

 

 

However. I have since been inundated with further bills and demands for payment, threat of all kinds of action and lots of nuisance calls from them.

 

Where do I go from here,

 

 

I live on Pension Credit and cannot afford to pay for a service which I have never used.

 

Please contact me with any help you can give.

[dx100uk]

pers I'd write a letter or email the ceo.

 

 

2nd point.

 

 

even though you owe nowt..

 

 

they cant bill you past 12moth back anyway

 

 

dx

[stephenXL]

Thanks, that gives me a starting point

[Bazooka Boo]

http://www.ceoemail.com/s.php?id=b-9519

 

Got to love this outfit, absolutely zero customer care whatsoever!

 

https://ssl.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006mg74/contact

[stephenXL]

Very useful, thank you very much. They will be hearing from me.

[Bazooka Boo]

Like a dog with a bone, only drop it when you've had enough..

[king12345]

Usual British gas trick.

If you'd refused to give your details, they would have sent the bills to "the occupier".

They do this with every household in the country.

[ericsbrother]

they can charge you for removing the meter but if there wasnt a supply contract in force when you moved in the meter existing doesnt create one. They will continue to insist that you pay the standing charge but the lack of contract before you moved in rather destroys their claim. Go to deadlock and report to OFGEM if you have to but make sure that they know about the dates as anything more recent will create a contract by default.

[nottslad]

If the bill is for purely standing charges then it is unenforcable.

 

A deemed contract only comes in to existence from the moment you take supply. Provided the meter reads confirm that there was no consumption then they must write off these erroneous charges.

[BankFodder]

Looks as if we have another example of someone coming to us for help and then not coming back to check the responses.

 

No wonder that the utility companies get away with murder in this way.

 

I think that there is an action for breach of contract here. I think that a small claim would resolve it very quickly – probably the moment the papers were delivered to British Gas and also it would be a reasonable sum in compensation. I would think about suing for about £250 unless the OP can identify any specific damage that they have suffered such as ruined credit file etc.

 

I wouldn't waste any more time chasing British Gas or going through the agony and torture of having to get a final response and then onto the regulator and wait in the equivalent of a darkened room for someone to come back to me with some kind of result.

The utility companies need a slap and the people who have to suffer this nonsense from them need a reasonable figure in compensation. The utility regulator is not capable or willing to do either

[stephenXL]

Hi, apologies then if I appear not to have responded. I have spent some of my time drafting letters to the CEO British Gas/Centrica and the henchperson who signs herself as Head of Operations at the bottom of demands for payment. They have since added a further £13 to the bill as an administration fee. Followed swiftly with another letter headed "Final notice - we will get a warrant to enter your premises". This I feel is very threatening. I also read "administration fee" as a penalty charge.

I would love to take this through small claims court for compensation for the real stress it is causing to my generally poor state of health. In the meantime how do I prevent any attempt by them to gain entrance to my flat? I could also do with some help with what to write as a disclaimer clarifying that I have no debt nor owe them anything and that the letter serves as no proof or acknowledgement that I do.

Edited April 4, 2015 by stephenXL

[BankFodder]

Have you had any dealings with them on this by letter since the problem started or has it all been on the telephone?

[stephenXL]

I am in the process of writing to them as I explained earlier. There are processes I need to go through prior to any court process for compensation.They have attempted to contact me on my mobile on three occassions, twice they called when I was attending an outpatients clinic and driving my car on the third. On each occassion I explained that it was not possible to carry on with any conversation as busy. I am always feeling too unwell to get involved and call them by phone (mobile very expensive). I have to rely on Pension Credit, so limited income.

[BankFodder]

So I understand that this has been going on since 2012 but you have sent nothing in writing in nearly 3 years and have been doing everything on the telephone – is that correct?

 

It certainly is about time that you put things in writing but I suggest that you let us help you on this and that you discuss any drafts with us before you send them out.

 

You need to understand that nobody is going to pay attention to anything you write to them. All you're doing now is laying down a paper trail – and I suppose I'd better say – not before time.

 

Please monitor this thread for fuller responses tomorrow afternoon or Monday. You're in no hurry because there is no post until Tuesday now so that we have got time to thrash out a good letter.

 

However, what you should do immediately is to prepare and send an SAR to them because you want to see all the personal data that they have acquired on you over the years – including screen notes, correspondence either internal or external, records of any telephone calls et cetera.

 

You need to send this off urgently on Tuesday with the proper £10 fee. It will take 40 days to respond but I think that you will be able to take any action until you see this in order to become properly informed and properly prepared.

 

I would normally have suggested that you send off a letter before action on Tuesday giving them 14 days before you start a claim. However, because I think that it would be precipitous to start firing off court claims before you have got a better picture of their position, I suggest that this coming week you send them a letter putting them formally on notice that the whole matters in dispute and also setting out what has happened. You need to set this out in a well structured bullet pointed and chronological form so that is easy for anyone to read. Once again, because they won't physically pay attention, what you're doing is you're writing for the benefit of the court – you are laying down a paper trail so that later on they won't be able to say "well we never understood".

 

Also, during the 40 days while you're waiting for your SAR to be fulfilled – or maybe not – as the case may be, you can start to look into the business of bringing a small claim in the County Court.

 

Small claims in the County Court very easy to do. They're pretty well risk-free and not enough people bother to take that kind of action – however it is the great leveller and you will find that British Gas start paying a bit more attention to you once they receive the court papers.

 

You can still decide to go to the regulator instead if you want. However you will find this experienced long winded, opaque and with a very uncertain outcome and if you win then very niggardly compensation.

 

Small Claims Court is always the best way to go.

 

Finally, for the moment, please read our customer services guide. If you have any more dealings with them on the telephone then you should implement the advice that we give you in the customer services guide very carefully. It is the only way to deal with these people when you call them.

[stephenXL]

Thanks BankFodder.

 

Please cast your eyes over the letter I was intending to send to British Gas. I have redacted my address and ref number. I know its a tad long and may raise an eyebrow, but take a look and advise accordingly.

I have, in the meantime gotten the SAR template and begun to complete it as per your advice.

 

FAO: Annette Hardcastle

Head of Operations

British Gas

Copied to:

Mr Ian Peters

CEO: British Gas

30 the Causeway

Staines

TW18 3BY

04/04/2015

Your ref: *******************

 

Dear Sir/Madam,

Your reference noted above, addresses myself as “YOUR CUSTOMER”.

 

I wish to make it clear that I am not a British Gas Customer.

I became the tenant at the address above from 03/12/2012. Within the first two days, having successfully moved in. I contacted your organisation by phone and requested that the meter be removed as I have no gas appliances and that under the terms of the tenancy agreement NO GAS APPLIANCES ARE PERMITTED. I was asked for my name and a meter number* confirming its location and the address and a meter reading; which was: 00183.

I was given an assurance at that point in time that the meter would indeed be removed within a matter of a few days.

I waited more than a month and nothing happened.

 

I made a second call sometime during the first two weeks of February 2013, again asking that the meter be removed.

I was asked again, to give a meter number etcetera and a reading; 00183 again given an assurance that someone would remove the meter within a matter of a few days.

I waited more than a month and nothing happened.

Frankly it was as this point that I felt British Gas was indifferent towards removal of Gas Meters choosing instead to keep meters in situ for any future changes of occupancy.

 

During the middle of February 2015, in the evening, I answered the door phone to someone who was allegedly from British Gas requesting to read my Gas Meter. I let him enter the building and waited for him to come up in the lift and read the meter. He was dressed in a suit. He was not openly displaying a badge denoting either, British Gas, nor G4S, your contracted meter readers for Seeboard Price Area.

He then asked if I was Mr Peter (someoneorother). I said no, and that I had repeatedly asked for this meter to be removed. Going on to explain the lack of any gas appliances.

He replied that he would see to it that the meter would be removed and that it would be done right away, but that he needed to take some of my details. I gave my name and DOB and my mobile phone number and the date of when I had first moved into my home, my address being obvious. His reason for taking this information “So that we can stop bothering you, and also contact you to arrange the time for the meter removal”.

 

Within 72 hours, I received what you called “Your First Gas Bill”.

 

This bill was for amount of £115.96p.

 

The billing date: 15 Feb 2015.

The billing period: 20 Dec 2012- 11 Feb 2015.

It is important to add that the amount shown as “Your gas use was” (for the entire billing period 20 Dec 2012- 11 Feb 2015)

0 kWh, that’s, ZERO kWh.

 

The date of 11th February 2015, we can only assume, must have been the time when the meter was read by your “evening meter reading staff”. Either that or we can only conclude that someone may, allegedly, have gained entry to my apartment block upon a false premise.

 

However, subsequently, on the 26th February 2015 the Gas meter was finally removed.

 

Can you please note that the reading on this meter remained exactly the same at 00183 when the meter was finally removed on 26/02/2015:

British Gas Service Number 4008675239:

Smart Energy Expert ID 157626

 

At this point we can only conclude, that contacting British Gas by phone, as a method of requesting the physical removal of a gas meter, as ineffectual.

What followed next leaves me exhausted with despair, anxiety and frustration. Having also, an enormous impact on my general state of health.

 

I received another Bill:

Bill date: 23 Feb 2015:

Bill period: 12 Feb 2015 - 20 Feb 2015

 

This bill was for 9 (nine) days Standing Charge, of £2.22 plus VAT @5% amounting to £2.33 in total.

This, when added to the previous erroneous bill/demand gives a total of £118.29

 

This Bill followed on from a letter dated 17 February 2015 and entitled “Your annual gas summary”.

Summary period: 18 Feb 2014 – 17 Feb 2015.

It goes on to say.

1. Your gas usage summary

 

You’re on our Standard Tariff**

You used

0 kWh

(It then goes on to suggest, and I quote)

If you (that’s me) use the same amount of energy*** over the next 12 months and stay on the same tariff, we (that’s you) estimate your (that’s my) cost will be £94.93.

MOVING ON:

23 March 2015:

A further letter arrived from you adding £13 as an administration fee.

When added to your previous erroneous bill/demand gives a total of £132.29p

As I said at the start of this letter:

I am not a British Gas customer.

No contract requiring you to supply gas to me at this premises exists.

I have previously made every effort to have the offending and redundant meter removed twice.

· As no gas has been supplied/consumed then no liability exists

· You would anyway also be in breach of “back billing” protocols

· Your latest letter dated 30 March 2015 “Final notice – we will get a warrant to enter your premises” could be construed as coercive and threatening and very likely in breach of OFT rules.

[BankFodder]

Thanks BankFodder.

 

Please cast your eyes over the letter I was intending to send to British Gas. I have redacted my address and ref number. I know its a tad long and may raise an eyebrow, but take a look and advise accordingly.

I have, in the meantime gotten the SAR template and begun to complete it as per your advice.

 

FAO: Annette Hardcastle

Head of Operations

British Gas

Copied to:

Mr Ian Peters

CEO: British Gas

30 the Causeway

Staines

TW18 3BY

04/04/2015

Your ref: *******************

 

Dear Sir/Madam,

Your reference noted above, addresses myself as “YOUR CUSTOMER”.

 

Formal complaint and notice of dispute

 

 

I wish to make it clear that I am not a British Gas Customer.

I became the tenant at the address above from 03/12/2012. Within the first two days, having successfully moved in. I contacted your organisation by phone and requested that the meter be removed as I have no gas appliances and that under the terms of the tenancy agreement NO GAS APPLIANCES ARE PERMITTED. I was asked for my name and a meter number* confirming its location and the address and a meter reading; which was: 00183.

I was given an assurance at that point in time that the meter would indeed be removed within a matter of a few days.

I waited more than a month and nothing happened.

 

I made a second call sometime during the first two weeks of February 2013, again asking that the meter be removed.

I was asked again, to give a meter number etcetera and a reading; 00183 again given an assurance that someone would remove the meter within a matter of a few days.

I waited more than a month and nothing happened.

 

Strike out - Frankly it was as this point that I felt British Gas was indifferent towards removal of Gas Meters choosing instead to keep meters in situ for any future changes of occupancy.

 

During the middle of February 2015, in the evening, I answered the door phone to someone who was allegedly from British Gas requesting to read my Gas Meter. I let him enter the building and waited for him to come up in the lift and read the meter. He was dressed in a suit. He was not openly displaying a badge denoting either, British Gas, nor G4S, your contracted meter readers for Seeboard Price Area.

He then asked if I was Mr Peter (someoneorother). I said no, and that I had repeatedly asked for this meter to be removed. Going on to explain the lack of any gas appliances.

He replied that he would see to it that the meter would be removed and that it would be done right away, but that he needed to take some of my details. I gave my name and DOB and my mobile phone number and the date of when I had first moved into my home, my address being obvious. His reason for taking this information “So that we can stop bothering you, and also contact you to arrange the time for the meter removal”.

 

Within 72 hours, I received what you called “Your First Gas Bill”.

 

This bill was for amount of £115.96p.

 

The billing date: 15 Feb 2015.

The billing period: 20 Dec 2012- 11 Feb 2015.

It is important to add that the amount shown as “Your gas use was” (for the entire billing period 20 Dec 2012- 11 Feb 2015)

0 kWh, that’s, ZERO kWh.

 

The date of 11th February 2015, we can only assume, must have been the time when the meter was read by your “evening meter reading staff”. Either that or we can only conclude that someone may, allegedly, have gained entry to my apartment block upon a false premise.

 

However, subsequently, on the 26th February 2015 the Gas meter was finally removed.

 

Can you please note that the reading on this meter remained exactly the same at 00183 when the meter was finally removed on 26/02/2015:

British Gas Service Number 4008675239:

Smart Energy Expert ID 157626

 

Strike out At this point we can only conclude, that contacting British Gas by phone, as a method of requesting the physical removal of a gas meter, as ineffectual.

 

What followed next leaves me exhausted with despair, anxiety and frustration. Having also, an enormous impact on my general state of health.

 

I received another Bill:

Bill date: 23 Feb 2015:

Bill period: 12 Feb 2015 - 20 Feb 2015

 

This bill was for 9 (nine) days Standing Charge, of £2.22 plus VAT @5% amounting to £2.33 in total.

This, when added to the previous erroneous bill/demand gives a total of £118.29

 

This Bill followed on from a letter dated 17 February 2015 and entitled “Your annual gas summary”.

Summary period: 18 Feb 2014 – 17 Feb 2015.

It goes on to say.

1. Your gas usage summary

 

You’re on our Standard Tariff**

You used

0 kWh

(It then goes on to suggest, and I quote)

If you (that’s me) use the same amount of energy*** over the next 12 months and stay on the same tariff, we (that’s you) estimate your (that’s my) cost will be £94.93.

MOVING ON:

23 March 2015:

A further letter arrived from you adding £13 as an administration fee.

When added to your previous erroneous bill/demand gives a total of £132.29p

As I said at the start of this letter:

I am not a British Gas customer.

No contract requiring you to supply gas to me at this premises exists.

I have previously made every effort to have the offending and redundant meter removed twice.

· As no gas has been supplied/consumed then no liability exists

· You would anyway also be in breach of “back billing” protocols

· Your latest letter dated 30 March 2015 “Final notice – we will get a warrant to enter your premises” could be construed as coercive and threatening and very likely in breach of OFT rules.

 

Please note that although I have had multiple contacts with you, the matter has still not been resolved and you continue to chase me for a sum of money which I do not owe you.

 

I am sending you this letter as my formal notice that this matter is in dispute and I require you to cease all collection activity an to provide me with a final response so that I can escalate the complaint to the energy Ombudsman

 

In green - add

In magenta - strike out.

 

Send the SAR as a matter of urgency - under separate cover

 

Keep us updated and monitor this thread regularly for other advice.

 

Follow our customer services guide

 

Read up on small claims in the county court

[Eversir]

What on earth does British Gas hope to achieve by obtaining a warrant to enter the property? Presumably this action would be to install a pre-payment meter or disconnect you, but seeing as you no longer have a gas meter / supply...

 

Your electricity is provided by another supplier, yes?

 

Edit: Might be worth taking a look at that letter to see how it's worded, if you can post it up without personal details/account numbers etc.

[BankFodder]

What a brilliant point!!

 

I think that these threats of entry are getting out of hand. I think that if you go to court for this you should ask the court for about £500. I don't think that is an unrealistic figure at all.

[Bazooka Boo]

I would be begging them to take me to court, and if they forced entry prior to the court appearance even better.

 

Not ONLY would I then be seeking damages from BG, but also from the court/DJ who issued the warrant, although they will clearly state that

they were 'only going off the evidence presented to them by BG'

https://www.gov.uk/complain-judge-magistrate-tribunal-coroner

 

BG are surely on their last legs now?

They are atrocious!

[stephenXL]

Thanks everyone, I will continue to follow your suggestions. I will send both this and the SAR under seperate cover, and by guaranteed next day delivery.

 

I will strike out the lines as you point out BankFodder, and add the others. Not sure though if you are asking that this line be struck out too:

 

"What followed next leaves me exhausted with despair, anxiety and frustration. Having also, an enormous impact on my general state of health."

[Eversir]

BF will probably clarify but it looks as if it should be struck out.

 

Chances are BG won't pay much attention to your letter, but whatever you do send should be easy to understand. If it doesn't need to be in there, don't include it.

 

Also, from an outsider's point of view, this bit doesn't read very well:

 

I received another Bill:

Bill date: 23 Feb 2015:

Bill period: 12 Feb 2015 - 20 Feb 2015

 

This bill was for 9 (nine) days Standing Charge, of £2.22 plus VAT @5% amounting to £2.33 in total.

This, when added to the previous erroneous bill/demand gives a total of £118.29

 

This Bill followed on from a letter dated 17 February 2015 and entitled “Your annual gas summary”.

Summary period: 18 Feb 2014 – 17 Feb 2015.

It goes on to say.

1. Your gas usage summary

 

You’re on our Standard Tariff**

You used

0 kWh

(It then goes on to suggest, and I quote)

If you (that’s me) use the same amount of energy*** over the next 12 months and stay on the same tariff, we (that’s you) estimate your (that’s my) cost will be £94.93.

MOVING ON:

23 March 2015:

A further letter arrived from you adding £13 as an administration fee.

When added to your previous erroneous bill/demand gives a total of £132.29p

Should probably be reformatted to something like this for clarity:

 

I received another bill from British Gas, dated 23rd February 2015, for the billing period 12th February to 20th February 2015. This detailed standing charges for 9 days, for a total of £2.33 inclusive of VAT. This bill followed on from a letter dated 17th February 2015 "Your annual gas summary", which confirmed my usage for the previous 12 months was 0kWh and estimated my costs over the next 12 months would be £94.93 should my usage remain the same.

 

On 23rd March 2015, a further letter arrived from British Gas adding £13.00 to the balance as an administration fee. The total for these erroneous bills and demands for payment is currently £132.29.

[BankFodder]

I would be begging them to take me to court, and if they forced entry prior to the court appearance even better.

 

Not ONLY would I then be seeking damages from BG, but also from the court/DJ who issued the warrant, although they will clearly state that

they were 'only going off the evidence presented to them by BG'

https://www.gov.uk/complain-judge-magistrate-tribunal-coroner

 

 

BG are surely on their last legs now?

They are atrocious!

Yes, it would be delicious wouldn't it. However it's not so easy. If they apply for a warrant then it would be through a magistrates court process. As far as I can make out these processes seem very often to occur without any notification to the respondent. Whether that this is because the respondent hasn't paid attention to the correspondence they have received – or whether in fact the utility companies simply don't notify them, I don't know.

 

If a magistrate warrant was issued then it would not be possible to complain against the magistrates because I expect that British Gas would have told them their version of the story and the magistrates would have accepted it at face value.

 

One would then have to try and unravel the situation and complain against British Gas.

 

We don't want to get into a position where a warrant is issued – but sending a formal notification of dispute is about the best that one can do at this moment.

 

The best thing to do is to issue the small claim as quickly as possible but unfortunately because there has been no paper trail in nearly 3 years, it is very difficult to do. This is why I have urged that a letter be sent (which was going to be done anyway) and also an SAR so that we can find out exactly what is going on.

 

Of course British Gas are so inept – like the other utilities companies that it may well be that they will ignore the letters to which are sent to them and try applying for a warrant anyway. I'm afraid that if they do this and they do it without notifying the respondent, then there is very little that can be done other than to complain after the event.

 

However, we can be certain that if a warrant was obtained in the circumstances then the amount of damages would go up dramatically and one could imagine that it will be £2000 to £3000 or maybe more.

As Eversir has already pointed out, does it really matter if they take the meter away? Well I understand that it has already been taken away so what on earth is there warrant about? Anyway, if they applied for a warrant unlawfully in the circumstances I think eventually it will be grist to our mill. There would be an increase in damages and of course, if any damage was caused gaining entry that would have to be made good as well.

 

There is no doubt that British Gas rate only 2nd to npower in colossal stupidity and disregard of their customers.

 

Of course British Gas were originally the nationalised industry – they are now a commercial entity – but they haven't lost the nationalised industry mentality.

 

It is run by jobsworths and the executives of it probably only have their eye on their bonuses. They should be rounded up, tarred and feathered and made to walk home through a silent crowd.

[stephenXL]

Hi, I have re-edited this as suggested, can I also add at the end that the Ceo BG/Centrica will get an additional copy via e-mail?

[BankFodder]

Yes - why not.

 

By the way, even if they rectify the situation, you can still go ahead and sue them if you want because the harm has already been done.

If they realise their error, they may offer you a gesture of goodwill but if you feel up for it, I am sure that whatever gesture they offer you can be improved.

[stephenXL]

I will happen then. Thanks, the gesture of goodwill takes me back to the days of bank/credit card charges.