British Gas Bill?

[purplehair]

Hi I hope someone can help!

I have lived in my council house for five and a half years. When we moved in we were told that our electricity was paid by a meter and card system ant the front of the house. Gas was never mentioned. As we never got a gas bill i assumed (stupidly, maybe) that the gas was paid by the electric card (because scottish power says gas and electricity on their letterhead). Anyway last week i got a gas bill for �380 for the last 2 years to be paid in 1 year. I phoned them and they said that for 5 years they have been sending letters addressed 'to the occupier', this is a lie as i would have noticed and opened them! Can they do this? I am very worried as they say i would have to pay �60 per month and there is no way i can afford this (i am recieving disability benefits). What is my legal position on this? Is there anything i can do?

[bednobs]

i dont think you really have a legal position ... you used the electricity and now they expect you to pay. To be honest i dont think 380 pounds is too bad for 5 1/2 years worth of electricity

[wendilla]

What I can't understand is why all that time before you received there bill.I think if I didn't pay my bill when due they wouldn't be long in contacting me and if they didn't get a reply they wouldn't be long in taking steps to cut me off.

[caz247]

I work for Scottish Power in customer services and don't understand why you didn't notice that the breakdown of your bill was electric only. Have to agree with bednobs about the amount you owe for over five years as it is way below average.Don't understand why you've used so little gas to be honest As for the payments I'm not sure if British Gas do it but we have a scheme called fuel direct where the payments are deducted from your benefit. I assume �60 is for usage and arrears.

caz x

[JanineG]

You'll have to pay it I'm afraid - and they are being quite reasonable in allowing you to pay it monthly for a year. If you feel you can't afford it though, maybe phone them and see if there's any other options available - for example you could have a prepayment meter installed and everytime you put money on the card for your future gas, a certain amount of that money goes towards paying off your debt. I'm sure they won't want to have to pursue the money by alternative methods so if you just give them a ring, they'll be able to help you.

Hope this helps - give them a ring and explain your situation!

[Carakeel]

If Scottish Gas have checked the meters and this is what you do in fact owe, then I am afraid you are going to have to pay it. After all, you did use the gas during the 5 years. I agree that sometimes the bills can be a bit confusing though if you are getting both gas and electricity from them. I disputed a huge bill they sent me and they did investigate. They found that in fact I owed only half the amount they had asked for. While waiting for all this to be sorted, which took months, my bill grew further and - also being disabled - it was then going to be difficult for me to pay in one go. As I could prove that I am registered disabled, they gave me a payment plan that is really quite affordable. So, talk to them, they will try to help if they can. I should say though that I never tried to get out of paying my bill. It is after all my responsibility.

[wendilla]

I sympathize fully with purplehair but why wasn't there anything done sooner by the company when they saw the bill hadn't been paid surely they wouldn't let a bill run up like this .

[bednobs]

i dont think its particularly unusual to run up a bil of 380 pounds, is it?

[wendilla]

Bednobs you are missing my point.To be in the house over 5 years and not previously had a gas bill then suddenly had one for 2 years ,I understood the bills are sent quarterly.It may not be unusual to have a bill that amount but why was this the first bill .Gas companies know who live at the addresses I would have thought if you are there customer.

[purplehair]

Hi thanks all for advice! I just want to say that i am not trying to get out of paying i am just worried about the amount per month and the fact they suddenly send me a bill out of the blue.

[BenDToy]

What happened to the bill for the first 3 years? Did they just write this off?

[wendilla]

Thanks BenDtoy glad someone sees the point I am trying to get at .Purplehair I under stand you are worried about bill but still don't understand why you didn't get previous bills.

[purplehair]

I dont understand either, thats why i assumed that the electric bill included gas aswell? The only correspondence i have ever recieved from british gas was the bill last week

[dreamracer]

Hi Purplehair, I think you just need to explain your situation to them over the phone, I'm sure they'll help you what about offering to pay �22 a month for the next two years which if you use gas as you do now should almost clear all you owe them for gas used and for the gas you will be using over the next 2 years. �380 divided by 5 years = �76 x 7 years = �532 divided by 24 months!! hows that... hope this helps.

Can I suggest that you also keep a record of the units used so that you are not overcharged. I always check my meter readings.

Regards
Dreamracer