British Gas

[choc lover]

They are trying to say I owe them �1000 which is a load of bull, I've written them letters and they just phobe me off , Is it worth taking them to court..or even just threatenin to??how does it work??

[themas]

You can't take them to Court. If they decide to pursue the alleged debt they may take you to Court. If they do so you will be sent the papers by the Court. You will then enter a defence which - from what you say - will be that the debt does not exist (or, if you agree that you owe them some money but not all of their claim, you dispute the amount). British Gas would then have to produce documents to the Court to prove to the satisfaction of the Judge that you do owe the money. If they were unable to do this the case would be thrown out.

However, it is much better to avoid it getting this far if you can. If you can't resolve it with BG, go to Energywatch (see their website); give them all the details in writing - including copies of relevant bills etc. They then take it up with BG and ask them to resolve it & to report back to them, as well as to you.

[choc lover]

cheers for that, I have already reported it to energy watch was thanks to them they actually started taking note of my letters!! but they seem to be just letting me get on with it tho.

Hoped it would be more positive answer but thank you for your help

xx

[choc lover]

oh and i really really HATE them

[tali122]

i know politicains aren't popular , but contacting your MP might be a good idea

[choc lover]

really?? can they help??

[Finance Guy]

Local MP's are good to write to if you want to get BG to sit up and take notice of you - as, suddenly, it has gone from a problem with a customer to a potentially bad PR situation.

In reality though, you will get a letter back from MP's office saying "thanks for your letter" and "expect a reply usually within two weeks", but you will be quite fortunate if the follow up offers any REAL help.

It is a good window of opportunity to ask BG to substantiate their claim by billing breakdowns and a usage summary. If they provide it, you may realise you do owe the money . If they cannot, then you may successfully argue that you oew then nothing.

By the way: If your bill was from a shared household and was in your name, it doesn't matter how many were living there, the bill is down to the person who's name its in.

Good luck

[caz247]

Hiya
i work for a utility company but not BG thankfully
have you checked readings and serial numbers of meters
as it is common to be billed for wrong property eg the flat
next door . MPR (meter point ref) for gas is a 10 digit number on meter and for elec its MPAN (meter point administration num) longer number but only the first 13 digits matter . both of these should be on reverse of your bills and are unique to your property so make sure they match the meters.have prev bills been under estimated maybe and thats why its so high. I am not saying that is the case here but sounds a bit strange if energywatch are not more involved.
hope this helps

caz

[choc lover]

thanks for all your advice, I have contacted local MP so fingers crossed, thanks for that suggestion would have never have thought of that. and getting them to itemise the bill is such a good idea - bit embarrasing I haven't thought of it already!

The bill is just for my flat and was from previous tenant. checked all the details and meter is right, although the first ever meter reading I gave them (7 times!!) they haven't got anymore and are saying they have no record of it. so my word against theirs . - STILL HATE THEM! lol

[themas]

Energywatch should keep chasing them up until a satisfactory reply is received. That is what they are there for (in part, anyway - they also do other things). If necessary talk to the Energywatch person who has ownership of the issue and make it clear to them that you will make a complaint about Energywatch if they do not take some effective action; or get hold of the person's manager and say it to them.

[choc lover]

Energywatch were the ones who got them to take notice without a doubt, its been ongoin for a while now, they got involved in the beginning but the letters I sent were adressed to British Gas with them cc in as well, and they seem to be letting me get on with it now, I think i might contact them directly again and see what happens. I have a debt of �1000 and british gas offered me �25 as compensation!! dont you just love big companies!! Again I just wanna thank everyone who's replied I really appreciate it!!