British Gas - Can they make you pay

sonicshelly

Hi, my dad has just had his bill which he pays by card every fortnight - £15.
Bear in mind his last quarterly bill told him to pay £7.50 a fortnight, but he carried on paying £15.
It now is asking for £28 a fortnight. Which he simply cannot afford. He did ring them and said he couldn't and he was in credit so why has it gone up this much. Apparently the cost of gas rising. But his account has capped prices till Sept 09??

I will be ringing them today on his behalf as he getting himself stressed about it. He simply cannot afford that sort of hike. I want to say that he will carry on paying his £15 and if at the next quarter which will be wear his gas useage will have risen he is in debt then we will look at what we can do. Also bear in mind he will receive his heating allowance from the government this year as he is a pensioner.

Anyone able to help. Thanks

brysiewysie

If he's on a payment arrangement then they can insist it's increased.

If it's an informal arrangement and £15 is now not enough they'll likely chase for outstanding debt.

However you and he need to be clear on why things have now changed. Is he really on a capped product? If his arrangement is an informal one he will need to pay more over the winter period rather than a consistent sum all year. When did he cap his prices? Has his usage increased?

sonicshelly

But the thing is, you can't get blood out of a stone. He has no extra income to spare. His capped price are agreed with British Gas about 3 months ago.
He only gets £60 a week, so how can he pay this amount. I don't even pay this !!!

brysiewysie

As I said you need more info. You can't say why it's increased from the info you've posted so far, I'm only asking questions to try to give you some areas to look at.

sonicshelly

Well after ringing them again, as the first time, the lady said he had to pay it and that was that. I spoke to someone and said he has always paid £15 a fortnight, ever since he has been with them, which is years. I said he couldn't afford anymore.
She came back and said thats fine, continue paying the £15 and that was that.

KimYeovil

If he is old enough to receive a winter rebate surely he should receive more than £60 per week. Why does he not receive the pension guarantee of £124 per week?

sonicshelly

KimYeovil wrote: »

If he is old enough to receive a winter rebate surely he should receive more than £60 per week. Why does he not receive the pension guarantee of £124 per week?

Its really stupid in my opinion - he partner has moved in with him, so she gets the £124 and he gets £60 - which takes them to the amount for a couple to live on. She is on a pension as she is 60 and my dad is on pension credit, he is not able to work due to illness.

Why they did not give them half each like £80 a week I don't know, giving her £60 more a week than him, seems stupid, they are not married.

KimYeovil

So the household has more than £180 per week, not £60 per week. If his partner will not share her income or contribute to the bills fairly then that is a domestic problem between the two of them and nothing to do with British Gas or the DSS.

sonicshelly

Thanks!
He still has always only paid that amount ever since he has been with them, his prices are capped till next Sept, and he is in credit!

tanith

sonicshelly wrote: »

Thanks!
He still has always only paid that amount ever since he has been with them, his prices are capped till next Sept, and he is in credit!

Surely if your Dad has been paying the same amount for years and years since he has been with them surely he and you must realise that the price of gas has risen over those years and he can't continue to pay the same amount years down the line when the price of the gas has risen enourmously .. he will end up owing them money if he doesn't increase the amount he pays... his partner will have to cough up the difference if he can't manage it..

KimYeovil

Have you actually checked whether the useage estimate is unreasonable? Have you checked his bills? Yes, there are lots of occasions where companies bump up debits unnecessarily but you have to compare his bills over the same period now and a year ago.

Forgive the ageism and sexism, but a gentleman of a certain age living on his own is quite likely to have a significantly lower useage of his oven and hob than when a gentlewomen takes over his kitchen.

Also, hot water will be doubled - particularly for someone with his previously low consumption, the extra showers and baths will be a significant proportion on top of the previous bill.