British Gas send the debt collectors!

marcdbl

Ok, here is a very quick rundown of the situation:
Several months ago my Gas+Elec was with British Gas. After a while, they increased the prices on my tariff so I rang them and told them I would be leaving for another provider and that I wanted my final bill adjusted to reflect my old cheaper tariff (as is my right), after a bit of arguing they agreed.

Unsurprisingly, I then got a red bill asking for the incorrect amount (£278). So I called and disputed it, they promised to rebill me at the lower rate.

Again, I got another red bill asking for the incorrect amount again. So I called and disputed it, they promised to rebill me at the lower rate again.

Shortly after this I moved house, and heard nothing for months.

Now, I've had a letter from a Debt Collection agency for the wrong amount again (£278)! So I called them, and explained I wouldn't be paying as the bill was incorrect. They immediately asked me if I'd like to pay £200 instead and be done with it!!! I said I'd think about it.

This seems a no-brainer to me, there's no way the correct bill will ever be as low as £200, so I should just pay. However, a wicked part of me feels like saying no and playing the game out as I don't think British Gas are ever going to get the correct bill sorted. This is probably a game I can only lose, but I thought I'd see whether any money-savers had a different opinion.....?

skint-student-nurse

ive also had this problem with british gas and my final bill was £278 :rolleyes: they over-estimated my bills,they stood at £230,but they inisit that £278 is what i owe and refused to budge. im refusing to pay until they sort it out, which they are refusing to do.... im going to the CAB tomorrow to see what they suggest. i'll let you know what im advised

Plushchris

marcdbl wrote: »

Ok, here is a very quick rundown of the situation:
Several months ago my Gas+Elec was with British Gas. After a while, they increased the prices on my tariff so I rang them and told them I would be leaving for another provider and that I wanted my final bill adjusted to reflect my old cheaper tariff (as is my right), after a bit of arguing they agreed.

Unsurprisingly, I then got a red bill asking for the incorrect amount (£278). So I called and disputed it, they promised to rebill me at the lower rate.

Again, I got another red bill asking for the incorrect amount again. So I called and disputed it, they promised to rebill me at the lower rate again.

Shortly after this I moved house, and heard nothing for months.

Now, I've had a letter from a Debt Collection agency for the wrong amount again (£278)! So I called them, and explained I wouldn't be paying as the bill was incorrect. They immediately asked me if I'd like to pay £200 instead and be done with it!!! I said I'd think about it.

This seems a no-brainer to me, there's no way the correct bill will ever be as low as £200, so I should just pay. However, a wicked part of me feels like saying no and playing the game out as I don't think British Gas are ever going to get the correct bill sorted. This is probably a game I can only lose, but I thought I'd see whether any money-savers had a different opinion.....?

Might be worth trying the Debt collection company again and make a lower offer (£175?) and just be done with it, they probably only paid a fraction of that for the debt so it may be worth a try, as you say, playing "the game" with BG is probably just a futile waste of time.

Cardew

It would have been better(with 20:20 hindsight!) if the OP had written and not phoned; and of course moving without the situation being resolved was unwise.

The problem is that in all probability he has a 'black mark' on his credit record and no matter how much you pay the DCA that black mark will take a lot to remove.

DirectDebacle

I can think of several reasons why you should not pay the DCA. Neither they nor British Gas are acting within the recommended codes of practice as laid down by the OFT. Go here and familiarise yourself with them.

http://www.oft.gov.uk/advice_and_resources/resource_base/legal/cca/debt-collection

In short if a bill is dsiputed then the energy supplier should not be instructing third parties until the dispute procedure has been exhausted. A DCA should not be chasing people for payment of bills which are in dispute. British Gas have not acted properly and neither have the DCA.

It would not be unreasonable for you to assume that under these circumstances you believed the lack of response from B.G. was because they had written the bill off. Presumably they did not block you switching from them which is usually the case if an account is outstanding.

Furthermore they were in breach of their licence conditions by continuing to bill you at a rate which you did not agree with. They are not entitled to enforce a change you do not agree with and the only option is for you to switch suppliers.

In short you have the moral highground. It may take no more than a formal complaint to British Gas in order to:

a) call off the DCA and

b) cause B.G. to write off the outstanding bill as a 'goodwill' gesture.

No doubt this would be the case if for example Watchdog were involved.

If you read the OFT guidelines and codes of practice it will become apparent that you will have several grounds for complaint against both parties.

On the other hand you can use your new knowledge to negotiate a much lower payment than you originally thought.

I would choose the former rather than the latter. IMO B.G. have behaved incorrectly and breached their terms and conditions and their licence conditions. As a result they have quite unjustifiably engaged a DCA to hound you on their behalf. Unacceptable.

A bit late now but one other word of advice I would give is never, never, ever, phone a debt collection agency.

marcdbl

Some very interesting points here, thanks all

DirectDebacle wrote: »

A bit late now but one other word of advice I would give is never, never, ever, phone a debt collection agency.

DirectDebacle, can I ask what your reasoning behind this is?

Cardew

DD,
Whilst I agree with the thrust of your post(as always!) in particular the advice about not phoning a DCA and the speed with which some Utility companies refer disputes to DCAs.

You mention that BG " did not block you switching from them which is usually the case if an account is outstanding"

Had you missed that the OP phoned and "Shortly after this I moved house, and heard nothing for months."? He wasn't of course switching at the same address. The OP moving seems to be crucial.

If the OP wrote and told BG of his new address then as you say he has the moral high ground.

However if BG were unaware of his new address, they were not in a position to resolve the dispute and it is difficult to see what action they could take.

DirectDebacle

marcdbl wrote: »

Some very interesting points here, thanks all


DirectDebacle, can I ask what your reasoning behind this is?

DCA are in the business of collecting money, as much as they lawfully can from people. Their staff are therefore highly trained in methods, tactics and techniques to achieve this goal. They are also financially motivated as their earnings reflect the amount of money they collect.

If you speak to them on the telephone then you are very much on their turf. If you are not au fait with the methods they use then it is not a level playing field either.

They like the phone because almost everything they say is deniable.

They don't like answering letters because you then have a written record of what is taking place.

A straightforward letter to them in answer to their original demand explaining that:

a) the bill was, as far as you were concerned still in the dispute stage with British Gas

and

b) that as the OFT Codes of Practice laid down state that a DCA should not be involved whilst a dispute was still at the resolution stage, you would not have anymore contact with them at this point.

Now that is what I would have done and then got on with sorting it out with B.G. This of course would now include a complaint re their inefficiency and behaviour. But of course, I am not you.

We are where we are and I would advise taking the action I have outlined above. It is not too late. No doubt others will offer different advice so the decision will be yours, but it is good to have different options put forward.

Remember that the dispute is not between you and a DCA. It is between you and B.G. At the moment the DCA is just a vehicle for B.G. to collect an amount of money from you, which in principle they have already agreed is actually more than you owe them.

DirectDebacle

Cardew wrote: »

DD,
Whilst I agree with the thrust of your post(as always!) in particular the advice about not phoning a DCA and the speed with which some Utility companies refer disputes to DCAs.

You mention that BG " did not block you switching from them which is usually the case if an account is outstanding"

Had you missed that the OP phoned and "Shortly after this I moved house, and heard nothing for months."? He wasn't of course switching at the same address. The OP moving seems to be crucial.

If the OP wrote and told BG of his new address then as you say he has the moral high ground.

However if BG were unaware of his new address, they were not in a position to resolve the dispute and it is difficult to see what action they could take.

As usual Cardew you make a valid point and one I had not fully taken on board.

The OP will have to fill in the blanks on this.

However it would seem that B.G. have not fulfilled their promise to the O.P. that the bill would be re-calculated as is required of them under the Gas Act. They have told the DCA that the O.P. owes an amount which is disputed and which B.G. have agreed to correct.

Whether the O.P. notified the change of address or not is a separate issue to the issuing of incorrectly calculated bills. Not only have B.G. instructed a DCA whilst a bill is in dispute they have instructed the DCA to collect an amount which is more than is actually owed.

I am not really up to speed on the switching procedure but wouldn't the new company require the O.P to provide previous address, supplier and account details. Would not the new company want to know if there were outstanding debts with the previous company. I am not sure on these but I would have thought that there were enough checks in place for B.G. to know where the O.P. had moved to.

This is an interesting one. Hope the OP gives a bit more info.

marcdbl

More interesting posts, thanks again!

Could anyone clarify a couple of things for me?
- How much (roughly) would a DCA have paid for this debt?
- At this stage, is it likely that there has been any negative effect to my credit record? (I am expecting to buy a house very soon, so cannot afford to have my record marked over 200 quid)

marcdbl

DirectDebacle wrote: »

This is an interesting one. Hope the OP gives a bit more info.

Ok, here is a more thorough description of events, in time-order:
- British Gas increased the cost of the tariff I was on, but had not informed me yet (as I understand it, this is standard practice - they have 60 days to do so).
- Long before the 60 days was up, I called them and told them I would be switching supplier, and therefore expected to be billed at my old rate as this is my right. We argued, but they agreed, and I was told a note had been added to my account.
- I switched successfully to Scottish Power.
- British Gas sent me a final bill at the higher rate. I called and disputed, they acknowledged there was a note on my account, they agreed to rebill me.
- I moved house.
- British Gas billed me again at the higher rate (I received the bill by forwarded mail). I called and disputed, they acknowledged there was a note on my account, they agreed to rebill me again. I think I might have informed BG of my change-of-address but couldn't say for sure.
-Nothing more for nearly eight months.
-DCA contacts me.
-I call DCA, explain that I don't want to pay as the amount is wrong. They offer to let me pay £200, offer is valid for 7 days.