Gas bill problems

burkey365

I am, need of help, my father passed away last year and while it has been hard for all the family we have tried to rally round and be there for my mum, however the other day i saw a letter she received saying she owes £600 for gas, when i asked her about this she said that she hadnt paid anything for 8 months as my dad dealt with it all and she just forgot as she never received a bill(she has been paying other things when bills arrive). How can she deal with this, can she pay a bit off each month, can she claim for anything to help her, are the gas suppliers worth calling and trying to negotiate knocking the price down, what should she do please

Fran

What I would suggest is she goes to Citizens Advice and gets them to phone on her behalf. Companies listen more to organizations than they do to individuals.

Premier_2

It's unlikely the supplier will knock anything off the bill.

But they should be able to negotiate a suitable repayment plan usually over an equal period the bill was accumulated (plus she will of course need to pay for ongoing consumption)

She should definitely call the supplier, (or ask someone to do so if she prefers, suggests). Ignoring the creditor will only make them more determined to seek repayment as she will be considered a 'won't pay' rather than a 'can't pay' customer.

Kay_Peel

Before you start trying to negotiate a time-to-pay deal with the supplier, you need to check

- why she hasn't received any bills
- whether or not the bill is accurate (take a reading)

Perhaps this is an estimated bill and she owes nothing like £600.

Perhaps her deceased husband set up a direct debit. It seems strange that she hasn't had a quarterly or half-yearly bill, at the very least.