British Gas nasty man?!?!

kate1976

Cardew wrote: »

The differential between pre-pay and normal(i.e. Standard rates) has reduced a lot; although they are not as cheap as some of the internet tariffs.

On a £300 debt they might agree to £20 a week being paid off.

Crikey she may end up in the dark then if as £20 a week for debt then add whatever amount she's likely to use is more than likely going to skint her even more! :eek:

brightonman123 wrote: »

if in a real pickle, and needing help with the arrears, check out the british gas energy trust (link s/be on the site).. about 5/6 page (simple) form- send off with copies of latest bills, and meter readings..

some of the water co's have a similar setup.

get in quick, to avoid xmas post delays etc!

Thanks for that, will let her know about that.

patanne

£20 per week seems an awful lot to collect a £300 debt. Don't they usually allow you longer than that after all that is only 15 weeks?

kate1976

patanne wrote: »

£20 per week seems an awful lot to collect a £300 debt. Don't they usually allow you longer than that after all that is only 15 weeks?

I know it does sound a lot, she's really freaking out now, of course she has to wait for the gas man to turn up and find out what she has to pay but I hope for her sake it's a lot less than £20 otherwise she's up a certain creek without a paddle!!

Mankysteve

Pre-payment isn't that expensive any more Its usually cheaper than having a credit meter and paying by cash/cheque.

She needs to go to cab as other as mentioned, and contact BG recorded mail saying that she'll get in touch with a repayment plan within the next few days.

I suspect they'll want to put her on a Pre-payment meter. If she fails to act soon she also get lumbered with the cost of BG going to court to get a warrant.

Get her to do a statement of Affairs that you can find in debt free section and figure out how much she can afford to payback. Then contact BG again by recorded delivery with the offer.

Minimum debt repayment is usually £5 a week.

NeverInDebt

Kate has she checked she is getting all the benefits she is entitled too?

Also is she savvy enough to look for deals etc

markharding557

kate1976 wrote: »

I know it does sound a lot, she's really freaking out now, of course she has to wait for the gas man to turn up and find out what she has to pay but I hope for her sake it's a lot less than £20 otherwise she's up a certain creek without a paddle!!

hi if she calls them she should be able to get the meter set at £10 maybe less and since she is on benifit ask about social tarriffs

kate1976

NeverInDebt wrote: »

Kate has she checked she is getting all the benefits she is entitled too?

Also is she savvy enough to look for deals etc

I've told her to check out the entitled to website so she'll do that when she's next got computer access or I'll do it for her when she pops round sometime this week, she's not great on the good ol' net but I've told her about this site and hopefully she'll have a looksee!

She also managed to get an appointment at CAB but that's on Wednesday so hopefully they'll be able to advise her what to do for the best, I'm just glad she's finally got her head out the sand, the gasman obviously shook her up good and proper!

kate1976

markharding557 wrote: »

hi if she calls them she should be able to get the meter set at £10 maybe less and since she is on benifit ask about social tarriffs

Cheers for that, I think she's had panic attack overdrive today so will let her know at least there may be a good ending!

Antispam

Your friend is lucky to have you to help her out. Nice to hear some people out there want to help.

kate1976

Antispam wrote: »

Your friend is lucky to have you to help her out. Nice to hear some people out there want to help.

Thank you, but I couldn't have helped her without the replies on this site that have helped me to help her too! she has helped me lots in the past so am quite glad I can now do something to 'repay' her! I just can't bear to see her so down, she's had a terrible year with some awful things happening to her (won't go into details but I can totally understand her being scared of the gas man trying to bang his way into her house) At least she's a bit happier knowing things won't all be doom and gloom! *crosses fingers*

Thanks again all! You're fab!