Switching Energy Supplier with an outstanding balance

Totally_Lost

We have been with our energy supplier for gas and electricity for over a year now and we've built up an outstanding balance of £500+ which we cannot afford to pay off in one lump sum.

We would like to switch to another supplier as we are paying over the odds (which is probably why we have the large outstanding balance!) but given the outstanding balance would we be able to switch??

savemoney

I doubt they were allow you to switch until you pay off the debt

Antispam

With hindsight might have been better to pay this debt off than paying your credit card last November, lesser of two evils

I note you were actually in credit paying that debt off and are trying to get off "so i currently have approx £700 of the credit card companies money."

Cardew

Utility companies can, and usually do, block any transfer of accounts if there is an outstanding balance.

If they didn't, people would just run up huge bills with a company and move from company to company leaving a trail of unpaid debts.

Totally_Lost

Antispam wrote: »

With hindsight might have been better to pay this debt off than paying your credit card last November, lesser of two evils

I note you were actually in credit paying that debt off and are trying to get off "so i currently have approx £700 of the credit card companies money."

Are you doing background research on me!?!

These are two seperate issues, the credit card issue was a mess up by the credit card company. All i wanted was some advice on whether i could switch or not.

Antispam

Yes

Two separate issues I agree one was you are trying to get off paying when you were over paid on a bill. I was just stating before I saw you had been over paid that you could have used that money instead

PS you got advice.

Also why would a company let you go when you owe them money? Do you really think they are so stupid?

Totally_Lost

Antispam wrote: »

Yes

Two separate issues I agree one was you are trying to get off paying when you were over paid on a bill. I was just stating before I saw you had been over paid that you could have used that money instead

PS you got advice.

Also why would a company let you go when you owe them money? Do you really think they are so stupid?

I understand that a company will not let you leave when you owe them money...i was wondering if the new company, in the interest of getting your business, would in effect buy the debt from the old company and then you pay them back??. Similar to the way yo can move credit card balances from one to another.

savemoney

When I switched supplier back in March 07 and accrued a bit of debt in such a small space of time with BG From Feb - March as I moved house. I disputed the amount of usage because I never used that amount before and after since, but I could leave until I paid so I ended up paying in any case just to move. Funny thing is I moved back to BG some months later and now monitor my usage every month

The new provider by the way wouldn't let me move until debt was paid

My normal usage was 18 kwh a day and this was like 45 kwh units a day

macman

Totally_Lost wrote: »

I understand that a company will not let you leave when you owe them money...i was wondering if the new company, in the interest of getting your business, would in effect buy the debt from the old company and then you pay them back??. Similar to the way yo can move credit card balances from one to another.

If you've managed to accumulate a debt of £500 in just a year (so I'm guessing you've been underpaying by around 50%?), why would any other utility be interested in taking over that debt? They're not really in the business of supplying interest free loans.

markharding557

in a word no!