British gas billing me 2 years later

grai

I changed from British Gas to Scottish power 2 years ago (Feb 2008)

I have recently had a collection agency contacting me for £36 on behalf of British Gas

2 weeks ago I called British Gas and they said it was a mistake as I was on a pre-paynent meter and they would contact the collection agency and tell them

the collection agency has now put a card through my door saying they are intending to call back and obviously got no call from British Gas

I called British Gas again and they said I owed £36 on the pre-payment meter before I went with Scottish Power

I was never contacted to pay British Gas - they seem to have gone to the collection agency without giving me a chance to pay it - my understanding was that they were not able to change over suppliers if there was a debt on the meter

My question is can they do this 2 years after the event?

Antispam

Yes they can do it unfortunately

even on a pre payment and you can still accrue a debt

Cardew

Yes you can run up a debt on a pre-pay, and can take up to 6 years to start recovering that debt.


However BG are one of several companies who write that debt off I believe.

grai

this site needs redesigning!

I searched and searched for this and wrote the whole thing out again thinking I had not pressed one of the unfathomable buttons

the graphics are too small and way too numerous its like sensory overload

do I spend another 15 minutes trying to find the other thread in the mayhem of graphics and delete it?

or do I get a life

Cardew

grai wrote: »

this site needs redesigning!

I searched and searched for this and wrote the whole thing out again thinking I had not pressed one of the unfathomable buttons

the graphics are too small and way too numerous its like sensory overload

do I spend another 15 minutes trying to find the other thread in the mayhem of graphics and delete it?

or do I get a life

Here is the thread to delete! and you can then have your life back.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=2223247

dogshome

Hi grai - As the post from Antispam says, BG can back charge 2 years after the event, and as the rules stand can wait 6 years

However, you are entitled to a detailed bill showing the dates the bill covers, the power consumed and the rates it is charged at.
As you have already found, the staff on the telephone customer service desks are not to be relied on.
You must write to BG asking for the details of this bill, and send a copy of this letter to the Collection Agency who will back off.
When you get the bill, check that the final meter reading tallies with the one you started with at Scot. Power, also check the unit prices on the bill because 2 years ago in Jan '07, utility prices were a great deal lower than they are now
Good Luck

Premier_2

grai wrote: »

...I called British Gas again and they said I owed £36 on the pre-payment meter before I went with Scottish Power...

...my understanding was that they were not able to change over suppliers if there was a debt on the meter...

The supplier cannot prevent a switch where the arrears on your pre-payment meter is less than £100.

New ofgem rules increases this to £200

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/utilities/2010/01/energy-firms-forced-to-make-direct-debit-payments-fairer

But you still owe the money (unless the supplier agrees otherwise)