large bill for gas even though on pay as you go gas meter!!! help!!

helpmeplz

hi there, im submitting this on behalf of my sister........she moved house last year, her former home had a card gas meter....on the day she moved there was over £10 on the card which she left at the property. last week she got a letter from debt collector saying court action was gonna start because of a gas bill for this former property! (it had taken a while for them to find her as she had moved so she hadnt known there was a "supposed" outstanding bill so there are alot of extra charges on top of what the original bill was. she has paid the debt collectors as she didnt want it to go to court. she has rung the gas company and they have been really unhelpful. all they say is that SHE owes the money. HOW CAN THIS BE IF SHE WAS ON A CARD METER AND LEFT THE CARD IN CREDIT?! even if builders or something went in to renivate after she left a debt couldnt have occured as u cant use gas thats not been paid for (well £3 emergency but that wouldnt warrent a £150 odd bill). please any advice would be great as she cant get anywhere with gas company as they have sold the debt and wiped their hands of her! THANK YOU

McKneff

Did she tell the gas company she was leaving.

part of a the money ona gas card pays for the standing charge, if no card isbeing used the standing charge is still building up and still has to be paid.

helpmeplz

yes she told them of move. and gave them new address (although they seem to have no logged it hense why it took debt collectors so long to find her!

McKneff

Does she have a copy of the letter informing them.

Apart from anything else, tell her to go to the CAB for advice.

kjsmith7

Did she receive a final bill? Or some notification the account had been closed? The daily standing charge as mentioned above is likely to be a culprit, or at least part of the culprit. Another thing that could have happened, is the new owner/tenant could have switched supplier and THEIR final reading estimated: if they hadn't properly closed your sisters account, they could be billing her up to this estimate. Ask for a copy of the bill as you dispute the amount, ask for them to hold the account and return it from the debt collection office whilst you and they investigate.

Mrsunseeker

It could also be your card meter had not had the the price increases adjusted on the meter so you have been getting it cheaper then it should have been. Now they have recalculated the difference.

helpmeplz

thank you all. i took over the corrospondence for my sis as she was at end of her tether with them. they couldnt give a valid answer as to why she owed them money so i threatened to take them to small claims court!!! they very quickly replied saying that it was their mistake and she will get a refund for the money she had to pay to the debt collector (and i even managed to get extra for cost of phone calls!) RESULT!!!!

spiro

The golden rule when someone says they owe you money is 'show me the proof' as they have to provide a copy of the invoice/bill that they are chasing for. If they can't do this they can't take you to court because the judge would laugh them out of court.