Charged by Two Gas Suppliers

BartonYoung

Hello All,

Let me explain the situation. Between Jan 09 and Nov 09 I lived in a rented property with one other housemate. When we registered with utilities, Npower advised us that they were our suppliers. Therefore, we paid them for our gas and electricity. In this period we did not receive any correspondents from British Gas saying they we in actual fact the supplier.

Since moving out, we settled the final bill as you do, and everything has been fine. That was until I registered on the electoral ballot. All of a sudden I receive a letter from a debt recovery company insisting I oweBritish Gas £643.89 for the period I lived in the property.

I asked the debt recovery company for the gas meter number they say I should have paid on. The number provided by them from BG is the same as the one on my Npower bills. The debt recovery company are telling me I need to pay them and recover the money from Npower.

Are they correct? What advice can anyone provide? Please let me know before I pull all my hair out.

Thanks

ifonlyitwaseasier

spam reported!

OP i'd contact Npower and find out what they have to dsay and call BG directly and explain you were paying Npower

good luck

anniecave

Have you checked the meter serial number on your meter is the same as both Npower's and BG's records? It could be there is a mix up over your address with someone elses if that hasn't been checked.

If you've checked this out, and the meter number they have does tie in, then phone up Npower and get them to check whether they really were the supplier for the time period. If they look and confirm they weren't, then they should be able to get a refund issued to you fairly quickly.

If Npower are insistent they were the supplier, then I would raise a complaint with the ombudsman. Consumer Focus or whatever they are called now!

If Npower do admit they were in the wrong, but don't swing into action with a refund quickly, then raise a complaint with the ombudsman over that if necessary!

And you are perfectly in your right to not pay BG until you've confirmed what the situation is, so don't let their debt collectors bully you. They should have contacted you direct before, not just sent a debt recovery agency after that, so they are in the wrong for that.

DVardysShadow

BartonYoung wrote: »

I asked the debt recovery company for the gas meter number they say I should have paid on. The number provided by them from BG is the same as the one on my Npower bills. The debt recovery company are telling me I need to pay them and recover the money from Npower.

Complete porky.

Don't waste your time speaking to them on the phone. If they have sent you a copy of the BG bill this is based on then just send a copy of your NP bill, say that as far as you are concerned you have paid for the gas and for BG to take up the matter with NP.

dogshome

Hi Barton Young - On the face of it, this looks like yet another problem caused by the Letting/Estate agency making a few bob by Switching the utility supplier between tenants on your old flat.

OK - Yes n'power will refund you what you paid to them, but, the chances are that with them you will have been on a discounted tariff - D/Debit payments? - Online billing?
However BG will have had you on a basic 'Standard' tariff, which will be considerably more expensive, so n'power's repayment is unlikely to cover BG's bill.

Write BG asking for a fully detailed bill, which they have to suppply, also send a copy of the letter to the Collection Agency, which should get them off your back

Check your own data, Old bank statements?, to see that the money coming back from n'power is actually what you paid them

Compare n'powers cash-back with BG's bill, then write BG pointing out that the lack of communication from them deprived you of the opportunity to change to the type of better tariff that you were on with n'power, and you want their bill re-calculated on the basis of n'powers deal or it's nearest equivalant

If this seems a lot of trouble - Keep in mind that this is an industry srew-up, not yours, yet you are the one being asked to pay for it.
Good Luck

robredz

Tell the debt collection company that the account is in dispute, and is being referred to the Ombudsman, and Consumer Focus and, DO NOT pay THEM anything, as once you pay the DC, it will be difficult to ground a refund off BG, as they will then have had the money, alternatively the DC may have bought the debt off BG. Go with the previous advice and send copies of NPower bills covering the period you have paid, to BG stating as DVardysShadow said, that you have paid what was supposedly YOUR supplier in good faith, so it is now between BG and NPower, and to call the dogs (DCA) off.