British Gas say they will charge extra £50 unless i pay remainder of bill today isn't

furball

Thanks to an ongoing cockup of the tax credits we are playing catch up with our bills. We have managed to pay most of our bills and paid £90 off a £154 gas bill last week. It was Aprils bill and we know the next one is due soon so were paying the remainder this week and next week. British Gas have just rung and said they have put £16 costs on the remainder and unless we pay today they will add a further £50 to the bill. I explained the situation politely and pointed out that this does not help the situation when we are clearly struggling but they won't budge, can they do this and isn't it blackmail. We havent enough in the bank account to pay it but can only pay it at the paypoint at the local shop but it would leave us unable to pay our usual payments on other bills for this week. Please can anyone advise us. Thankyou and sorry for the long post.

KimYeovil

No it is not blackmail - it is good and prudent practice and good news for their other customers who do bother to pay in time. Why should they all subsidise your misfortune/lack of planning? You have had more than three months to read your meters and put money aside even with all/any (irrelevant) personal complications.

Other companies will give you a prompt payment/direct debit discounts that are as much and often more per quarter. Charging people who do not pay on time is a darn site fairer.

furball

Gee thanks for the understanding, if you knew the facts about the tax credit !!!! up you might not be so quick to condem, i just hope that a computer error from the government never causes you to have to remorgage your house, fight a bancrupcy case and prove that you do not and have never lived in Australia whilst they refuse to speak to you as your English NI number doesn't pass security but its perfectly ok for them to send your National Health Certificate to Australia.
Oh and what would be your judgement if NPower suddenly added £566 to your bill 6 weeks before christmas saying that even though they had been to the house read every one of your meter bills the meter readings did not coincide with the bills being sent out, so they had estimated the bill on their computer and £566 was the difference of 3 Years bills but they decided to just add it all together and would i pay it. Oh and we were £127 IN FRONT with the bill. Would that be fairer for you?

KimYeovil

Where was the condemnation? :confused;

As to the Npower scenario, I have meters in my home so I know whether or not a bill is bunkum. If there has been underbilling I know there will be a catch-up bill and I know how much it will be for. If there is an overestimate I would know it was nonsense and would not be worried.

Have you asked your groceries providers to not ask for payment whilst you sort out your tax credits? Have you managed to wangle petrol on tic? Did you shrug when your telephone suppliers asked you for payment?

Anyway, I would not rely on tax credits in the first place - whether they are on time or not would be irrelevant. They are additions - your day to day costs should not rely on them.

moo_cow

"They are additions - your day to day costs should not rely on them"

If that's the case then what are they for? A holiday? A new car? What? The whole point of Tax credits is to help people on low incomes to meet their day to day living expenses. They are NOT simply an 'addition'. To put it another way, if the OP had enough money coming in he/she would not be needing to make a Claim for Tax Credits.

furball

I too have meters in my home, gas meter and electric meter, i didn't realise i needed any others, i thought these were enough for my energy suppliers to provide a good, accurate, reliable service, obviously not. I wish the tax credits were an extra, but i'm sorry we don't have that luxury. Oh and the Npower bill wasn't bunkum, we paid it. Thankyou Moo Cow, the voice of reason.

GEEGEE8

I hope you get it sorted out quickly.. are you eligible for a crisis loan?

furball

Thanyou GeeGee but by the time a crisis loan was sorted out it would be too late to stop the charges, besides we have just about scraped ourselves out of debt so i don't want to get anymore loans, but thankyou for the kind thought.

Lube

Can relatives not lend you the money?

furball

Thankyou Lube, but parents are pensioners. Rang the gas board and gave them a final reading told them we will be changing suppliers they said they would ring us back, still waiting.

Freddie_Snowbits

furball wrote: »

It was Aprils bill and we know the next one is due soon so were paying the remainder this week and next week.

Today is the 18th June!

Time to sort out either a direct debit or run the accoun online.
Severn Trent Water bill last year, said I wanted to pay by DD, they said ok, took 2 months to set up, no nasty phone call etc, all paid on time, oh, and I will get a reduced amount to pay from September 2010 as account will be up to date.

pipe and smoke it.