Advise on my gas accont

Moomin30

Hello,

I have not posted for a while on here but i would appreciate and help or advice.

I am in debt with gas company through no fault of my own back at xmas 2010 we was in credit by quite alot so i asked for them to credit back so much with it been xmas which there were very relecant to do that anyway finally agreed.

So i was advised a cheque would be coming throgh the post within the next 14days i asked for them to credit it back into my accont but the advisor said with it been less then £250 it would after to by cheaue so i waited did not recieve it. So i checked through my bank stats and a credit was paid in to my bank 2 days after. I phoned BG and apologised and i had been miss informed. Anyway this morning received a letter saying thankyou for canx your DD for gas and i need to now decide how i would like to make future payments so i phoned and advised them that i did not canx this was advised that because i requested a payment back into my account that my DD was canx and that i should of rang up a few days later and reinstated i told the advisor that i was not informed of this at all and i was discusted by the lack information i was give.

Now i have found out that 2 month payments have been missed and and i am now in debt by £300 anf that my payments would have put even higher to pay the debt and catch up from £65 now to £75 i said i cannot afford to this i am already skimmping and saving everything i can. I have asked for them to look into this and i should not be expected to pay this as i was wronfully advised or lack of not adviced.

Please can anyone tell me where i go from here i am a mum of 2 working partime and i can justify paying £75 pcm just for gas alone just cannot get my head aroung this.

bloss0m

Afraid if you owe the money you will have to pay it whether you were advised wrongly or not, only thing they may do is lowly DD payments a little but ultimately some will need to pay debt a month and the rest any usage. Hopefully your consumption may get less now seeing Winter has passed.

I know you said you work part time I assume you are getting family/child credits sounds like you are struggling to make ends meet

Edit you will have to come up with some arrangement with them otherwise they may force a prepaid meter and you dont want that

Moomin30

hello thanks for your response that is what i was afraid off which stinks as it was through no fault of my own as well if it had of been i would of accepted that i have never been in that situation before i try to e so careful especially with the gas and electric i have asked for it to be investiagted but no matter how much of a stink i make i will still have to pay.

Yes i am the CB and CTC both me and my partner earn ok money and we earn enough to get by and pay our bills but this is like another £17 extra pcm as it would of stayed at £58pcm and now it has gone up to £75pcm £17pcm can get me my babies nappies for the month that is how i look at things never mind i have calmed down a little as i was quite angry when i was writing this post earlier. :mad:

I just cannot believe i am going to be made to pay this through no fault of my own

Moomin30

Can anyone advic if i cold switch to a cheaper supplier with this debt i am trying to look at alternatives either a fix term deal not sure as i am new to this and sure what is the best thing to do any help or advice muchly appreciated i need to sort this i do not cope very good with things like these

KimYeovil

If you are 'skimping and saving' how is it possible that you do not notice an extra £130 lying around in your bank account? Surely you must know how much your income and outgoings are.

If you don't want to spend £75 per month on gas then, uhm, use less gas. You should have an extra £250 so you can always put £120 of that towards your account. If you have already spent all of it then, perhaps, for the future, the next time something similar happens you could consider leaving the money with the supplier. You could have had £20 off your monthly debit - £45* per month instead of £75.

*Okay, that is not quite true as you still had winter months to pay for.

Are you up to date with your electricity? If so you can switch your electricity to British Gas and take their WebSaver 11 tariff (if that is cheaper) - that is if you don't want to pay off the debt. Look on a comparison site to check what other suppliers cost compared to your current situation.

bloss0m

You might not be able to switch if there is any debt

Moomin30 wrote: »

Can anyone advic if i cold switch to a cheaper supplier with this debt i am trying to look at alternatives either a fix term deal not sure as i am new to this and sure what is the best thing to do any help or advice muchly appreciated i need to sort this i do not cope very good with things like these

kathie1101

I have to say I agree with Kim. I know it sounds harsh but people really need to take responsibility for their own affairs. Do people really not check their bank statements and therefore not know if a DD has not come out?? Ok if it's £10 it's possible to miss, but nearly £60 a month and you say you are skimping and saving!

Sorry if that comes across as preaching - it's not meant to. Yes I would be annoyed if they had cancelled the DD, and yes they are in the wrong for that, but equally you should have noticed it, and ultimately it is your responsibility to pay your bills. I would be inclined to contact them, admit you are in the wrong for not noticing, and offer them a lower monthly amount that you can manage (that is also reasonable) and see what they say.

If you normally pay by fixed monthly DD then in future do not claim the credit money back from them, the credit builds over the summer months to be there to pay the winter bills. I know it is tempting sometimes (especially with kids at xmas) but you are only going to cause yourself bigger problems further down the line.