British Gas ongoing problems now obtained warrant!

cornholio123

Hi,

I bought a house in 2007 with the intention of living in it. I then changed my mind and rented it to a tenant.

When the tenant became slow at paying the rent, I was about to start eviction proceedings however the tenant vacated overnight and has caused me no end of problems.

To cut a long story short, I moved into the property with my wife and advised BG of this and provided meter readings. A couple of weeks later I had a letter from BG accusing me of fraud and that they had arrived at the conclusion that I was responsible for all the bills and that my tenant had never told BG that he had moved in and didn't have an account with BG. I know he did as they sent him letters.

I've been through the complaints procedure via email and have sent them tenancy agreements, permission from my lender to rent out the property and landlords gas safety certificates to prove I let the property. They now demand proof of rent which was paid monthly in cash.

cornholio123

Sorry, typing fail!

I refuse to deal with their Fraud Prevention Department as they just make assumptions and keep accusing me of fraud.

I no longer live in the property but allow my wife and child to live there rent free (we are separated) BG are apparently coming tomorrow to fit a prepayment meter. Whether this is for gas or Elec i'm unsure as they seem to be dealing with the two services separately??

Any advice welcome!

spiro

Questions:

1) When you bought the house did you advise BG and were accounts set up for gas/elec?
2) When you 'moved out' (to allow tenant to move in) did you advise BG so they could close your account and send you a final bill?
3) Did the tenant advise BG they had moved in so accounts were set up and did you keep a copy of the meter readings along with the tenanct agreement?
4) Did the tenant advise BG they had moved out so the accounts was closed and did you keep a copy of the meter readings?
5) When you moved back in (or was it always just your wife) did you advise BG so accounts were set up?

cornholio123

Hi, thanks for the reply.

I rented the house out from the date I had the keys so didn't initially put the account in my name. BG started sending bills in my name as the sellers solicitor must have given BG my details. I noticed this when I came to collect rent/post and got my tenant to ring BG while i was stood there and change the accounts to his name.

The tenant moved out and didn't advise BG that he had gone. Basically BG allowed him to use gas and Elec for two and a half years without disconnecting him. He didn't pay the council tax either, or the water bill. The only meter readings I have are the ones I gave BG when I found out he had vacated the property. According to neighbours he had been gone for about a week. I lived in the property for a couple of months before moving out, leaving my wife there on condition that I pay the mortgage and utility bills (we have a child together).

cornholio123

BG now insist that I provide proof of where I was living for the time that the tenant lived at the property. I explained that I went travelling for a few months, worked abroad briefly and lived part time between my in-laws and my parents houses and left all my post go to my house that I rented out to save constantly changing addresses. As far as they are concerned because I had post sent to the house I must have lived there.

spiro

You are in a catch 22. You bought the house, didn't tell BG you were not the occupier, tenant didn't pay anything then you move back in. To a third party (BG) this looks like you were there all along and are trying to get out of paying the bill. Suppliers used to have this with unmarried couples, Mr Jones would put the bill in his name and wait until it got to warrant stage them Miss Brown phones up to say I've just moved in and there are loads of bills here for Mr Jones and I dont have a forwarding address for him.

Dur the time it was rented out (a) was it still you postal address, (b) address on your driving licence (if you have one), (c) car registered there (if you have one), (d) still on the electoral role at that address or elsewhere? BG will look at all of these do decide if yuo actually lived there or elsewhere.

You may find you also have the same problems with water bill and council tax.

lr1277

Did you and the tenant sign an agreement, witnessed by another party?

If so, could you not show that to BG?

cornholio123

lr1277 wrote: »

Did you and the tenant sign an agreement, witnessed by another party?

If so, could you not show that to BG?

I've sent BG the tenancy agreement, signed and witnessed plus documentation from my mortgage lender stating I have permission to let out the property and also a Landlords Gas Safety Inspection report.

cornholio123

Hi Spiro,

It was my postal address, I lived with relatives, went travelling etc so saw little point in constantly changing my address. The tenant kept my post for me and either myself or my representative collected it at the same time as the rent. I manage all my accounts on line anyway so dont really need to see paper bills etc.

My name ended up on the voters roll, although I have never put myself on it. I guess the solicitor gave them my name when i purchased the property?

My driving license has never been at the address in question, always to my parents address.

The council tax people were very understanding, sight of the tenancy agreement was all that they required. Havent heard anything from the Water so presume they are ok as well.

They're supposed to be executing the warrant today, i've driven 90 miles to get here for 7am (in case they came early) but no show so far. If they dont come today, does the warrant still stand or is it merely for today, the date named on the warrant?

British_Gas

Hi, just to let you know we have picked this up and we are concerned that something is amiss at our end. Could you please contact our debt department urgently so that they can get this sorted for you? Their number is 0800 048 0404, available 8-8 Mon to Fri or 8-6 Sat. If this does not solve the issue please let me know immediately and I will escalate the issue for you. You can contact me privately at any time at customernews@britishgas.co.uk - please refer to this post so I know which case we are dealing with. Thank you

irishjohn

cornholio123 wrote: »

Hi Spiro,

It was my postal address, I lived with relatives, went travelling etc so saw little point in constantly changing my address. The tenant kept my post for me and either myself or my representative collected it at the same time as the rent. I manage all my accounts on line anyway so dont really need to see paper bills etc.

My name ended up on the voters roll, although I have never put myself on it. I guess the solicitor gave them my name when i purchased the property?

A solicitor could not add you to the electoral register - that happens when you complete the annual canvass form sent to the householder at thatr address in September / October every year. The only other way to get onto the electoral register is to complete a registration form at any time of year to inform the council to add you to the register at an address you may have just moved into. If you know you did not complete a registration form you should visit your local council and ask to see the registration form they have - it should be scanned onto their electronic electoral register to support your name being entered at the address given.