British Gas - £6k Electricity Bill - HELP!!!

KANGD

To Kieth1950...

My father has passed away now so I cant get all the answers I may want .....I am sure i could have cleared this mess up without coming onto the forum if he was still alive....

If my father had put the bill i my name he would have told me...and yes had I known a bill had been put in my name don't you think I would have cleared the debt?...I certainly would not have let it run to £6k. That is why as per my orignal letter I am checking my phone records on the day the so called transfer of the bill into my name was made, so far there are no mobile phone calls made by me requesting the bill be put in my name. BG have clearly stated it was me who requested the bill be put in my name as there were no tennats in the property....having checked the tennacy agreements for that period there were tennants in the property!!! I am awaiting BT to confirm whether or not I made any calls to BG on the so called day. I am looking for help!!!!Not whether my late father was in denial...I am sure I am not the first person whose parents have bought investment properties for them at a young age of 10?

I have not denied that I may have to pay up based on the tennacy agreements.....but what does annoy me is the fact that I did not ask BG to put this bill in my name!!! This to me does not seem right...I had nothing to do with the properties until the month before my father passed away.....fact....



Thanks
KANGD

KANGD

PS thanks to everyone who has given me some really helpfull advice on this matter so far...

KANGD

rogerblack

I'd suggest seperately, a data protection request in the name of your fathers estate.

spiro

As the owner of the property and being liable for the utilities (due to tenancy agreement) the tenant could have phoned the supplier and said "I live here but the bills are included in the rent, my landlords name is Ms X" or "My name is Ms X (giving landlords name) and I have just moved into the property". The Supplier would then address bills to Ms X at that address.

Having copies of your BT and mobile bills will prove nothing, you could have phoned from any phone as far as the supplier is concerned.

mattcanary

Do you know whether the £6000 bill is accurate? BGas should be providing a breakdown of how the debt arose. Does that look correct? £6000 for a house is absolutely massive usage even if it accrued over several years. It may well be based on inaccurate readings? Maybe the meter had been previously vchanged and British Gas didn;t amend their records folowing this meter change?

Also, if you now have a prepayment meter there, the debt should have been set on the meter, meaning that a set amount is being paid off automatically each week. That is probably why the debt has now reduced to £5900 or so on British Gas' latest paperwork to you

Ben84

mattcanary wrote: »

Do you know whether the £6000 bill is accurate? BGas should be providing a breakdown of how the debt arose. Does that look correct? £6000 for a house is absolutely massive usage even if it accrued over several years. It may well be based on inaccurate readings? Maybe the meter had been previously vchanged and British Gas didn;t amend their records folowing this meter change?

Also, if you now have a prepayment meter there, the debt should have been set on the meter, meaning that a set amount is being paid off automatically each week. That is probably why the debt has now reduced to £5900 or so on British Gas' latest paperwork to you

For six years, I think £6,000 is realistic. We use about £1,000-£1,200 a year of gas and electric in our house. Our modern lifestyles with central heating, hot water on tap and electric devices such as vacuum cleaners and washing machines really do add up to a lot of kWh on the meters.

Ben84

spiro wrote: »

As the owner of the property and being liable for the utilities (due to tenancy agreement) the tenant could have phoned the supplier and said "I live here but the bills are included in the rent, my landlords name is Ms X" or "My name is Ms X (giving landlords name) and I have just moved into the property". The Supplier would then address bills to Ms X at that address.

Having copies of your BT and mobile bills will prove nothing, you could have phoned from any phone as far as the supplier is concerned.

That may be what happened, but would they have the right to simply transfer the account to someone like that? The other question, if this is the case, is why did BG keep supplying gas and electric for so long in such large quantities if nobody was paying for it? Something still doesn't seem right here.

bengasman

KANGD wrote: »

BG came back with a bill for £6k dating back from 2003-2009, and stated that the tenancy agreements did not state the tenants were liable for utilities there the landlord (me!!) is responsible for the account and the bill.

Typical BG nonsense. Only person liable for the bill is the one whose name is on the supply contract. They know this, so technically they are committing a criminal offense by claiming money from you.

KANGD wrote: »

I had a solicitor deal with this issue for me. He discovered that my name was only transfered on to the account in Nov 2006. of which I have no recollection of doing or asking!! He stated that I may have a case that 'any electricity used prior to Nov 2006 you are not laible for' .

Sack the lawyer, he is useless.
1. You don't have to pay a penny because you are not liable at all, because you did not take out a supply contract for the property.
2. If you were liable, you still only have to pay up to a maximum of one year from the moment they billed you.

KANGD wrote: »

2. The tenancy agreements which were all signed etc did not state the tenants were liable for utilities. This is true!!! Is this were my case is weak and I have to give in and cough up the £6K to BG??

Totally irrelevant. You don't have to cover yourself, they have to prove that you took out a supply contract. Which you didn't. End of story.

KANGD wrote: »

3. The period under dispute the late Mr (my father) was not documented as being responsible for the energy billshe was not named on the account during the period of dispute....very confused when back in May this year BG stated over a telephone converstaion he was that is why i contacted the solicitor dealing with his estate!!!

This is BG final position!!!

What case do I have? Please can someone help advise me....

1. Do NOT call BG any more, everything MUST be done in writing.
2. File an official complaint with them stating that you do not accept liability for the bill at all. Do not engage in any discussions about dates, amounts or obligations.
3. They will not accept your refusal and threaten you with court, bailiffs and doorstep collection. Don't worry about it; it is pure and total bluff. I've had a similar case myself and received dozens of threats of bailiffs taking possession of goods, forced entry in my absence, court costs, blah blah blah if I did not pay in full within 24 hours. Energy ombudsman asked them for an explanation, after which i got a letter from them offering a 70% reduction, no costs, no interest, and a convenient monthly 50 quid to pay the left over 30%. If that is their first real offer after the ombudsman did no more than ask what was happening, you can imagine that the real amount I have to pay in the end will be even lower after the case has officially been investigated.

Contact the complaints manager Andy Eley at that point and insist the complaint is escalated.
After that, the energy ombudsman can take over for you.

KANGD

Thanks all...will take action on the advice given.....esp the ombudsman....last post really really helpful...cheers

Just reading through them all now!!! and will add any further info requested...

Thanks so much all!!!!

KANGD

spiro

bengasman wrote: »

You don't have to cover yourself, they have to prove that you took out a supply contract.

You only need to switch on a light at a property and you will be in a deemed contract.

They will also argue that as the tenancy agreement did not state that utilites would be paid by the tenant then as soon as the tenant switch on a light then a contract existed with the landlord.