British Gas Debts

notyet

Hi all.

Bit concerned over latest bill and wondered if you can help me see woods for the trees!

Have received a bill for £583 following a default on DD payments. Tried explaining to British Gas that salary is paid to me 4 weekly, so available funds were not there on the date they applied, but also I had requested payment date of 7th of the month and they applied on 3rd. They didnt want to know, just said I should have made sure money was there. (Do these people not understand home budgeting?!) They refused to allow another DD agreement as it defaulted twice in 12 months.

They also advised it was being passed to Collection Agency. I asked if I could make regular payments via Debit Card as and when I could afford to clear the bill, at a rate of £150 per month (£100 first and £50 2 weeks later) Was advised this would be ok, but they couldnt stop the Agency contacting me as they already passed my 'file' over, but would let them know I paid.

On 3rd August I paid over £100 to Br Gas, but on 17th Aug, Richburns Ltd posted a letter to me to say they had visited (ive not seen them) to discuss payment/cut me off. Their letter shows the full £583 owing, plus a charge of £54 for visit. I've had no other contact from this company, no calls, just this letter that says they want to apply to the court.

Spoken to Richburns this morning and they said theyre going to apply for Warrant of Entry and suggested i have a pay as you go meter fitted to clear this bill at £6 per week.

Can anyone tell me what i should do next?

steph100

When any company applies for a direct debit they have to apply about three days before the payment is due, sometimes more if there is a bank holiday or weekend. However, the payment doesnt actually leave your account until the date that you agreed on, so its unlikely that funds were unavailable on the date you agreed with them.

I would contact their complaints department, you can find the number on their website, explain the situation to them and let them know what you can do to pay of the amount owed. Check the bill is correct and that an actual meter reading has been used to calculate the bill to ensure your not overpaying. You should find the complaints team will be able to reset a payment scheme for you, however, if your paid 4 weekly, direct debit may not be suitable for you as no matter what date you pick there will be times when that date will fall just before payday and the plan could fail again. You may wish to consider paying by payment card on a fortnightly or monthly basis, to give you a bit more control and to avoid any bank charges. Only problem with this is you will lose your direct debit discount. Hope this helps.

Terrylw1

They could spread the debt over 12 months without fitting a PPM. This prevents you falling into the trap of being charged for changing back later. Then if you don't stick to it, the collections process starts again and the PPM will be the next likely action.

You need to resolve this now as warrants mean warrant charges.