British Gas/Debt Collection

studentsaver166

Hello all,

I'm not sure if I'm posting this in the right place or not, but would very much appreciate some MSE wisdom.

My housemate and I have a debt with British Gas from a former property and had a monthly payment plan set up. Today I called to make a payment and was told that the account had been passed to a debt collection agency (without any sort of notification being sent to us) because the last payment was £2.00 short. My housemate made the payment and said it was just a mistake. I think it's despicable that their protocol is to immediately refer to the debt collectors in this instance without even attempting to contact the customer first, but that's a rant I've just had down the phone at them and apparently there is sweet FA I can do about that.

My question is this; what effect does this have on my credit record? They tell me that if I cannot pay the balance in full now (which I can't) then it will, indeed, affect my credit record. I'm 25 with no other debt, no credit cards, no mortgage, nothing. I am totally clueless about credit records and what impact this could potentially have in the future. Could anyone advise?

MK55

studentsaver166 wrote: »

Hello all,

My housemate and I have a debt with British Gas from a former property and had a monthly payment plan set up. Today I called to make a payment and was told that the account had been passed to a debt collection agency (without any sort of notification being sent to us) because the last payment was £2.00 short. My housemate made the payment and said it was just a mistake.

Hey,

My understanding is that, when you set up the payment plan you was at a certain step, lets say step 2 of a debt procedure. Your payment plan put this on hold as you was paying. When you stop paying or pay less than required it then goes to step 3 which in your case was a Debt collection agency. You could try explaining nicely it was a genuine mistake... this often gets you further than shouting at people on the phone.

If they affect your credit rating, it will have an affect for 6 years on all future credit applications.

studentsaver166

Thank you for the information, that's very helpful. The condescension is perhaps a little unnecessary though.

MK55

studentsaver166 wrote: »

Thank you for the information, that's very helpful. The condescension is perhaps a little unnecessary though.

sorry didn't meant it to come across that way, just wanted to make it clear that it gets you further being nice in my opinion.

studentsaver166

I couldn't agree more. The lady I spoke to was actually very kind and helpful and it wasn't until she passed me through to her colleague who was rude and patronising, that I felt the need to vent.

McKneff

OP, youre reply to MK55 was rude and unneccasary,they took the time and trouble to help you and all you do is chuck it back in their face.

if you had the same attitude to the person you were put through to then it doesnt surprise me that they were rude and patronising and there was absolutely no need for MK to apologise to you. It should be you who is doing the apologising.

studentsaver166

Sometimes the vitriol I come across in these forums really surprises me. It's the main reason I rarely post anything. To be clear though; thank you MK55 for responding to my query. I had no idea about the 6 year effect on the credit rating. That was the key piece of information I really needed and I'm very grateful that you took the time to let me know. If you feel that my response was rude, then I apologise. Not my intention at all.

C_Mababejive

Maybe it would be possible to get a loan from somewhere institution/friend/parent and clear it off or could they put a card meter in your current property and sort it that way?

studentsaver166

Thank you for the suggestions C_Mababejive (also, love the name!). That's actually what I ended up doing as I couldn't stomach the thought of a 6 year mark on my record for something so silly. My parents were kind enough to loan me the money and are much more lenient about their debt procedures!

Cardew

I am afraid you were a victim of 'The Computer'.

With some 20 million accounts, the computer makes 'decisions' without human intervention.

I suspect if you paid a penny too little, or paid nothing, you are automatically moved to the next stage in dealing with 'defaulting debtors'

studentsaver166

Yes, it would seem so! The strange thing is that when my housemate made the payment, she did it on the phone to a real live human being who didn't say anything about the payment being too little. That was the most frustrating thing. At least we are finally rid of them now.