Help! Br Gas falsely tells LL I've left property!

lingyai

... and they won't communicate with me! This is screwing up my relationship with my landlord (whom I've always paid on time); and it's also just outlandish in its own right.

Background: I've been in a dispute with British Gas ("BG") over an excessive power bill. Long story short, they came out in January to check the meter (9 months after first promising to do so; but that's another story); they found that the meter is indeed faulty (running too fast); and on 14 Feb, in their latest communication to me, the BG complaint handler emailed to ask if they could come around on 26 Feb to replace the faulty meter. So far, fine.

However -- out of the blue, my landlord has received a letter from BG dated the same day, 14 Feb,. stating that I've left the property and putting the account in his name; and then they sent him a bill for alleged January electricity usage ( I say alleged because it's based on the meter they say is faulty).

This is **completely surreal** . I have not left the property, have not thought about doing so, or indicated to anyone anything about leaving it! It's 100% fiction. If my "minder" -- a "Stage 3" complaint handler -- is asking me on 14 Feb that I be at the property on 26 Feb, then BG *knows* I'm still here.

But try telling that to the rest of BG. I also noticed when I called them that it doesn't recognise my account reference number. The only thing I can imagine is that someone pressed the "delete" button on my account, or some other kind of IT snafu.

Now, this is not the first time BG has stumbled badly (prior to this, three times now over the 9 months I have been assured by the complaints handler that my account is on hold, only to receive, at the same time, threatening letters, demanding full payment, from the collections department / their debt collection agency, Richburns; once threatening to install a pay as you go gas meter ... for a flat which doesn't use gas, and is not supplied with gas... go figure). Each time, the Extra Help Unit at the Citizens Advice Bureau has been very good, intervening on my behalf and getting them to back down. So I am kind of used to how BG works.

This time, however, their bungling can cause me real harm, as opposed to just annoyance. Two months before my tenancy is up for renewal, they are creating a headache for my landlord, who is not the kind who likes any kind of issues, and he could well decide, however unfairly, not to renew, and give me a bad reference, and then I'm stuffed, looking for a new place with an implausible story to explain. Anyway, I don't want to move at all. I've explained in emails to him what is happening (even sending him the 14 Feb BG email to me) but he is silent. He just wants this resolved ASAP (understandably; he's being asked to pay a bill by 1 March), and I'm not sure he even believes me -- it is, after all, a pretty wild (but true) tale. I've assured him he will not be disadvantaged, and that if need be I'll pay the bill by the time it's due, and then try to claw the money back on my own; though I really don't want to do that.

So this is very timely; the Ombudsman etc. is for after-the fact remedies (if any), whereas I need them to admit to their error, and retract their demand to the landlord for payment, right now!

So this week I called BG; the front line phone person doesn't know what's going on. I've also emailed my BG complaints Stage 3 "minder" twice since Monday; radio silence from her. My contact at the Citizens Advice Bureau has also been calling BG, but is not reaching anyone who says they can help, and is not being called back as requested.

How can they act so badly, with such a sense of impunity? It's like being sat upon by a blind, deaf hippo who doesn't even know he's sat on you. BG is quick to err, slow to remedy, and just painful to deal with.

What can I do -- fast -- to get BG to realize its mistake and fix it -- making it clear to the landlord that they erred to say I'd left / put the account in his name ?

Any practical, on-point advice would be much appreciated.

CashStrapped

There is clearly some form of dispute still ongoing.

Unfortunately, in these situations it is advisable, however difficult, to stick to and present the facts as best you can.

This should be done, at this stage, in the form of a letter headed complaint.

You need to detail, concisely, the original issue, how it manifested itself, the confirmation that the issue was due to a faulty meter and the resolution you wish.

At this stage, I would not make any unnecessary demands, compensation etc, (or at least not a large amount). Just get the issue resolved and closed.

Try to avoid over emotional arguments. Just keep it simple and to one page.

Ask for a response in writing and send it by recorded delivery.

Try to find the name of the head of customer services and address it to them personally.

But keep the letter clear and simple if you want a fast resolution.

---

The key is that you get a written response you can show to your landlord.

The issue with doing everything informally over the phone is that you can get passed from pillar to post with no paper trail. Quite often your complaint is never logged as a formal complaint, so they do not have to abide by the timescales that determine when it should be resolved.

So, simple clear letter stating, original problem, confirmation that the fault was due to the meter, and the resolution (i.e retraction of the outstanding bill) you want asap.

If this does not get a conclusion within the allotted timescales, then the ombudsman may be your only recourse. But, you need something in writing to show your landlord.

Once that is resolved. Then you can make a further complaint about the mess as a whole.