Help Needed Please

jimbob123

hi i get my gas and electric off british gas, i did pay by direct debit but i had to close my bank account down and pay using payments cards. i got behind on my payments due to a change in circumstances, i recieved a letter of britsh gas asking for full payment which i havent got and they suggested to me that i go on pre payment meters and the debt will be on them, im worried that if i have meters in we wont be able to have enough monie to run them.
my partner is disabled and i have 2 children both under the age of 7. i was considering changing gas and electric supplier and asking british gas if we could pay them off weekly. not sure if this is a silly way of doing things but i am worried sick that we will be left cold in the winter. not sure what else to do any advice would be great

i owe gas £85.16
electric £170.63

magyar

If you're in debt to BG I think you do have to clear that debt before you can switch.

Firstly, you may be eligible for hardship grants to pay energy bills. Secondly or course there's always the boring stuff like making sure you put enough aside each week for fuel (should be £15 to 20-ish?) - that's only if you do end up on a card meter.

Do you mind me asking, how much debt are we talking about, and how much do you usually use on gas/electic?

jimbob123

magyar wrote: »

If you're in debt to BG I think you do have to clear that debt before you can switch.

Firstly, you may be eligible for hardship grants to pay energy bills. Secondly or course there's always the boring stuff like making sure you put enough aside each week for fuel (should be £15 to 20-ish?) - that's only if you do end up on a card meter.

Do you mind me asking, how much debt are we talking about, and how much do you usually use on gas/electic?

sorry i forgot to put amounts in

i owe

£170.63 for electric

£85.16 on my gas

i got a disconection letter for the 5th of november

magyar

OK that's not a huge amount, so I can't see why BG shouldn't give you time to pay.

I would suggest asking them if you can pay, say, £20 a week towards this bill whilst at the same time trying to save £20 a week towards the next bill when it comes.

If you can afford this, then I imagine they'll go for it. (But be honest, if you go down this route then you must stick to it, and make sure you save the money for the next bill)

By the way, if you partner is disabled then make sure you tell BG, their code of practice will be that they will not cut you off in the winter months.