British Gas warrant not in my name!

Ectophile

Bigberto1 wrote: »

Told the chap we’ll be working on the house, not living there. All he was interested in was getting me to sign into a contract for energy, I declined. Understood there would be a standing charge. Waited on correspondence in the form of a letter. Didn’t get anything.

I'm confused as to why you did that.


You should have either given them your details, and started a supply contract with them, or else asked them to attend and disconnect the supply.


Instead, you left it in a strange limbo where the standing charge was racking up, but nobody would take responsibility for the supply.


After several months of nobody taking any responsibility for the gas supply, they decided to get a warrant and force entry to fit a pre-payment meter.

Bigberto1

Warrant was for previous tenants debt for March 17 to match 18.
It was in previous tenants name.

First house and assumed that notification I gave was sufficient.

Again if I do accept the fact I am at fault is there anything I can do about the boiler being left on when it hasn’t been completed or signed off?

Thanks

Cardew

Bigberto1 wrote: »

Warrant was for previous tenants debt for March 17 to match 18.
It was in previous tenants name.

First house and assumed that notification I gave was sufficient.

Again if I do accept the fact I am at fault is there anything I can do about the boiler being left on when it hasn’t been completed or signed off?

Thanks

What do you want to happen about the boiler left on? If you make a formal complaint(when you accept you are a BG customer) after an investigation someone will get told off.


As stated above, when you first bought the house you should have contacted BG with your details and meter readings and sorted out how you intended to pay - BG check your credit rating. Then you could have instigated switching procedures - possibly to a company that have a zero daily standing charge for the period the house was being refurbished.


As I said in my previous post you need to get the question of any debt on the pre-pay meter sorted.


The previous occupant(the tenant) must have run up a considerable debt for BG to get a court order and a Pre-pay meter fitted. The pre-pay meter can be set to recover the debt at £x a week, and I suspect that has happened as you have been told that you cannot now move to another supplier as BG can veto any switch until the debt is cleared.


A further problem is that the cost of the court order and fitting of new meter, including locksmith fee, is usually added to the debt.


BG might well argue that some of the debt should remain on the prepay meter. Had you become a customer in July the court order and pre-pay meter would not have been required so that is your responsibility. Also you have the daily standing order responsibility from July to March; and they don't know how much gas you used in that period.


I suggest that you contact BG and 'talk nicely' and see what stance they will take on the debt. It won't help if your priority is to complain about the boiler being left on.; or repeating that you intend to leave BG asap.

D_M_E

Would suggest that you contact BG in writing and highlight the fact that they force fitted prepays - because of debt accrued by a previous occupier - long after you had taken occupation of the property, and without any contact to the current owner/occupier, and go from there.