Being automatically swapped to new gas provider

midnightvelvet

A friend of mine was £478 in credit with her gas provider when they went bust.  She was told that her credit would be returned to her eventually and automatically swapped to her to British Gas.
British Gas are asking for £345 up front before connecting her, which obviously is a  lot of money for anyone but possibly more so for pensioners.  Can British Gas do this when they have no history of debt?

stewie_griffin

This doesn't sound right. Who was her old supplier?

[Deleted User]

I always worry when people quote high credit amounts as it suggests that previous bills may have been based on estimated readings. A debit/credit balance is only valid if it is based on an actual meter reading and then just for one day only. That said, when a supplier goes bust the SoLR process is designed to ensure continuity of supply. BG has no choice but to ‘connect’ the customers that they gain. 

The OP needs to check the transfer reading that has been used to close the account with the failed supplier. The reading should be the same as that used to open the SoLR account. A debit/credit balance will have transferred across to the SoLR. 

A possible reason for BG’s actions is that it has carried out a credit check. If the credit amount on transfer is very low, then it may want a deposit which will enable it to set up a credit meter supply account.

Keu

midnightvelvet said:

A friend of mine was £478 in credit with her gas provider when they went bust.  She was told that her credit would be returned to her eventually and automatically swapped to her to British Gas.
British Gas are asking for £345 up front before connecting her, which obviously is a  lot of money for anyone but possibly more so for pensioners.  Can British Gas do this when they have no history of debt?

I certainly would not tolerate it, she can do a subject access request for the actual usage, she can tell them that she is a low energy user and propose a 3 month review.  Otherwise just refuse saying I have a credit and I will pay nothing until that credit has been transferred, I propose we wait 3 months to see my usage and agree a Direct Debit at that point. If they disagree ask that complaint be reviewed by ombudsman which will cost British Gas £300, that is likely to make them back down.