BW legal , Threating to taking me to court

Fr34k31

So, BW has sent me a notice to pay British gas bill of 1700 that I didn't use. I never was British gas customer before February this year. I lived in a room for a two three months that was above a shop. I used to pay 200 pound a month that included the rent and energy bills as well and I shared the room with another student. I was a student too. there was no rental agreement or anything. Its just we were asked to pay 200 each and we payed. I had no address so I put that address in my bank. after few month my credit file stated show an energy bill of 1700 pound that I never used. I don't know what to do really stressed about it. When I became customer with British gas I told them about this discrepancy to one of the customer agents but they never contacted me again. I dont know what to do and how to prove this. need help please I am really stressed.

Devongardener

You need to clarify the situation, have you received a detailed bill from BG which shows the property address, registered account holder, dates and units used?  If it doesn’t show your name you are not liable for the charges.     Who were you paying the £200 a month to?
Did your new account with BG start when the moved to your current property?
What have you actually received from the debt collection agency?

Scot_39

This sounds potentially nasty.

It seems likely you are potentially being pursued for someone else's debt - its unlikely your fair share would be anywhere near £1700 - even if you were liable - as I fear without any agreements - you might have trouble proving your rent covered your share. Although I suspect if push came to shove - and this was ever actioned and taken to arbitration / court - a judge / arbiter would probably side with you on the basis of reasonable probability.

How far along in the debt process are you - are you in the initial demand stages - or has it reached notice of court action ?

When you say paid £200 - was that cash in hand - to one of the other residents - so you were subletting from someone with a tenancy agreement - or was everyone paying to someone claiming to be the landlord in person etc - or was it paid electronically so you have some traceability ?

You really need proper advice on this - possibly even legal advice - but I'd probably be starting by contacting citizens advice or an energy debt charity.

UK debt law and tenancy law is complex.

BG have identified you - and possibly you alone - as liable for that £1700.

If it covers dates when you were not resident 

Your defenses might include proof of other addresses before and after - anything official - like you moved bank to this one - others ?

Council / govt / part time employers / university records - anything official addresses with dates ?

Anything that can corroborate your story will help.

HillStreetBlues

First step would be a "prove it" letter (have a Google).

Fr34k31

So ,No Devongardener said:

You need to clarify the situation, have you received a detailed bill from BG which shows the property address, registered account holder, dates and units used?  If it doesn’t show your name you are not liable for the charges.     Who were you paying the £200 a month to?
Did your new account with BG start when the moved to your current property?
What have you actually received from the debt collection agency?

No, I got a letter from BW legal not from BG. So, It was a guy who was probably renting or had a shop downstairs on lease I am not even sure, So I usually sent him rent through the bank transfer and also cash in hand once.
Yes, My account started with BG when I moved to current property. 

This is the Main body of what I have received:

Bd Legal

BW Legal

Important information about the claim

Estimated claim

Such legal action may result in you also being liable for Coun fees and solicitors orsts which are estimated below.

Principal Debt

£1,727.83

Estimated Interest

£0.00

Extinated Court Fees

€115.00

Estimated Solicitors' Coss

£80.00

Estintated Total

£1922.83

Enclosures

Enclosed with this letter are:

Infomation Sheet:

Reply Form:

a sheet explaining what to do next, including how to avoid Court action. a form to complete and return containing four sections. This can also be completel

Income and Expenditure Form:

directly on our Customer Portal by using the link myaccount.bwlegal.co.uk/help. registering your account and following the steps outlined under "Letter of Claim a form to complete and return to outline your financial circumstances. This can also be completed directly on our Customer Portal by using the link myaccount.owlegal.co.uk/help. registering your account and following the steps outlined under "Budget Planner".

What you need to do now

Payment of £1,727.83 or your reasons for non-payment are required by 14 September 2025 to avoid the above legal action. If you are wable to pay the balance in full, our client is willing to enter into a payment arrangement which is affordable for you talang into sccount your financiel circumstances.

llow to get in touch

Online

Manage your account on our Customer Portal at by using the link myaccount.bwiegal.co.uk/help-

You can complete your reply form and income and expenditure form directly on our Customer Portal Alternatively, you can upload your completed reply form and provide your income and expenditure details online. You can also make a payment, set up an affordable payment arrangement and speak to us

by webchat Call us today on 0113 4870430

By Phone

Via Website

By Post

Visit www.bwiegal.co.uk/customers

Complete and return the attached Reply Form to us at the address at the foot of this letter by 14 September 2025

Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims

This letter is being sent to you in accordance with the Civil Procedure Rules Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims, a link to which is contained on the foot of the enclosed information sheet. In particular, we refer you to paragraph 7, which sets out the expectations of the Court in terms of complying with the Protocol

Particulars of debt

On 01 March 2024 you entered into an agreement with British Gas Trading Ltd Vu British Gas to provide you with a Electricity account You failed to make payment in accordance with the terms of the account and it was later terminated. Despite Our client's attempts to engage with you and agree a suitable payment arrangement, there is a balance which remains unpaid.

Statement of account

The following summary statement shows the transactions applied to your account since it was passed to BW Legal:

Statement for the period to 15 August 2025

£1,727,83

Opening Balance

£0.00

Total Payments

£0.00

Total Adjustments

Fr34k31

bwlegal

my name

my current address

******

Our Reference: ******

Our Client's Ref. ********

Telephone: 0113 487 0430

You can contact us via our webform st

www.hwlegal.co.uk/customers

Calls are recorded for training and monitoring purposes

Letter of Claim

Dear *******

15 August 2025

Our Chent: British Gas Trading Ltd t/a British Gas

Balance Due. ******

Client Reference: ******

Energy Type: Electricity

Supply Period: 01 March 2024 to 07 April 2025

Supply Address: Address where I lived .

We have tried contacting you about the balance of ***** owed to our client British Gas Trading Ltd, which remains unpaid, offering solutions to repay the balance or asking you to contact us so we could work with you to avoid the need for legal action

Unfortunately, all our efforts have failed, and we now regret to inform you that if the balance remains unpaid, or we have not reached a solution regarding the balance with you before the expiry of this letter, we will have no option but to recommend that legal proceedings are issued on expiry of this letter to recover the balance which will mean additional legal costs & fees being added to the balance as set out in the Estimated Claim table.

Your case would only escalate to a County Court claim because you failed to pay the sun set out in this Letter of Claim or to reach a repayment solution with us by 14 September 2025. If you have a dispute about the balance, you should contact us before 14 September 2025 so we can assist you. This will prevent your case from proceeding to a County Court claim without further notice. Your prompt response in this regard is appreciated.

Paying the balance

We want to work with you and stop your case from proceeding to a County Court Claim. You can avoid legal action by making payment of the full balance by 14 September 2025. Simply visit our customer portal at portal.bwlegal.co.uk, where you can make payment in full or call us on 0113 487 0430. You can also chat with us at bwlegal.co.uk/customers or for alternative ways to make payment please see the reverse of this letter.

It is important that you call us to discuss an arrangement to pay the balance if you can't pay in full before 14 September 2025.

Next steps

Please note that this letter of claim expires on 14 September 2025, after which time your case will continue into our litigation process for the full current balance of ******

British Gas Trading Ltd t'a British Gas share information with credit reference agencies. If you don't pay your bills on time, it could lower your credit rating. This can make it harder for you to get credit. It can also mean lenders will give you higher interest rates or stricter rules for borrowing. You can learn more about how British Gas Trading Ltd t'a British Gas manage your credit file at britishgas.co.uk/termsandconditions.

Yours sincerely

BW Legal, Enterprise House, Apex View, Leeds. West Yorkshire. L51198H 1:01134870430 F: 03333700107 DX746921 Leeds 39

BW Legal is a trading stvie of BW Legal Services Limited which is a coinqiany registerest in England and Wales under Company Registration No. 07966978 Authorised and Regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority under No: 569773

Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in respect of consumer debt collection under Reg No: 619068

VAT Registration No: 975 854092

The CFTWWWSLOCUTE

QrizB

Fr34k31 said:

So ,No Devongardener said:

You need to clarify the situation, have you received a detailed bill from BG which shows the property address, registered account holder, dates and units used?  If it doesn’t show your name you are not liable for the charges.     Who were you paying the £200 a month to?
Did your new account with BG start when the moved to your current property?
What have you actually received from the debt collection agency?

No, I got a letter from BW legal not from BG. So, It was a guy who was probably renting or had a shop downstairs on lease I am not even sure, So I usually sent him rent through the bank transfer and also cash in hand once.

The problem you've got now is that, in law, BG can hold any resident of the property liable for the entire energy bill. BG have identified that you were living there while the bills weren't being paid, and so they're chasing you for the entire debt.

If you had a tenancy agreement it would set out who you were paying and what was included and you could use this to defend BGs claim. Because you don't, that particular avenue isn't open to you.

Have you sent the "prove it" ietter yet?

HillStreetBlues said:

First step would be a "prove it" letter (have a Google).

There's a template here as a sticky post on the Debt-Free Wannabe forum:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/debt-free-wannabe

In all honesty, the DFW forum might be a better place for this thread. We're energy geeks over here; if you need help dealing with debt collectors like BW Legal, you'd get better advice over there.