British Gas Nightmare

art2000

My relative has gone in to a care home and I have been sorting out any bills to settle up before the property is sold.

I have discovered that they changed electricity supplier in 2022 to British Gas and yet have never received a bill. Several phone calls and live chat sessions have thrown some light on what has been happening. The account is in another unrelated name and the correspondence address is another part of the country.

British Gas seem to think that they or the previous provider have made this error and I understand their legal department have been sending letters/demands to this unrelated name and address. This has probably increased the bill which runs into the thousands of pounds.

They won't deal with me further because of the account holder name and I am sick with worry on how to resolve this issue.

Woodstok2000

Log a complaint with BG formally. Advise them of the correct details for the account, and ask them to sort it out. Assuming the errors are on their side, back billing rules may come into play and limit your relatives liability.

elsien

Does your relative have capacity to agree to you managing this on their behalf, or do if not do you have power-of-attorney for them? Just wondering if that is one of the potential sticking points.

Green_hopeful

i did a DSAR for the occupant in a similar situation. The DSAR is irrelevant but it seems to get the attention of humans. In our case the landlord had switched the property without telling us and six months later we were getting bills for random amounts based on estimated readings. In the end the bills were waived shortly after the DSAR request.