British gas payment plan too high :(

dawn78

hi i have messed up on previous payment plans with BG and they have now done me another one through me writing a letter to beg as didnt matter how many times i asked they wouldnt help, well they have decided i can have one now, but the payment plan offered to me is huge and once pay that i dont have no money for usual things like clothes, fuel for my car, and insurance etc!! so i cant live on this payment plan, for gas i have to pay 27 a wk and electric 30!!

so that is 57 a wk, which is almost half of my weekly incomings

can i do something to make it better for me? like could i pay what i can and let them take me to court and get courts to make it fair, or do i have to pay this amount, i owe about 300 and 350 on each.

Conor_3

Letting it get to court is one way but there's no guarantee they won't cut you off. Another option is to move suppliers. Being in debt to one doesn't exclude you from being able to move and it means they'd have to recover the debt by the usual means and you'd not have the threat of disconnection hanging over you.

dawn78

i tried to change but no other supplier will swap unless debt paid, they said they cant till it paid off :S?

i dont mind paying about 15 each but 27 and 30 i think is a bit steep, and not getting rid of my car just to pay them lol, do want to bring the debt down but once i pay them there is 3 quid a wk left and that doesnt include car insurance etc

dawn78

from what i heard before if i am paying something then court wont cut me off they get bg to give you a reasonable payment plan, i was told if you paying nothing they can cut you off, but if you have kids it something they dont really allow. but unsure, i dont want to stop paying, but just cant live on paying them close to 60 a wk when i only get 140 a wk to pay everything else too

Cardew

There have been lots of threads on this subject.

They normally will 'force' you to have pre-payment meters and then set the meters to recover the debt at the rate they wish.

They do of course have the option of simply cutting you off; although that is a last resort.

dawn78

is there any companys you can change too while owing money to who i am with as i have found none so far?

i think british gas should make you pay what you owe but at least keep it realistic, i may write another letter and see if they will reduce it but they probably wont bother lol

Cardew

Conor wrote: »

Another option is to move suppliers. Being in debt to one doesn't exclude you from being able to move and it means they'd have to recover the debt by the usual means and you'd not have the threat of disconnection hanging over you.

This is not an option; they will 'block' the move.

Under the legislation, the losing company(BG) can, and normally will, prevent you from moving to any other company until your account is cleared.

If you were allowed to change supplier whilst in debt, some people would move from supplier to supplier having run up debts for £hundreds and the losing company would have to 'whistle' for their money.

Joyful

Cardew is right. Your move to another supplier would be blocked.
Sounds to me like you are using a lot of energy as they will be charging you £25 per month over a year for your £300 debt so that means you are using over £75 for the Gas alone. This might be OK as an average but as this includes the Summer months I think you need energy efficiency advice.

If you let it go to court you will end up with hundreds of pounds more added to your debt. Perhaps you should accept a prepayment meter which would force you to monitor your usage. Since the latest price rise someone I know is checking her meter daily and finding which things are running away with the credit on her PP meter. This way she can change her habits and save money and energy.

dawn78

no i dont use much gas and electric but they are charging me this amount so i can get debt of 300 each paid off within 30 wks and also to cover my bill that would be due, but i really cant pay that much i just sat and worked out money and paying them that huge amount leaves me 6quid to pay other things, like kids clothing car insurance and tax etc:S

dawn78

i had a payment plan of 10 and 15 a wk, but they sent me a letter sayin u are behind with payments please bring payments up to date within 7 days, i paid the day i had letter but they cancelled plan, but now offer me this 27 a wk and 30 a wk :S

Joyful

I would suggest you get a prepayment meter then. If you are on benefits they can set it as low as £3 per week to recover any balance.