Trouble with British Gas...

SwanJon

barnaby-bear wrote: »

BG will not be allowed (Although they can ask) to demand payment for fuel supplied more than 12 months ago (this cut off was bought in in July 2007).

Not quite right, otherwise we'd all just avoid paying bills for 12 months after we moved out.

This only covers if you haven't been billed, and it sounds here like the OP has, but he disagrees (with what sounds like justification) with it.

Phoenixuk_3

Hello People -
that was an interesting point reference the 12 month delay and us not being liable for payment. However the final bill appeared this week, we have paid in full their total amount, according to their records.
My other half paid up because he was fed up with all the waiting and the cost of phones calls we have made to them. I suppose because I have lost confidence with the accounts dept at BG - I did feel the final bill was excessive and also contained a cancellation fee, which might have been waived - but to get BG off our backs we have paid them so now we are free and I shall never recommend or go back to BG. That is my only consolation. Plus hopefully lots of people will read this and come to their own conclusions about BG.

Thank you all very much for your comments.

Phoenix

dander

That's very interesting about the 12 months thing. I have a similar problem to this with British Gas (only I gave up chasing them very quickly!) In that some months after changing suppliers (in Dec 2006) I got a range of final bills from British Gas, some saying i owed nothing at all, others saying I owed money. They finally seemed to settle on a figure of about £300, but the itemised charges on this bill only added up to about £250 so I couldn't understand where the £300 figure came from. After various toing and froing with call centre staff, they finally admitted they couldn't make any sense of it either and said it would be passed to a specialist team who would be in touch within 7 days. I have heard nothing from British Gas since then, April, 2007.

I did however get a letter from a debt collection agency last summer. I told them I hadn't actually had a sensible bill yet from British Gas, they checked with British Gas and sent me written confirmation that British Gas agreed that the bill was 'in dispute'. I still heard nothing from British Gas themselves.

I don't chase, I just wait for them to get round to them eventually - is there a point where they've missed the boat, and can no longer demand payment, or do I have to spend the rest of my life waiting?

Cardew

dander wrote: »

That's very interesting about the 12 months thing. I have a similar problem to this with British Gas (only I gave up chasing them very quickly!) In that some months after changing suppliers (in Dec 2006) I got a range of final bills from British Gas, some saying i owed nothing at all, others saying I owed money. They finally seemed to settle on a figure of about £300, but the itemised charges on this bill only added up to about £250 so I couldn't understand where the £300 figure came from. After various toing and froing with call centre staff, they finally admitted they couldn't make any sense of it either and said it would be passed to a specialist team who would be in touch within 7 days. I have heard nothing from British Gas since then, April, 2007.

I did however get a letter from a debt collection agency last summer. I told them I hadn't actually had a sensible bill yet from British Gas, they checked with British Gas and sent me written confirmation that British Gas agreed that the bill was 'in dispute'. I still heard nothing from British Gas themselves.

I don't chase, I just wait for them to get round to them eventually - is there a point where they've missed the boat, and can no longer demand payment, or do I have to spend the rest of my life waiting?

The 12 month ruling only applies if you have not had a bill at all - so not in your case.

Your case is now simply covered under Civil law. You have received a bill, and despite disputing it, BG have to take steps to recover that money and they have already started the procedure.

Despite your letter from the DCA I would still check your credit reference; these dreadful firms have a standard procedure.

dander

Ah, well, I shall just keep waiting then.

Actually the debt collection firm were about the best part of it, very easy to deal with and efficient, and as promised, my credit file is clear (I was worried about that part so checked).

csorrell

Hi, I also have a problem with BG if anyone can help... would this apply to the 12 month cut off?

In June 2007 we received a final invoice from British Gas for our electric as we changed supplier. Unfortunately we owed money for the Gas supply so had to keep this one going. We received a final bill of around £35 from British Gas for the electric. We continued paying the excess for Gas until June 2008 and immediately switched suppliers to a fixed rate till 2009 jobby.

A few days after cancelling with British Gas for gas we received ANOTHER final invoice for electric (not gas as we were now in credit with gas payments) for the months up to June (it was made out exactly as the original final invoice for electric) but this one was for £175 :mad: ! Are British Gas allowed to do this? We have already paid them off a year ago and received a final invoice for the months stated, so surely all dealings with them are done. Secondly £175+£35 is ludicrously high as we only use gas for cooking and very partial heating and only two of us live in the house :eek:. The bill says this is an estimated reading so we can get this reduced, but should we have to pay this bill at all, and how can we let them know what our reading was in June 2008!

Any help would be MUCH appreciated, I'm sick to the back teeth of being let down by companies, it just isn't on.

If I don't make any sense, please let me know and I will be in touch.

Thank you!!! :beer:

SwanJon

It looks like this is getting to you as you are talking about an electricity bill and comparing it to your gas consumption.

The read that BG will have used to close your account down is the same your new supplier will have used to open your account with them.
It is possible that your new supplier oringinally estimated the switch read, and has now had a more accurate read and asked BG to change the switch read.

Did you take the read on the day you switched? Do you still have it?
Does the BG read match the new supplier opening read?
Do you have anything to suggest that the estimeated read is wrong?

You could try speaking to your current supplier to see if they have the same read. If they do, and you get BG to change theier closing read, your new supplier will need to change their openeing read too.

This wouldn't be covered under the 12 month rule as you have already been billed (& paid) for the time in question. The dispute now is about the read they have used.