British Gas - Need Advice on Billing situation

rich24uk

OK so I moved house in August last year. At the time I supplied them with final meter readings and was told that I would recieve a final bill within 14-21 days...

Final bill arrived this week, 10 months later for a whopping 393.22! I have written to them asking why it took so long, twice. All they will say is that I should contact their collections Department to arrange payment.

I feel really hard done by, at the time of moving we were told we had a credit on the account, and this was refunded back to us now 10 months later they are wanting more money and cannot seem to explain why it took so long.

Do I have grounds to escalate this further? I really cannot afford to make such a payment at the moment.

Premier_2

Suppliers are allowed to 'back-bill' customers for up to 1 year if no bill is issued and it was the fault of the supplier. If not the fault of the supplier this restriction does not apply.

Best to call and speak with them. You probably owe them the money unless you dispute you actually consumed what they have charged you for. If you speak to them nicely, they might offer some form of discount because of the delay, but don't expect much - typically about £20. Since you don't seem to be their customer anymore, there is little incentive for them to provide any discount.

Think of it this way, you've had an interest free loan of almost £400 for almost a year!