Utility company wanting a heft deposit

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FixitM
FixitM Posts: 172 Forumite
in Bankruptcy & living with it
Hello. I wonder if any of you have experienced this? We are both (myself and my husband) bankrupt, and had a letter today from the utility company wanting a deposit of over £1000 to continue to provide electricity and gas to us. They had said they wouldn't cut us off, as there were children under the age of 16 living here. We obviously can't afford to pay this deposit, so can we move to another provider, or is that out of the question when you are BR?

Thanks in advance.

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  • Peter333
    Peter333 Posts: 2,035 Forumite
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    FixitM wrote: »
    Hello. I wonder if any of you have experienced this? We are both (myself and my husband) bankrupt, and had a letter today from the utility company wanting a deposit of over £1000 to continue to provide electricity and gas to us. They had said they wouldn't cut us off, as there were children under the age of 16 living here. We obviously can't afford to pay this deposit, so can we move to another provider, or is that out of the question when you are BR?

    Thanks in advance.

    :eek: WHAAAAAAT?

    What utility company?

    Why should they want anything from you if you're not in debt to them? (I presume you're not?)

    How did they even know?

    Sounds odd.
    You didn't, did you? :rotfl::rotfl:
  • forgotmyname
    forgotmyname Posts: 32,552 Forumite
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    Guessing the utility company were part of the bankruptcy?

    Move to a payment meter instead?
    Censorship Reigns Supreme in Troll City...

  • FixitM
    FixitM Posts: 172 Forumite
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    Thanks for your replies. Yes, they were part of the bankruptcy. The weird thing is they did put in a prepayment meter for gas, but can't for electricity as it's too high up (they have been out and assessed it). So can we move to another provider, or does bankruptcy not allow this? Thanks.
  • NotEvanAPot
    NotEvanAPot Posts: 216 Forumite
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    That's hugely excessive!

    Get the below points on an official complaint to them immediately:

    1. What is the rate for pre-payment on gas account, does it include any pre-BR debt?

    2. Reasoning for deposit amount. They cannot cite bankruptcy debt as a factor in making such a demand - the accounts included in BR will have been closed on BR date, if not then you must demand a reason why they have supplied false information to OR (for any creditor to potentially receive a payment from recovered assets/funds, the account must be closed either on the date of BR, or retrospectively, when the creditor responds to the OR notice of inclusion).

    3. Their release timescale - if you started a switch request, what would they delay on (is there any post-BR debt to clear?)

    This may need to go in writing straight away so that you can escalate to OFGEM if needed, they will tell you over the phone. They will have an internal policy on timeframe for dealing with complaints before you can take it to regulator.
  • ukamber1
    ukamber1 Posts: 129 Forumite
    edited 18 October 2016 at 8:11AM
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    FixitM wrote: »
    Hello. I wonder if any of you have experienced this? We are both (myself and my husband) bankrupt, and had a letter today from the utility company wanting a deposit of over £1000 to continue to provide electricity and gas to us. They had said they wouldn't cut us off, as there were children under the age of 16 living here. We obviously can't afford to pay this deposit, so can we move to another provider, or is that out of the question when you are BR?

    Thanks in advance.

    Hi,

    WOW...never heard of that before! I'm no expert but didnt even think they are allowed to do it. Yes you can move provider and I'd move right away, as current provider doesnt sound like they willing to work with you on this situation. I rented 4 different properties during the time I was bankrupt (used EDF and Eon) and didnt have any issues with the bankruptcy on my credit file, so I dont think you'd have any problems moving to another provider, if thats want you wanted to do......Good luck
  • silvercar
    silvercar Posts: 46,965 Ambassador
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    If they have said they aren't going to cut you off, i would just reply that you are not in a position to provide a deposit.
    I'm a Forum Ambassador on The Coronavirus Boards as well as the housing, mortgages and student money saving boards. I volunteer to help get your forum questions answered and keep the forum running smoothly. Forum Ambassadors are not moderators and don't read every post. If you spot an illegal or inappropriate post then please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com (it's not part of my role to deal with this). Any views are mine and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.com.
  • TheGardener
    TheGardener Posts: 3,303 Forumite
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    edited 18 October 2016 at 7:48PM
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    Outrageous. There is nothing stopping you switching provider - however, the other providers may insist on a prepayment meter or decline to accept your switch. Which company is asking you for this?
    Are you currently paying by DD? If so I would continue to pay at the agreed rate and ensure you don't fall behind in your fuel payments again. As others have said, tell them you don't have £1000 and if you did - the OR would be getting it not the power company! If you paid the supplier (who was included in your BR) £1000 I suspect it would be considered a 'preferential' creditor issue. Ask the OR what they think of this.
    Try one of the larger mainstream power providers
  • alltaken
    alltaken Posts: 452 Forumite
    edited 19 October 2016 at 8:09AM
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    I'm not sure if this helps:

    Npower were one of my debts at over £900. I was with British Gas at the time of bankruptcy, no problems until I moved, British Gas then refused to supply on credit without a £150 deposit per fuel, due to the bankruptcy, fair enough.

    I phoned Npower and to my absolute amazement they supplied on credit (Quarterly Direct Debit) and I've been fine since. I'm not saying this is proof of acceptance for bankrupts, but it does go to show that you have options and shouldn't stay with the supplier that demands money for energy, albeit not forcing but still dubious that they expect £1000 from a bankrupt.
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