Thank You!!

[Christoff]

Hello Everyone
Im looking for some help with a problem I have with British Gas. I moved out of my house in December 2006, I called British Gas with a final reading for the property, they said thank you we will send bill, etc. etc.... Which they did for £25.00. I called them and said "this cant be right" they said ok we will look into this and call you back.
Guess what they never did I just got another letter saying the bill was over due and pay now. I called them back explaining that the bill was way too low and they were supposed to be looking into it.The guy got a bit funny with me and told me that was what I had to pay and that was the final bill (Even though it said estimate on it) so I said "if I pay this bill this is the end of it" "YES" he replied.
Over a year later they send me a bill for £1600 YES £1600. saying pay now FINAL BILL. I almost dropped through the floor. and guess what this is still an estimated bill. I thought that was the end of my contract with British Gas. I called them explaining what had happened and they said "We'll look into it and call you back, which they did a week later saying they had not sorted this out and would get back to me.
This was 3 weeks ago I am now receiving letters demanding the money, threatening me with court action, which I dont want. After looking around on this and other forums is it true to say After July 2007 Gas companies cannot chase you for energy supplied which they did not bill you for, more than a year later.

Any Advice would be appreciated
Thanks

[AwakeNow]

Hello Christoff,

I'm just going through some sites on line atm on fuel bills and found this gem:
Gas supply
Quote:
'If a gas company has failed to send out a gas bill, they aren't allowed to bill you for any amount which dates back longer than a year.' Unquote.

Seems' to me that the final bill you got for £25 owing is the amount you should pay (as you received it within the time limit) as for the other bill, for £1600, which is estimated anyway and not the reading you kindly provided them at the time, is over the year payback limit - then you should report British Gas to the consumer organisation Energy Watch - link for the site follows:

energywatch: Site Map

I think if you explain the whole saga to them they will have a word in British Gas's ear to say something like - No!

At the same time do a strong letter of complaint to British Gas stating that you have tried very hard to resolve this dispute at the time of the move as well as for some time after yet British Gas failed to act until now, and as the issue has now become a debt collection with threat of court action you see no option but to make a compalint to the consumer watchdog as you feel British Gas are acting illegally in chasing a debt that is not proven i.e. not made from an actual reading but an estimated one and certainly not based on the reading you provided them with at the time - here is the address and info:

http://www.britishgas.co.uk/pdf/wearelistening.pdf

If • by web / email:
www.britishgas.co.uk/complaints
• by post: Complaints Management
Team, British Gas, PO Box 3054,
Eastbourne BN21 9FD.
If we are unable to resolve the problem,
write to Angela Mancini, Head of
Complaints at the following address:
British Gas, PO Box 1577,

Southampton, SO18 9EX.


This is just my opinion tho - hope it helps some.

: - )

[Christoff]

Thanks for the info. You just echo exactly what I thought. I paid the £25.00 i March 2007 as they suggested. Heard nothing then over a year later they sent me this bill. For gas supplied at Number 2 when infact I lived at number 1. I told them time and time again I lived at number 1 which they did nothing about. I called them over three weeks ago about this. "We will check whats happened and get back to you" Did they call me back NO instead they send a letter saying if i dont pay they will take legal action against me. What a joke. I would laugh if I thought they were joking too..

[pelham9]

THe British Gas Collection department seems to have a separate existence form all other departments. It is not uncommon for it to chase debts that are in dispute which is against regulator guidelines and though less common they will chase 'debts' that other parts of BG consider to be settled. It is as if their computer systems do not talk to the other systems.

Best way to deal with this is a complaint to Energywatch

[AwakeNow]

Hello again,

If this is a clear case of wrongful billing due to wrong address then you may have a good case to seek compensation.

Check your tenancy agreement to ensure that there was no agreement in place which states any of the utility bills had to be distributed between all the tenants – I hardly think this would be the case but just to be sure.

If there are separate gas and electric meters for each tenant then it would appear to be each tenant’s responsibility for their own bills.

After checking agreement etc, when you write to Energy Watch explain that this is a clear case of wrongful billing, giving them a copy of your tenancy agreement to prove address and no clauses, give them a copy of the final reading you took as well and ensure you have the approximate dates of all telephone calls you made to British Gas previously in regards to this matter to show you have attempted to sort out this complaint but to no avail.

Always keep copies of phone calls and letters – letters are easier to produce as hard evidence in case of a dispute than a note of a telephone conversation.

Once again the fact that British Gas are demanding payment of a bill that is over a year old without claiming it before, if it had been for your address, may have made their claim unsustainable in any event.

This is just my opinion tho and hope it helps : - )

[Christoff]

Hello AwakeNow
Number 1 where I lived was a detached house.
Number 2 was across the road and dont even have a gas supply!!!!

[AwakeNow]

Lol so how could they mix up the address? If it is wrongful billing, charge them!

[Christoff]

Hi Guys.
Just like to thank you people who gave me advice and input into the gas bill I received from British Gas. The bill was for £1600,00. I complained to the Energy Onbudsman, pointing out the bill was for gas supplied almost 18 months ago. To cut a long story short I now only owe them £300.00 and can pay over 3 months

[maroondevo52]

Originally Posted by Christoff

Just like to thank you people who gave me advice and input into the gas bill I received from British Gas.

That would be 'AwakeNow' and 'pelham9' nice one guys.

[Rooster-UK]

It's good to hear of successes.

[WottaSnap]

Originally Posted by Christoff

Hi Guys.
Just like to thank you people who gave me advice and input into the gas bill I received from British Gas. The bill was for £1600,00. I complained to the Energy Onbudsman, pointing out the bill was for gas supplied almost 18 months ago. To cut a long story short I now only owe them £300.00 and can pay over 3 months

Well done. Can they only chase you for so long for gas payment ?
Wotta x

[Bookworm]

2 thread merged so people can see the whole story.

Well done.

[Christoff]

Yes they can only chase you for 1 years gas, as i quickly discovered by using this great forum

[AwakeNow]

Originally Posted by Christoff

Yes they can only chase you for 1 years gas, as i quickly discovered by using this great forum

Yep if a bill is over a year old and they have not chased for that bill during that time, its a write off.

glad if anything I managed to find helped you and well done on the result.

: - )

[ozzywizard]

Its great to get a result