hi dicklett, firstly sorry to hear about the idiots at british gas can you tell me is your sister on any benefits other than the child benefits for the two under 16's. the reason i ask is that the goverment have a thing called a third party agreement form. you fill it out and they contact the utliltey companies on her behalf and they use the hardship legislation, amongst other things to agree an amount but your sister will have to agree it as well. it just stops the likes of british gas asking for what ever they want. my friend used it for a £1200.00 water bill and she never heard from them again.(the benefit lot do all the work) so if she is on benefits then they can help. if not i do believe there are charities on line that will help pay off the bill (on a one time only) as long as you can show that you are fallen on hard times. i will try to find some of the charities for you. how long is the bill oustanding for i know british gas can be a right pain in the A*** i have a dispute with them myself at the moment. get back to you