There could be a number of reasons; 1) You have already had too many failed payment schemes so you would crop up on a report (you are limited to 2), 2) You bank with someone who as you have failed a DD with the same originator code (the reference that they put so as to know which account the incoming DD relates to) the bank automatically cancel it. That's common, especially with Santander. Yes they are. They are a creditor for whom your benefits are supposed to be paid to as they are for priority bills. It's physically impossible that they are taking more than £3.55 a week towards the debt. I really cannot make it any clearer. They simply complete the application with your average usage, they do not get to specify the amount towards the arrears, it is set @ £3.55 a week this financial year, therefore I doubt your average usage is £80 a month, especially with a very inefficient back boiler in place. As I keep saying, they will not lower it as it is based on AVERAGE consumption. If they lowered it your debt would increase and so would their losses on your account. They are a business and have decided that your account is in such a mess they will take the hit and accept a measly £3.55 a week towards your debt but you are covering your ongoing usage (though that does get reassessed.) I do not work for the DWP but that sounds like a very foolish idea. Again, not a very good move. Part of what they look at on your application is your consistency and willingness to make payments so the fact that you have chosen to put yourself back into the debt process by cancelling an agreement that is in place to help people budget will be frowned upon. You are now viewed as 'can pay but will not pay'. Off the information that you have already posted on this thread you really don't have a hope in hell with that trust fund. It is for people in utter abject poverty, people who are trying to help themselves. It's not there for people who simply want their gas/electric bill to go away and pay nothing which is how you will now be viewed. I do not want you to think that's being rude, I am just trying to make you realise that you will be unsuccessful, people seem to think that they will get it automatically, out of the thousands of people that apply very few get it. Why not go for a pay as you go meter? That's what you are going to end up with at this rate, at least if you opt for it now they will fit it free, otherwise it's over £250 a meter if they fit it under warrant, so that's another £500 of debt. Plus you have your winter usage coming up, so you could quite easily be £2k+ in arrears by the time it's March. By cancelling the arrangement you had in place you have also further damaged your credit file as they report on the oldest part of the bill.

It's not possible to have 2 seperate payment scheme options on the same account, you cannot have a DD and Fuel Direct (where it's taken from benefits) at the same time. It's an either/or scenario but additional debit/credit card payments can be made etc.

So do you have seperate account numbers for each? That's the important part in this. Your account number will be 12 digits long and start with 8500. If you have seperate account numbers then £3.55 a week goes towards the gas and the same towards the electric in which case, assuming your consumption remains constant, you will be debt free in 113 weeks - 2 years, 2 months and 1 week. (800/7.10) Then your benefits will return to normal but you will need to make an arrangement for your ongoing usage from that stage. If however you only have 1 account number but get a combined bill (it will give a breakdown of usage for gas and electric still) then you will only be paying £3.55 a week. In principle it sounds like you have seperate account numbers if you have had the figure broken down into a per fuel basis. You have been told the correct information, BG will NOT lower it. You are paying back an £800 debt at frozen interest for over 2 years (though the right to charge you interest is stated in your T&C's) If they lowered it your debt (and their loss on your account) would increase. The DWP cannot alter the figure, they simple say yes/no when the application is made so they have deemed you can afford it. Your options to get out of it are to pay it off I'm full or to drop your usage so it's paid off quicker as it will cease once you are in credit because it's a debt only facility. P.S. Beware your usage doesn't increase, otherwise when it gets reassessed it will go up...

Yes, I note you are retro-spectively changing your story now from having bought a £450 TV to it having been a gift. Quite what 2 kids under the age of 2 need with a wall mounted 40" Samsung smart TV I do not know, especially if it means they are going cold instead? That was the sort of thing I was getting at about priority bills - water, utilities, food. Not mobiles, Internet, sky/cable etc. That's what benefits are for, not so you can run up £800 of arrears for those priority bills that you have used to supply your £450 TV. You won't find sympathy from me on that front. I think you are getting the wrong end of the stick somewhere and I suspect it relates to the fact you are talking about 2 different companies throughout this. Anything taken from your benefits is your average weekly usage + £3.55 per week (per fuel) so they CANNOT be taking £80 towards the debt, that isn't how the scheme works. Is it dual fuel you are on? If so, are you on combined billing or do you have seperate account numbers for both gas and electric? If your £80 usage is for both gas and electric then it is indeed below average, if it's just for gas it is above average and if it were for electric it would be more than double the average.

Did he, or did he not ask the following? 'does anyone know of way to get this amount lowered?' Have I or have I not offered 2 suggestions on how to lower the amount; 1) Lower the usage. 2) Apply for the trust fund (that can clear debt and you can only have payments taken from benefits if in arrears, just to clairfy). So to summise, yes I do think I have potentially helped the OP. Have you?

Again, you should also try reading what is posted. He asked how to get it lowered, I answered that. You didn't, you have nit-picked. He cannot differentiate between different companies. I should have added that he could apply for the 'British Gas Energy Trust Fund' (I cannot post the link as I am new). Maybe instead of lambasting my posts you could have done that? Nope, thought not... That's how it is simple...

I acknowledge that I may be oversimplifying the issue. As I state, I have not worked for the company in question but have worked for another 'big 6'. I would wager that it has gone down as a 'forced move out' on her account because someone else has taken on responsibility for the usage at the property and they haven't been informed that she has left. It would hardly be fair to keep a direct debit etc in place for someone elses usage would it? I suspect the reason it has taken 4/5 months for that to catch up is because they have had to trace her new whereabouts by other means. I say it from having worked for another 'Big 6'. The OP has stated that an agreement has been set up to start at a later date. If this had been a British Gas debt on a final account (one that is no longer active as she has left) then they would be told to deal with the debt collection agency as it cannot be recalled on a 'dead' account. Obviously, I do not know another companies policies but as the OP had stated that 'Any advice is appreciated' I thought I would post on the basis of having worked within the industry. I'm not a gambling man but I will bet that is the gist of it.

I have never worked for the company in question but have worked for another 'major 6' supplier. It seems fairly simple to me; Your Daughter didn't inform her energy provider that she had left the property and did not supply final readings for her usage. A new tenant/owner moved in and the provider in question had to set up an account for them. By virtue of the fact that someone else is admitting responsibility for the supply your Daughters account will have been nuked. She is still responsible for what was owed. (P.S. £65 a month for both is massively below the national average!)

Yes. Stop using as much energy. Simple. It is a payment that is taken at source for your average usage plus £3.55 per week towards your debt. Drop your usage and it will be paid off sooner as it cancels automatically once you are in credit. British Gas put in the application based on your average usage and your debt. The DWP make the decision about allowing it, they have obviously deemed you can afford it. Your benefits are supposed to be for priority bills. Benefits are meant to ensure an existance, not a way of life. British Gas/Severn Trent aren't the same company by the way...

Hello Wanda Pops. I used to work on the debt based team for British Gas. I suspect you are either misreading your letters or not posting the full facts. They go to court to obtain a warrant to force fit a pre-payment meter into your property, you can find details about their right to do so by googling 'Rights of Entry (Gas and Electricity Boards) Act 1954' (I am new so cannot hyperlink, sorry!) As it has reached the court date you will be charged for the fitment of the meter. You will have been sent a number of letters about action on your account already. You will have been offered a pre-payment meter to assist you. If you had taken that offer at the time it would have been free of charge. Now it has reached the court date you WILL be charged for that, it is added onto the balance on your meter. My advice would be to make sure that yourself or a friend/neighbour/relative is in the property when the engineer attends on the 20th, otherwise they will set the recovery rate (the amount taken each week towards your debt) at whatever they see fit, the 'typical' figure is done at an amount that is 1/26th of your balance. ie. If your debt is £260 (in energy arrears, not including the charges passed over for the court action, fitment of the meters etc) then the recovery rate would be set at £10 a week. In otherwords, if you put £20 a week on, £10 towards the debt, £10 for you to use as you see fit. The 'glue in the coin slot' is also a non-starter, it's a freephone number 0800 048 0404. That's free from a phone box/landline, I will confess that I do not know if an inbound only line can make free-phone calls though? I do not wish this to sound rude but British Gas offers help, that's why the trust fund is there (about £70M a year, it inadvertantly pushes up regular payers bills). That's why they offer to install pre-payment meters free before it gets too far gone. Your debt in terms of rent arrears isn't any of British Gas' business, just as any utility arrears aren't the concern of your landlord, they each just want their money if the truth be known. P.S. Your credit file will have been hit in a big way. P.P.S. Your application to the 'energy trust fund' would still be valid. If anything, it would be greatly improved by having a pre-payment meter as part of the qualifying criteria is that you are making some form of payment towards the debt. Something you have to do with a pre-payment meter. If you are successful, the balance is taken off the meter. Another thing, if you get dual fuel from British Gas they get a warrant for each fuel, so this action will only be about either your gas or electric. So, if this is about the gas and you also have arrears on the electric (or vice versa) then phone the above number ASAP as you can at least stop yourself from getting the charges for the fitment of the other meter if you opt for it before the court date - if you have to top up one meter, you may as well top them both up? I do not wish to sound harsh in my above post so I am sorry if you view it that way. I am just here to post facts. Pre-payment meters are honestly the best thing if you have arrears otherwise customers just destroy their credit rating for 6 years and there is a policy on the number of payment schemes a customer can have, so off what you have posted I suspect they wouldn't offer you another anyway? Chin up. This puts you in complete control from here on in, you don't need to get stressed out by debt action letters as once that meter is in it stops (assuming you don't move!). You will find your usage will drop too as it makes you energy conscious. You will have a meter exchange, not a complete shut off. A total lock down is only done in VERY extreme circumstances on a residential property - normally where fraud is involved. You may not like it but they have to have a policy. Everyone always promises to pay to prevent action, many when they haven't paid anything for months or years. Very few ever do, they are just chancing their arm for free energy. I can clearly tell that doesn't apply to you as this thread on here shows, it's just a misfortunate case of timescales. Regards, Climate.