buchanan clark and wells chasing old British gas debt

[mickjo1]

hi all can someone give me some advice please.

i owed £257 to british gas i ask to go on a payment plan and i was told to pay £40 now and i would be sent a payment card out.then i got a final demand letter so i rang them i i was told that no agreement was made and the debt as been passed onto a debt collector.

i am now with northern electric and i cannot afford to pay both bills so i have offered bcw £5 per month and sent them a cheque for the first payment and i ask them to send me a payment card.

i have now got a letter from them saying that £5 per month is too little and that i should fill out a income and expenditure so there can work out how much i should pay them.any advice would be most grateful

[silverfox1961]

Hi,

Your priority debts take precedence over everything else.

BCW cannot demand an I&E from you. They also cannot dictate how much you should pay them. Only a judge can do that.

 

These letters are designed to intimidate-Don't fall for it

DO NOT ring them-EVER. They will say things on the phone that they would never dare do in writing.

 

If you are content with paying the £5 per month, carry on

[mickjo1]

thanks silverfox. should i write them a letter saying i can only pay them £5 per month or just pay the £5 every month

[silverfox1961]

TBH, I wouldn't waste my ink on them. Send em the monthly payment, not forgetting to put the reference number on the back of the cheque/PO

[mickjo1]

thanks silverfox for your help. i will just send them £5 every month.

 

kind regards

michael

[Guest Cartaphilus]

Agree with Silverfox. It's not really worth it getting wound up over a bunch like BCW.

[Revenant]

My problem with paying by cheque is . . .

 

Cheque = Name + Account number + Sort Code

 

Next thing you know a sneaky DD has been set up and your monies gone

 

As already said stuff the I & E but IMO I would put aside what you can aford and then try again to get a payment card/slips/book or ask for their details to set up a SO

 

Good luck

 

R

 

(Don't know who you're writing to at BCW but try this bloke . . Darren Carruthers, Quality Assurance Officer . . I'm not claiming he's brilliant but as he saw sence and backed my file to Lowell when insufficient paperwork was available he must at least have a pulse and one working braincell )

Edited September 10, 2010 by Revenant
Added comment

[Guest Cartaphilus]

Given the hassle you've had I'd pay them £1 let alone £5 a month.

[mickjo1]

thank you all for your help sorry ive took so long in replying.

i will demand another payment method a payment card or paying in book if their wont i will hold all payment until i get one.

regards

michael

[huggys boss]

Getting the bank details out of them is not too easy because they normally want yours so that they can set up a direct debit. Do not fall for it! They may say you can not pay by standing order, but you can!!!!!!

 

Be firm. Tell a white lie if you need to (this works as I have done it for my daughter twice!), ring them up and ask for their bank details so that you can set up a standing order. They will prob demand £10 a week or some other silly amount they know you can't afford and they will want it paying direct debit! This is where you stand firm, you agree to whatever silly amount they want so long as they give you their bank details to set up your standing order, then.................YOU work out how much you can pay and YOU set up the payment frequency and YOU specify the start and end date for the payments.

 

They won't be happy, and the letters won't stop, but if they do decide to take it to court at least the court will see that you have been paying, and if you explain to the court that that is all you can afford you should be ok.

 

So far, my daughters creditors/dca's have not threatened court, and have gone relatively quiet, finally accepting that they can't get blood out of a stone.

 

Watch out for payment cards/books/slips, these often incur a "handling" charge.

[mickjo1]

thanks huggys boss,i will give them a ring and ask to pay by standing order.i have sent them a cheque for my first payment so they will already have my bank details.if they do set up a dd without my knowledge surely they will be committing fraud as i would have had to sign the dd mandate.

regards

michael

[huggys boss]

Remember to dial 141 before you ring them. You will prob have to go through security with them before they will talk to you. They probably wont set up a DD, but just incase, let your bank know your worried about the possibility of it happening and tell them under no circumstances are they to allow a DD to them. They should flag your account.

[mickjo1]

thanks huggys boss will do that

regards

michael