BG and LCS. Being asked to pay for someone else's gas or face legal proceedings. Need advice.

[rod220]

Ok, so I moved into an empty property with a few other people in Sept 2009.

 

One of the tenants I moved in with sorted out all the bills. He opened a new account with british gas in his name only, for the first couple of months (up till Nov 2009), then closed the account with BG and changed us to npower for which we payed a direct debit.

 

I moved out a year later, in Sept 2010, whilst the person who organised the bills stayed in that property. He therefore decided to open a new account with npower for him and the new tenants. At this point he found out npower never succesfully took over the gas and we had been paying them a direct debit for nothing. Npower refunded us, he opened a new account (sticking with BG this time), and we intended to pay british gas the money we were refunded from npower for the period between November 2009-Sept 2010.

 

Contacting BG sort of slipped our minds... and 4-5 months after this... LCS (their debt recovery agency of choice) send a letter to my new property... informing me that they had tracked me down through the electoral register or something of the sort. And they believe that I was living in the previous property from Sept 2008 (not 2009) through to Sept 2010. And therefore I personally owed them £900 for 2 years of apparently unpaid gas (presumably the tenants previous to us didn't pay their bills).

 

I contacted LCS, and explained the situation... that I wasn't even in the property in 2008. They first suggested that they split the bill in half, then. I said we had paid between Sept 2009 and Nov 2009, and had meter readings, so no: we should be able to work out the exact sum. They asked for copies of the meter readings, said they would contact BG, and I assumed everything would sort itself out.

 

Last week they contacted me to tell me that I needed to speak to british gas personally, for them to amend the bill.

 

I have since done so... British Gas were utterly confused about the situation (the gentleman on the phone was very nice and had to put me on hold a few times to speak to people in different departments). Finally, they and asked me to send the meter readings, etc. in the mail so they could inform LCS... no news yet.

 

A couple of days ago, LCS contacted me once again, with an offer of settlement with 20% discount, and a threat of instigating legal proceedings within 10 days if I don't take the settlement.

 

I've called them... they said they will put a note that I am disputing the bill with british gas, but that they can't put a hold on any legal proceedings. I should pay if I want it to go away. Seems to me like scare tactics.

 

I'm obviously not going to pay for someone else's gas usage for an entire year. However I am obviously still in the wrong for not having paid for the 10 month period we thought we were with npower.

 

Should I be worried? It appears to me that they don't have any concrete evidence that I lived in that property at any time whatsoever, my name's not even on any of the accounts we opened. Should I ignore them, and just sit tight and wait till BG corrected bills trickle down to them and agree to pay the 300-400 we'll owe them? Are they even allowed to sue me personally for gas used in 2008 (by someone else, no less)? What should I make of this 20% discount settlement?

 

Pfew... long post. Thanks for your help

 

P.S. This has taken a lot of my time, energy, printing, posting, and calling 0845 numbers for what is principally an error between npower and BG combined with LCS's overzealousness... on an account that's not even in my name (was in the name of the other housemate). Should I complain?

[citizenB]

Are you still in contact with any of the people you shared the property with. It would be interesting to see if they have been contacted as well. Just think, if they have contacted the others and are asking them for the WHOLE amount that would be a tidy little sum ??

 

Are LCS just collectors of the account monies or do they own the account now ?

[dx100uk]

if a nyone is offering a 'discount' then iot means they know they are chancing their arm.

 

tell them to take you to court

else dont bother contacting me again.

 

dx

[rod220]

Yeah. I've been talking to the other tenants. They're helping me sort this out.

 

I'm the only person LCS has contacted.

 

In fact given that the person who's name the account was under is still living there, it's odd they came after me rather than discussing it with him. I suspect it's because he opened and closed an account the first couple of months we lived there. LCS chose me because I (according to my electoral register, etc.) lived there without ever opening an account... so they assumed I must have been the person who wasn't paying them before that (and after).

 

When I asked who owned the account, the answer from BG was: "It doesn't matter, you can pay us or LCS, it's up to you". My interpretation is that it still belongs to British Gas... as they haven't officially informed me the debt has changed ownership (they are required to do so, no?). However the discount settlement seems fishy.

 

As for ignoring them: I was still thinking of sorting it out and paying the money we (mistakenly) gave to npower, to british gas (i.e. for the time we were there). But would that just give them more ammo to chase me with if they choose to keep chasing me for the amount before I moved in?

[Richard1973]

im not 100% sure but i beleive LCS is part of first credit, personally at this stage i think i would deal directly with BG and ignore lcs at the moment untill such time that they can prove they own the debt....

[dx100uk]

i'll say again

 

if they are offering a 'discount' that means there is something wrong with what they are doing

they know they cannot enforce it.

 

have a think, i bet its the sum orthe time period

 

pers i'd pay them nothing , even the 1/3rd of what you logically workout is yours

 

once you do that, you have ack'ed the debt and they can get you in court for the rest.

 

dx