British Gas letter applying for warrant - help!!

[BankFodder]

Well you will at least need the date of the application and the location of the court to which they are applying and you will need to attend.

When they apply for these warrants it is extremely cursory. Someone turns up with a huge bundle of files and they are basically rubberstamped. You need to get there on time – in fact early and you need to get to the clerk of the court and you need to flag up the fact that you are there and you will be objecting to the warrant – because most people don't. In fact most people don't turn up.

Have they given you any details of the application and when it will happen?

Secondly, you should get all the evidence you can from Npower to show that it is they that you are supplying you and you have been paying their bills regularly including during the period for which British Gas say that they are the creditors.

You should also ask British Gas to provide you all evidence of any bill including the billing period, readings – et cetera. You need to do this quickly. If you do anything by telephone then you should record the call. Read our customer services guide.

Confirm everything in writing.

Make a formal complaint to British Gas – in writing – and make it clear to them that they are not your supplier and tell them that the matters in dispute and you want it referred to the energy ombudsman as soon as possible.

At the very least you will be laying down a paper trail so that they can never say that you didn't tell them.

I'm afraid you're probably going to have to be trying to contact British Gas relentlessly – persistently – regularly – almost daily until you get somebody who understands the situation and listens to you and takes note of what you say.

Once again read our customer services guide about dealing with these people on the phone. It's a frustrating business and you could be talking to a new person every time who may express sympathy for your position and then will do nothing.

You desperately need to get to the court on the day that the application is made

 

The next thing is to understand why British Gas may have formed the impression that they are your suppliers and also why you apparently owe them so much. You say that you run a café. Are there other people or businesses in the building? Are they supplied by British Gas?

How long have you been at that building and how long have Npower been your supplier and who was the supplier before – either to you or a previous tenant? You need to start doing a lot of careful research

[BankFodder]

Yes, the advice from UncleBulgaria above is very important. We have had several instances on this forum of people in the same kind of situation as you who have eventually discovered that in fact they are paying the power for the entire building. I think you could certainly get an electrician in to inspect the metre and to give you an opinion.

Although you have been advised to get Npower to do it, it will probably be much quicker to get a qualified electrician to inspect it – although that will cost you a fee of course – but it sounds to me as if you need to be in a bit of a hurry.