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Hi everyone.
This is my first time on here so please be gentle with me.
I was making a drink for a mate and waiting for another two to arrive for a weekend away when the post arrived.
There was just the one letter addressed to me from a debt agency. The letter stated that I owed British Gas £183 for electricity from 2009 to April 2016. I called the debt agency but there was no reply so called British Gas.
I spoke to a nice Scottish lady who like me couldn't understand why I had been sent this letter. You see, I don't have BG for electricity, never have, but do for gas! Secondly, I've only lived at this address since 2014. She could see that I took over the gas supply back in Sept 2014 and that I owed no money for gas so transferred me to her supervisor which she said would take a minute or two. The transfer I am assuming was to India and a guy called Parker spoke to me and explained that I had the meter taken out back in 2009 and that the meter was still live. I told him that I didn't live here until 2014 and that BG has never been my supplier of electricity. He told me that I needed to pay the bill or it would effect my credit score. He then again (which really annoyed me) that I had the meter taken out back in 2009.
Whilst talking to Parker my other mates arrived and when I came off the phone I quickly explained to them what was going on and that I wouldn't be going away as I needed to sort this out. I called my landlord and asked to call round with the letter as I said I wasn't responsible for this debt but what did worry me was that there was a period of Sept 2014 and April 2015 that I would be. He called BG but they wouldn't speak to him.
Now, I had NEVER received a bill fro BG, my gas meter is a card payment and asked BG in my complaint as to why in the 20 months that I had lived there why they didn't send me a bill before they sent the debt to a debt collector. I then started getting billing letters to THE OCCUPIER. You just couldn't make this up. I received a bill to the occupier, so I then emailed them asking why I had received a bill to the occupier. BG kept sending letters to the occupier rather than to me and when I asked for all correspondence to be by email for a paper trail, I received a email telling me that they had tried to call me about my complaint.
The second complaints officer Julia was even worse, she was asked not to write to the occupier and then wrote back (email) telling me that the debt had been stopped and that the debt agency would no longer be writing to the occupier, I kid you not. I emailed back telling her that it was BG writing to the occupier and not the debt agency and that it only showed how incompetent the company was. After explaining that the bill was now cancelled she asked if I was satisfied and if I was would close the complaint down for me.... I said that I wasn't and that I wanted my questions answered. she didn't email again.
The ombudsman.
He found that BG should make a goodwill payment of £125. It really pi**ed me off no end as he said that BG wasn't at fault for me not going away.
I will not be accepting this cheque should it arrive as the stress of the last seven months has been horrendous. The last letter from the debt agency arrived a week after the debt agency told me that they had been told that the debt had been canceled and said that they may continue to share how I payed BG with others.
Can anyone give me some advice as to how I go about taking this company to court as they need shaming.
Thank you
This is my first time on here so please be gentle with me.
I was making a drink for a mate and waiting for another two to arrive for a weekend away when the post arrived.
There was just the one letter addressed to me from a debt agency. The letter stated that I owed British Gas £183 for electricity from 2009 to April 2016. I called the debt agency but there was no reply so called British Gas.
I spoke to a nice Scottish lady who like me couldn't understand why I had been sent this letter. You see, I don't have BG for electricity, never have, but do for gas! Secondly, I've only lived at this address since 2014. She could see that I took over the gas supply back in Sept 2014 and that I owed no money for gas so transferred me to her supervisor which she said would take a minute or two. The transfer I am assuming was to India and a guy called Parker spoke to me and explained that I had the meter taken out back in 2009 and that the meter was still live. I told him that I didn't live here until 2014 and that BG has never been my supplier of electricity. He told me that I needed to pay the bill or it would effect my credit score. He then again (which really annoyed me) that I had the meter taken out back in 2009.
Whilst talking to Parker my other mates arrived and when I came off the phone I quickly explained to them what was going on and that I wouldn't be going away as I needed to sort this out. I called my landlord and asked to call round with the letter as I said I wasn't responsible for this debt but what did worry me was that there was a period of Sept 2014 and April 2015 that I would be. He called BG but they wouldn't speak to him.
Now, I had NEVER received a bill fro BG, my gas meter is a card payment and asked BG in my complaint as to why in the 20 months that I had lived there why they didn't send me a bill before they sent the debt to a debt collector. I then started getting billing letters to THE OCCUPIER. You just couldn't make this up. I received a bill to the occupier, so I then emailed them asking why I had received a bill to the occupier. BG kept sending letters to the occupier rather than to me and when I asked for all correspondence to be by email for a paper trail, I received a email telling me that they had tried to call me about my complaint.
The second complaints officer Julia was even worse, she was asked not to write to the occupier and then wrote back (email) telling me that the debt had been stopped and that the debt agency would no longer be writing to the occupier, I kid you not. I emailed back telling her that it was BG writing to the occupier and not the debt agency and that it only showed how incompetent the company was. After explaining that the bill was now cancelled she asked if I was satisfied and if I was would close the complaint down for me.... I said that I wasn't and that I wanted my questions answered. she didn't email again.
The ombudsman.
He found that BG should make a goodwill payment of £125. It really pi**ed me off no end as he said that BG wasn't at fault for me not going away.
I will not be accepting this cheque should it arrive as the stress of the last seven months has been horrendous. The last letter from the debt agency arrived a week after the debt agency told me that they had been told that the debt had been canceled and said that they may continue to share how I payed BG with others.
Can anyone give me some advice as to how I go about taking this company to court as they need shaming.
Thank you
