I lived with a bunch of guys a few years ago and ended up with all the bills in my name (I know, big mistake). When we moved out I spent ages sorting out the house bills and chasing my mates for money. Real nightmare caused my stress and arguments with my friends. Some of the bills went to debt agencies and I eventually sorted them out, or so I thought.

Last week I received a very strongly worded letter from a debt agency informing me that I owed £35 to british gas, from 2 and a half years ago! I spoke to the company and told them that it had all been sorted out years ago but they said I need to speak to British Gas. I dont use them any more so does anyone have there customer service number? I m gonna phone em and contest the bill but I dont know how much I can do, I'll let you all know what happens.

When dealing with these companies I found them to be rude, unhelpful, blain I lived with a bunch of guys a few years ago and ended up with all the bills in my name (I know, big mistake). When we moved out I spent ages sorting out the house bills and chasing my mates for money. Real nightmare, caused my stress and arguments with my friends. Some of the bills went to debt agencies and I eventually sorted them out, or so I thought.

Last week I recieved a very strongly worded letter from a debt agency informing me that I owed £35 to british gas, from 2 and a half years ago! I spoke to the company and told them that it had all been sorted out years ago but they said I need to speak to British Gas. I dont use them any more so does anyone have there customer servise number? I m gonna phone em and contest the bill but I dont know how much I can do, I'll let you all know what happens.

When dealing with these companies I found them to be rude, unhelpful, blatantly disbelieving of what I told them and having no consistency of information. Anyone else have any bill horror stories to make me feel better?

DAve H

That is a bad call, Dave, but....word from the wise.

Whether you are right or wrong is irrelevant as far as the Debt Collectors are concerned. They are acting for their client and if you don't pay they will ramp up the amount you owe in numerous ways, including :

Interest.
'Expenses'.
The cost of taking you to court if it goes that far.

Put simply, you may find that #35.00 soon gets up to twice that unless you act.

British Gas's number is in the book - you'll also need your account number so if you have an old bill dig it out. If you've not got the bill then you may have problems tying the amount owed to an account.

For #35.00 I'd be tempted to pay if I could. And after paying, give it 28 days and then check your credit rating with Experian and Equifax, because the buggers may have registered the debt.

I know that you've paid it, but I've been in the situation where a smallish debt got to double it's size because of legal charges and interest even though I was actually talking to the people who originated it.

Cheers

Joe

I swear British Gas just try to extort money from people.

About 7 years ago the council awarded me a 1 bed flat so when I moved in I had to arrange for the gas to be connected, well British Gas installed one of them quantum gas meters where you pay for gas on the key and you dont get a bill, but after a while I changed gas suppliers cos it worked out cheaper and I didnt have to bother with the damn key.

I lived in this flat for 3 years then later moved into a 2 bed house, obviously before I moved I called the Gas Supplier and asked for the final bill and paid it, anyway 2 years of living in my new house and I gets a bill from British Gas demanding £104 from my previous address, I rang them up to explain that the dates they had on their invoice proved this bill was incorrect because I was with a different supplier plus I'd also vacated the property in the October of 2000.

But they didnt stop, they ended up sending me threatening letters and saying they would take me to court etc, so I gathered all this proof of the other gas supplier that I was with and my tenancy agreement which proved I vacated the property but still they were relentless and refused to except any of the proof, it was madness.

I swear that British Gas are the worst company ever, I will never have my Gas supplied by them again.

Yep, I have had nasty dealing myself.

Here is a copy of a letter I received from bailiffs while I was contesting a parking fine.

We have now added £300 in costs to the amount you owe us. YOU MUST PAY THE TOTAL BALANCE OF £575.67 IN FULL WITHIN 7 DAYS OF THE DATE OF THIS LETTER. If you do not do so, we may ATTEND YOUR PROPERTY, GAIN ENTRY, AND REMOVE YOUR GOODS. We may also apply to your employer to HAVE YOUR WAGES FORWARDED TO US. If you own your own home, we may apply for a CHARGE to be put on your mortgage until the amount due is cleared in full. THIS COULD RESULT IN YOU LOSING YOUR HOME. If all the above fail, WE WILL APPLY TO THE COURTS TO HAVE YOU COMMITTED TO PRISON.

Please be under NO DOUBT as to the seriousness of this matter. If you need advice, please consult a solicitor without delay. Should we need to take any of the above action, SUBSTANTIAL FURTHER COSTS will be added to your account.

A bit extreme for a parking fine don't you think? I can imagine this sort of letter would frighten alot of people to death. It should be outlawed.

The only debts which you can go to prison for are crown debts. These may include parking fines, but don't include gas bills etc. They can make things hard for you but they can't send you to prison.

The CAB's a good place to go for advice on these matters.

I should have added this has all been sorted.

I did contact them regarding this illegal prison threat and a few other things on their letter. They stated that is was a standard letter that is sometimes used for Council tax.

It is bascially a method of trying to scare people into paying even when the person may be in the right.