British Gas are sending bills for £9k but it's not real!

[Oceangreyscale]

I have an account with British Gas, in my actual name, which I actually pay.

Meanwhile there's an account with no name registered to my address. The unpaid bills keep going up and it's around £9k now. I get letters to The Occupier asking for it to be paid and asking for a name to put against the account.

I've tried a couple of times to call and tell them there's obviously been a mix up, but the people on the phone say they can't find this phantom account with £9k on it. Even though the company is sending these letters!

This is stressing me out every time I get the increasing bill. Can anything happen if there's an unpaid bill to your address and you own the house? I think there was a mix up when I was with another provider, they went bust and the account moved over. I don't know. The call centre seems completely unable to resolve it.

So let's say... AIBU to feel really stressed every time I get this bill, or is it fine and I should just ignore it?

You could try complaining to Ofgem, the energy ombudsman
https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/complain-about-your-energy-supplier-0

Is it gas and electricity? Are the meter numbers being quoted on the anonymous bill the same as your meter numbers?

I would contact the BG complaints department via email and continue to escalate until it's resolved, or if they can't resolve it then eventually you could try the energy ombudsman.

Hmm the latest letter doesn't have a meter number just a customer number for gas and electricity which is not the same as mine. I'll have to check previous letters.

Yes, I should probably do the complaint and escalate thing. Resentful of the time this may take up and slightly scared that I might somehow actually owe the money which is probably why I haven't! But surely not.

I don’t know if Resolver get involved with energy company issues but give them a try. They’re great at getting things sorted for you.

Had exactly the same issue with a different provider to our actual supplier. Meter number proved it wasn't ours - sent photos but took ages to resolve and had several letters threatening court action. We were at the point of going to the energy ombudsman when we dealt with someone who seemed determined to get to the bottom of things. When eventually sorted out it was an account transferred to the supplier when a lot of energy companies went out of business but not all the details were complete (apparently not a isolated occurence). Our house was nearest to the grid reference they had for the meter, but was in fact for a new build property adjacent to the rear of our garden. Received a hamper and £200 for the inconvenience.

Maybe it's a scam and British Gas aren't sending the letters?

Definitely contact the ombudsman! I had exactly the same issue! It went on for about 2 years and I called them each time. I had never set up an account with British Gas and had evidence that I had been with another provider since moving into the property. The bills were in my name as well, each time I contacted them and provided evidence that I wasn’t even a customer they would assure me that the issue was resolved. However, I would then receive more letters and demands for money for the fictitious account. The last one I received was a threat of legal action and when I called them the agent even suggested that someone else must have set up an account in my name! 🙄 I contacted the Ombudsman at that point and it was all resolved within a couple of weeks, I got compensation too.

There must be an account number on these bills you are receiving, which is different from the number on the account in your name. Surely they can use that to look up the information?

You would think! But no, they say there's nothing. The scam thing did cross my mind but it seems like others have had he same issue.
Thank you, I will follow up and get it resolved through the ombudsman if necessary. And maybe hope of compensation!

@Oceangreyscale This was exactly the same for me. The ‘account’ was registered to my address but bills were addressed to the occupier. There was an account number and estimated meter readings. Each time when I phoned them they couldn’t find the account, they tried to fob me off telling me that there was no account so I wouldn’t receive any more bills but they kept coming. I contacted the Ombudsman when the red final reminders and bailiff threats arrived. I can’t remember what their excuse was in the end but it was something along the lines of a computer error. Once the Ombudsman got involved I didn’t hear from them again. I would never use British Gas now though, it was pretty stressful!

It is the meter not the address that is billed (this is because some addresses will have multiple meters - industrial sites, houses divided in to flats). Your bill will have a number on it called an MPAN (meter point administration number) do the numbers match on both your real and fake bills?

It could be a data error (the energy industy has lots of them 😬).

Very elderly mother had a similar experience albeit witha different “ supplier”. I phoned a couple of times to explain they were not supplying the address and she was up to date with payments for her actual supplier. The bills kept coming - always round numbers eg £5000, £6000 etc causing considerable distress.

I contqcted the ombudsman and she actually received quite a generous compensation award.

I think the problem stems from companies paying casual workers to get new customers. Some of these people just fill in the paperwork saying that house x has signed up to change their supplier and get paid by the supply companies.

Honestly British Gas have got to be the most incompetent utility company.

I’ve had issues with them that they couldn’t resolve which just seemed to result in me speaking to a different person each week and repeatedly sending photos of my gas meter.

I think for the ombudsman to get involved now you have to have followed British gas’ complaints procedure with no resolution first.

Good luck!

Call BG and switch your real bills to online only and just bin anything that comes through the door.

If they cannot find the account with the address, then do not be so sure BG is sending the letters, at all. Scammers are flipping clever these days.
Just double check the spelling and spaces in the address. Call BG again. If they say no further accounts there, report this as fraud. I think Fraud Action is the agency to use. They will give you a case number that you can share with BG and it will help if anyone turns up to collect any money.

Lots of good advice thank you.

How long has this been going on for? Unfortunately this kind of stuff is par for the course with some suppliers.

The process for energy complaints is statutory - you complain to your supplier, then if it can't be resolved you get a deadlock letter which allows you to escalate it to the ombusdman.

When you complain to BG make sure you put the meter serial numbers on there clearly marking which is yours and which is the other account (check the meters first for any discrepancies) You'd be surprised how common a meter mix up/meter registration issue is, they can sort it out but need to acknowledge the problem first though. Also provide them with copies of both your bill and the nameless bill (assume nothing about their competence in this area.....)