Nov
Changing your gas supply if you are in debt
If you have a gas debt, you may not be accepted by a new supplier.
If you’ve owed the money for less than 28 days, for example, you haven’t paid a recent bill, you will still be able to change supplier. The money you owe will be transferred to your new supplier.
You will also be allowed to change supplier if you use a prepayment meter and have a debt of up to £100. Your debt will be transferred to your new supplier. For more information about changing your supplier when you have a debt, contact Consumer Directped, consult an experienced adviser, for example, a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
In some circumstances the gas supplier will refuse to connect the gas supply until you have provided suitable financial security. You may be asked to:-
- join a regular payment plan
- agree to have a prepayment meter
- provide a guarantor
- make a cash deposit
The gas supplier will normally only require security in certain circumstances, for example, if you are a new customer and cannot provide proof of your identity or previous address or have a poor payment record at your present or last address.
Guarantors
If you name a guarantor, the gas supplier will check whether their record of gas payments is satisfactory. The guarantor will be legally responsible for paying your gas bills if you don’t pay. In practice, the gas supplier will only require the guarantor to pay the bill if you don’t pay and cannot be traced. The gas supplier will review the arrangement after one year. At that point, if you have paid your bills in full, a guarantor will no longer be necessary.
Deposits
The maximum deposit you can be charged is the two highest quarters of gas used (estimated if necessary). The gas supplier must only request a ‘reasonable’ amount as a deposit. If you believe that the amount of the deposit is unreasonable, take the matter up with the gas supplier. If you are still not satisfied, you can make a complaint . The gas supplier will review the deposit after one year. If the bills have been paid in full, the deposit will be returned within two months of the end of the year.
