Non gambling related but..

[Mentholdan]

We've had lockdown for a month and I've managed to snaffle 2 half days of work in this time, hanging on by the skin of me teeth then this comes through the door?? From 8 years ago until 2 years ago, all for the same address I'm at now. I mean are they for real. I swear if they've clocked up my past bills and I do owe the money I'll just sign on for the next 2 years. What a joke. 

[The crisp man]

Jesus, what a shit surprise through the post.

I thought they could only backdate corrections the max of 12 months, but it maybe only if they've fucked up your billing.

[Mentholdan]

I live in a one bedroom flat and the central heating and hot water are in with my community fees. My leccie bills were like £20 every 2 months. Some bills were so low I used to let them roll over to the next. They didn't like that and I came home one day to find they took my meter and replaced it with a pre pay key meter, "being in a flat it was in the communal hall outside my front door" I've had the pre pay key 2 years or more. If I owe them £1600 why would they wait 2 years to send me the bill?? 

[DaveM]

Fairly sure they can't bill you for 8 years ago. 6 or 7 years is the longest period you can be chased for if I am correct.

[ghost22]

im not sure of your circumstances man but if you have children or anybody who disabled that lives with you they cant cut you off , its against the law, id also demand that the meter is checked , and im nearly sure debts cant be claimed longer than 5 years ago . failing that tell them moneys tight and pay them an extra tenner a month till the balance is cleared .as long as you are paying something back they cant do shit about it . good luck  

[ghost22]

The Limitation Act, 1980, places a time limit of six years on many outstanding unsecured debts, and 12 years on some mortgage arrears. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the debt remains in existence but a creditor is unable to initiate court proceedings to recover it.7 Feb 2018

[ghost22]

i got into a bit of debt about ten years ago with the halifax  i lost my job and , my account ended up about £15 in the red , they started charging me either 10 or 20 quid a day overcharge fees , now heres the killer , they didnt inform me for 3 months , then they sent a bill for well over a grand , i get the letter and threw a wob , stormed down to them and demanded a meeting , they send me ino a room with some smug prat half my age , i asked him to stop the interest to give me some kind of chance to repay it and he started lecturing me about terms and conditions that nobody ever reads and said computer says no , i told him if they didnt stop the interest i would never be able to pay it he still said no . i said fuck you then , im declaring myself bankrupt which at the time cost something like 4 or 500 quid , you cant be a company director for 5 years or so after doing it which usually dosent apply to people on the dole anyway , they never got a cent off me . abut 2 years later i go in to sign in the dhss and guess whos in the queue in front of me , the smug prat ,i said to him  karmas a bitch mate , welcome to the club . every  word of the above is true for what its worth .

[Mentholdan]

I'm not worried about the bill, I've always paid my bills. Like I said sometimes I let them slide for a month purely because they were so small. What I can't get my head around is this, if they've screwed up reading my meter or miscalculated in the past, how they can just send you a bill for the previous 8 years and expect it to be paid within a week without even questioning how it all came about. 

[ghost22]

you could try citizens advise if they are open mate , or any good solicitor , the fact that your old meter is gone means they cant prove your debt , the time frame is dodgy as well , phone them and offer to pay £5 a week untill the balance is cleared . if you can talk to a solicitor he will know a lot more than me  ,but i know  they cant just send a bill like that .

[shaunb95]

You need to go through the readings right from the start and to the finish and see if they correlate correctly

If you were on a prepay meter at any point, and there was a debt set to the meter, then ‘billing code’ wouldn’t apply unfortunately

Make sure any meter exchanges are shown on the bill - did you go from credit to prepay or prepay to credit? It could be a debt that was set to the meter and not paid back once you moved out, as sometimes only collects for instance at £5 a week

and make sure all your topups have gone to the meter - you will see these on the bill

if you need any more help let me know, worked in utilities for over 5 years 👍

[mayfield4]

I'd get in touch with Ofgen and dispute it. Wouldn't give them a penny if it were me. 

[cazza6565]

This looks like the final bill for the dry meter. The dates correspond with you saying you have had a prepayment meter for 2 years.

You will need to check your payments prior to April 2018 and your readings if you can. I also used to work in utilities.