It's been one of those days today. For a start, the gas bill came.
Nothing odd in that, you might think.
But you'd be wrong.
because we don't have gas.
Never have had gas. Been here 15 years. No. Gas. Ever.
Not even a stopcock.
Scary thing is, they've given me a customer number.
What might happen if I don't pay them... nothing?
I'm worried.
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I'm not really here
I recieved free gas for over a year. I kept informing the gas board but they just told me that I didn't exist.
Me neither
My family home growing up (where my mum now lives alone) has had free water for several decades for the same reason, despite the fact that she's told the water people many times. Strange thing is, they're quite happy to charge her the small fee for the water trough in the neighbouring field without it ever occurring to them to wonder how the whole family avoided dehydration for so many years.
Gas Bill
This is a laugh... You are in an automated system. You will get a reminder, a warning, a final demand, and finally, they will send a bloke round to cut your supply off. Keep us posted!
Weird
That is just odd. Nice of them to mention that they dropped there price of gas. I think a phone call is order. Of course you could wait and see if they charge you. Again. Weird....
Pay it!
Send them a cheque for 0 pounds and 0 pence. They deserve it.
Bureaucracy gone mad!
They’ll threaten you with being cut off and then they’ll come round to cut you off. And when they finally realise that you haven’t got gas to cut off, they’ll probably charge you for the call out.
Hmmm;
Tell them you're not accepting short stories, and send them a bill for reading it.
Beejay's answer = genius.
I have no idea why it decided to post this twice... Need a delete button!
Beejay's answer = genius.
Beejay's answer = genius.
Well, at least the amount
Well, at least the amount they want to pay is nothing.
Perhaps they've changed their company name recently? Started service for the first time in your area? Recently updated their computer system? Is this is a single family home or an apartment/condo building with other tenants, and they've just now caught on you're there?
If none of the above apply, I like Beejay's answer.
You're a notorious vegetarian
and have never had gas? Hmmmmmmm.
Ha! All great suggestions!
Sending a zero bill is odd enough, but assigning me a "customer number" when I've *never* been a customer is downright creepy. I have no idea if we can even get gas here - I suspect it would involve a lot of expensive connection to the mains, tunnelling through walls etc.
You do wonder how things like this can happen. Do they trawl through the electoral roll on the off chance that they missed someone who's been enjoying years of free gas? And then send out a bill on spec?
Reminds me of the directory racket - we regularly get official-looking invoices for inclusion in various scam directories -I assume most business do. They invariably get binned straight away. However, a small proportion of businesses must simply pass them for payment - ergo, the racket continues... Nice to see British Gas starting to learn lessons from the Nigerian scam school...
to pay or not to pay...
One of my step-mothers (there are many) once lived in a house for twelve years and never had a bill for her gas, which ran everything. She tried very hard to pay. She wrote, quoting her customer number and requested bills. She telephoned and queued, becoming overly familiar with Vivaldi's 'Four Seasons', only to be told that she would have to be transferred, redirected or re-assigned. She even threatened, that if they did not send her a bill immediately, she would refuse to pay if they ever got around to it. Nothing had any effect and after said twelve years, she (reluctantly) moved on. The first letter to arrive at her new address was, you guessed it, a gas bill!
scary!
I’ve heard of a scam where people phone up businesses offering a directory for “three fifty” and someone junior agrees to it, then when it turns up it’s £350 not £3.50. Hadn’t heard of the invoice on spec. That’s scary. Glad I’m a single-owner business!
Gas Bill
We live in Spain now, but even after 8 years British Gas are chasing us through debt collectors for an £800 bill we had no knowledge of. It was a British Gas Business Account - we never had one - and there was no gas at our business. The debt collecting company tracked our daughter's home where we have some post delivered and sent threatening letters there - which unnerved her a bit as they threatened to call round. But we hope it has now gone quiet as my husband told them it's now outside the statute of limitations even if we had owed the money. Clearly the the debt collection agency had bought the debt from British Gas, hoping we would make an offer and pay at least a proportion of it. When told it was an out of date debt, they slammed down the phone.
Flamenca, provided you're in
Flamenca, provided you're in the right, debt collection companies can be easier to deal with than British Gas. When I bought my house, I kept getting bills for a £25.00 debt owed by the previous owners. I phoned British Gas each time and the response I got was "the bill has to have an address so even though it's not your bill, it can't be removed from your address". Eventually a debt collector came round. I showed him the bill, which was dated, and I showed him the evidence of when I'd bought the house. He was extremely polite and apologetic and wrote off the debt on the spot.