When we moved into our new home in January 2020, the existing electricity supplier was British Gas. We were with the company for about a month before switching to Bulb.

To cover this short period, we paid British Gas £76, and have been making regular monthly payments to Bulb ever since.

However, in December 2020, we received a bill from British Gas demanding £382. We realised there must have been an error with the meter reading when we switched, so I contacted Bulb and provided photographs of what it showed at the time.

Bulb assured me it would contact British Gas and get it corrected, and I was told the issue had been resolved. Then, in May of this year, a letter arrived from BW Legal stating it had bought a £382 debt from British Gas and we needed to pay up.

I made several calls to British Gas and was initially told the issue had been resolved.

I followed this up with BW Legal but it had heard nothing. So I called British Gas again and was told someone would be in touch. No one has got in contact.

I called British Gas again, only to be told the bill stands – it is using the old, inaccurate reading, even though I have photos to prove it is wrong. I don’t know what to do.

SJ, by email

These kinds of errors by energy suppliers are too common, based on letters I receive, and when debts are sold to a third party they can take on a life of their own.

We contacted British Gas, which is part of Centrica, and it turns out an administration error meant your closing meter reading was changed to an estimated one in December 2020, and its collection process took over. It says: “We should have resolved this sooner and have reassured SJ the bill will be cancelled.”

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