Thanks, I have just phoned the complaints department. Apparently they don't have my current address on file (despite being told on the 29/09/09 this is where they sent both copies to). They stated that the copies went to my old address, which is strange as some friends of mine live there now and are aware I'm waiting for a copy of a bill, I was round there last week and picked up a few bits of junk mail- nothing from BG.

Anyway, they have agreed to send the bill out again to my current address so will see what happens!

I've asked my friends to dig out their first bill so I can check against the copy bill BG send me and work out where the debt has come from.

Given the infomation you have provided, there are two scenarios explain the second/amended bill from British Gas. Firstly the original final bill you paid was estimated and at a later date the new owner/new occupier/letting agent provided the actual meter reading, or that the reading you mayhave provided was disputed by the new owner/new occupier/letting agent and was found to be inaccurate. In both cases a new final bill would be raised and dispatched.

Given you have mail re-direction your mail should have arrived with you regardless of which address british gas sent it to (i.e. your new residence ot your old) these not arriving seems to indicate a fault within your postal service and not your supplier.

You should realy only need to request a copy of the bill once, the fact you've been required to request this several times is worrying. I would be very inclined to call British Gas's complaints department, raise a complaint (ensure this is logged) regarding this and again ensure that a copy is sent to you.You can ask British Gas to put a temprary hold on the account while the final bill is sent, it may take upto 14 days from British Gas agreeing to this for the message to arrive with LCS but communications should stop after this. Until LCS hear from British Gas they are entitled to carry on their collection activities as they will not be able to discern wether you're genuine or if its a stalling tactic from an unwilling payer.

Once the bill has arrived, if the situation is as I have described you will need to pay the balance, and I would contact LCS and pay the £30.00 they have offered the alternative is to pay the full balance to British Gas. (They can offer a reduced payment as they probably bought the debt from British Gas for something like £20.00 so will still be making a profit).

Hi,

I received a letter out of the blue from LCS on the 07/09/09, claiming I owe British Gas £50.84 for the last property I lived at, for gas consumed 15/08/06 to 31/10/08.

When I left the property I gave BG my last gas reading and paid the final bill in full. I had my mail redirected for 6 months after, and received nothing from them so not sure why this has turned up now or what it is for.

I immediately called LCS and explained I would need a copy of the bill before I could pay. They requested this and said it would take 14 days. In the meantime, I received another letter from them dated 24/09/09- but no copy of the bill. I again called straight away and they said a copy had been requested but gave me the number for BG so I could request a bill directly. I did this on 29/09/09, checking my address was correct, and was told that this would be the last copy BG could send me and it would come in 10 working days.

I still have not received any bill from BG and have had several more letters from LCS, each more threatening than the last (I asked for the account to be put on 'hold' and for no further action to be taken whilst I was awaiting the copy of the bill, not possibe apparently).

They have phoned me 3 times this week, the last call 5 mins ago. They have offered to reduce my 'debt' to £30 something, I have stated that I refuse to pay a bill which I have never seen. They have said they will request another copy to be sent to me, but after my last call with BG I don't know if they will do this.

So... where do I go from here? The debt is small and I have no issue in paying it- if I see what it's for! A small part of me wonders if I should just pay now as it's such a small amount, but I am loathe to pay a debt I have never seen a bill for, and don't even know if it it's mine or if it exists!

Does anyone have any advice on what I should do now, or has anyone dealt with LCS before?

I am so stressed out by this- I have been in a financial mess before and have turned my life around in the last 16 months and am so proud of all I have acheived, now I'm getting letters and threats that I am trying to be proactive with but I can't get anywhere. It's very frustarting!!

Thanks all.