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Bills addressed to "the occupier"
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fairladyzxgirl wrote: »I
In short are you obliged to pay bills addressed to "THE OCCUPIER"?
YES.
I lived in a house for 2 years where BG addressed the bills to the occupier. They didn't bother chasing us up because we paid the bills on time and gave them automated meter readings.
There as one of my landlords' (different property) decided to try and not pay some of the utility bills when I moved out, the utility company contacted me first saying if I didn't give them the details they would have to use a debt recovery agency. I gave them the landlords' details as the landlord tried to keep my deposit.
I had difficulty contacting BG when I moved. They were always engaged unless I rang them at 8am in the morning. It took me a week before I worked this out. Subsequently any problems I've had with them and can't ring them up at 8am I deal with by letter.
I'm not cynical I'm realistic 
(If a link I give opens pop ups I won't know I don't use windows)
(If a link I give opens pop ups I won't know I don't use windows)
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Comments
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Firstly' of course you are obliged to pay for the utilities you have received.
However:
1. you had the meter readings(you tried to give to BG) when you moved in.
2. Powergen have the readings when they started charging you.
So it is simply a matter of paying BG for the difference between the two sets of readings. i.e. 2 minus 1.
So I don't see how the estimate of the previous family's use is relevant.
I assume you are not disputing the start meter reading that BG used? It should be the same as the one you tried to send them, and will be the same reading they used for the previous occupants final bill.0 -
Ignore the righteous advice above. Looks like BG have cocked up. I never paid any bills from British gas addressed to the occupier. It was about £200 and it was based on an estimated bill. They sent red letters, debt collection agency letters, the lot. I ignored them. That was 4 years ago.
These letters to "The Occupier" seemed to have arisen from a period between the old tenant moving out and me moving in. As soon as I arrived I arranged connection of my Gas and Electricity with PowerGen and gave them the meter reading. I had no dealings with British Gas whatsoever as no bills were in my name. I think it was because the previous tenant had given them meter readings that were too low so now there was a discrepency between my new readings with Powergen and British Gas's final bill estimate hence the bills being sent addressed to the occupier. If BG could have been bothered I guess they could have tried to find out who was now living there and they could have got details from Powergen? But nothing happened. And I kept ignoring the letters, thinking how on earth would they be able to issue a court summons without a name!? They couldn't address it to the 'occupier'! They also would have had to prove that I had used the energy, which of course I hadn't, so I ignored them. Had I phoned them to tell them it wasn't my bill, they would have had my name and then tried to make me liable for it so I just ignored all their demands and threats of court proceedings.. to 'the occupier'..LOL! I also thought that if it ever did get to court it would be laughed out of court when its seen that the bill in question was based on an estimated reading.
Eventually it all stopped and not heard anything since. Its been 4 years now. I would think carefully before you pay this one, or even contact them.
Also, I've learnt that BG will be obliged to use the new companies meter start reading for your final bill, so as long as it is less than their reading you won't have to pay the same as a family of four. Let me know what you do as this situation is very similar to how mine was.
If you do decide not to pay it, keep all your bills and paperwork in case you need it later in defence.0 -
MiserlyMartin wrote: »Ignore the righteous advice above. . I would think carefully before you pay this one, or even contact them.
The OP asked a simple question, which was answered correctly. i.e. you are legally obliged to pay for gas/electricity that you have consumed; even if the bill is addressed to ‘The Occupier’
If you deem that “righteous advice” so be it.
To the OP. Weigh up both sets of advice. You may ‘get away with it’ as the poster above did 4 years ago; you may not.
Your decision.0 -
BG didn't check land registry records four years ago. They started that around two years ago. If you own the property, they will get your name, if you rent it, they will get your landlords - who I'm sure will rather give BG your details than pay your bill when they get it
However there is a chance you can get away with it - they don't always bother persuing low amounts, or it may slip through the cracks, but I wouldn't count on it.
Legally, suppliers can persue estimated bills as well, so you can't turn up to court and say 'the readings are estimated so I don't have to pay'.energywatch wrote:[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Are estimated bills legal?[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Yes they are.[/FONT]
link
and
linkCan they bill me if I never signed a contract?
A contract will be 'deemed' to have been created between you, as owner or occupier, and the supplier which had the last contract to supply the property. Suppliers have special 'deemed contract' rates which will normally be a little higher than their 'in contract' rates.0 -
Fair points.
Of course we must legally pay for all energy used. We are not really talking about that. We are talking about an estimated bill which is wrong being persued.
An estimated bill may be legal to issue, but I would like to see one stand up in court especially when its proven through bills that the consumer has already paid for the energy used (to another supplier)0 -
Of course you are right in saying two companies can't charge you for the same energy. However, as you didn't give BG the reading when you moved in, if they would be charging you from a lower reading was correct, rather than the same gas twice, they could technically have persued you for it. Also a change of company doesn't usually go through until around a month after you move into a property, meaning part of that bill was probably yours 0
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Well then it all rests on if the OP will be paying for the same gas twice and from the sound of it, she will be. Good luck.0
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MiserlyMartin wrote: »Well then it all rests on if the OP will be paying for the same gas twice and from the sound of it, she will be. Good luck.
How do you deduce that from the OP's post?
It would appear from her post that the OP spent some weeks(months?) getting supply from BG before switching to Powergen(it takes weeks for that to happen after they have been contacted and she spent 2 months trying to contact them). BG have sent bills for £200.
It would appear that the OP has the meter reading when moving in and Powergen will have the reading from when they started billing.
Returning the bill with a letter giving both sets of readings will get the correct bill.
The question she posed was:
"
"In short are you obliged to pay bills addressed to "THE OCCUPIER?
The answer given by some(self righteous or not;) ) was in the affirmative.0 -
OP says, "Now they have sent me 2 bills addressed to "the occupier" for 200 quid!! for one months supply based on what the previous occupants paid.....they were a family of 3, none working and in all day, im a single person working long hours!!"
From this, one would get the impression would they not, that that fairladyzxgirl has been given an estimated bill for energy she has not used.0 -
MiserlyMartin wrote: »From this, one would get the impression would they not, that that fairladyzxgirl has been given an estimated bill for energy she has not used.cardew wrote:Returning the bill with a letter giving both sets of readings will get the correct bill.
..........0
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