Southern Electric - incorrect gas bill

MadMonkey

We moved house in November 2008 and the previous owners rang southern electrics automated service with the final reading whilst we were here and as such i did not ring with a first reading.
We then got a bill which was for £300 for one months gas.

I rang them and explained that this was pretty much impossible and they agreed and told me to take two readings 5 days apart and they would then calculate a new bill.

I did this and they produced a new bill for £250.

Now my monthly gas useage with British Gas is just under £100 a month - and this is over Jan , Feb so cold months.

What do i do here ? We wrote to them saying that as we had never actually entered into a contract with them (i.e gas was just with them when we moved in) we had never agreed to pay them (or something on those lines!!) and offered to pay £100.

They are still sending bills for £250 and when i ring them they waffle on - promise to look into it and then send a new bill for £250.

Cardew

You don't have to sign a contract, nobody does these days.

When you use any gas or electricity you have entered a legally binding 'deemed contract'. This is specifically covered in the Gas and Electricity acts. The alternative would be that gas and electricity would be cut off when the old occupant left and it could take weeks for you to be re-connected.

Southern Electric can only use the final reading of the last owner as the start reading of your account. It would appear that the reading the last owner gave on the automated service was incorrect, or was correct and has been disregarded for some reason. Did you check that the reading he gave was correct - or trusted him?

You could ask to hear a recording of that reading.

It would appear that you are paying for some of the previous owners bill, and not giving SE your start meter reading has not helped your case.

P.S I am assuming that the £300 bill for one month was not based on an Estimated reading at the end of the period.

1carminestocky

Come to think of it, this could have been a clever scam by the previous owner! He 'rings' them in front of you (but hadn't actually rung them at all) and proceeds to give the final reading to the speaking clock. He then rings at a later date with a different reading and you get a huge bill. Am I paranoid, do you think? lol.

adprob

I can remember when they used to disconnect (in north of scotland anyway) every time someone moved out.I forgot to contact the old Hydro and I moved in on a Friday afternoon. The old tenants moved out in the morning and the power was cut off. I had no elec over the weekend!!

Would you rather this happened to you than moved into a property with a deemed contract? If you didnt provide them with a read they can only go on the information that the previous occupier gave them, and as Carmine says, he could have provided a low read to reduce his bill!
All they can do is re-estimate your account based on your average consumption!

MadMonkey

adprob wrote: »

All they can do is re-estimate your account based on your average consumption!

Which is why i had to give them the 2 readings taken five days apart - this only knocked £50 off the bill.

It would be impossible to use £250 of gas in 28 days !

Cardew

I can't see why they would need to estimate your consumption.

Where occupants change, the end meter reading for the old owner is always the start meter reading for the new occupant.

The old owner's closing meter reading was xxxxx, and as you didn't give them an opening reading that conflicted with that reading, your start reading should be the same xxxxx.

The old owner would have appeared to pulled a fast on on you, which you could have prevented, and yet you feel that the Utility company should compensate you more than the £50 which I suspect is a goodwill measure.

Fire_Fox

MadMonkey wrote: »

We moved house in November 2008 and the previous owners rang southern electrics automated service with the final reading whilst we were here and as such i did not ring with a first reading.
We then got a bill which was for £300 for one months gas.

Did you check the meter reading with the previous owner? Do you have a record of this and is it the reading that is on your opening bill? Did you ever ask what the previous occupier's average bills were? Is the property well insulated and how big is it? How many hours a day did you have the heating on for in Jan/ Feb? What was your usage (in KWH) at your previous address compared with the national average? Are you still on Southern Electric's standard (=expensive) tariff?

MadMonkey

We have the heating on for 1 hour in the morning and about 2-3 hours in the evening in December and January.

My biggest discrepancy is that with Southern Electric for 28 days in December they want £250, whereas British Gas who we switched to in January and who have had actual readings charged us £98 for January which was an equally cold month.

Magentasue

But you didn't give SE opening meter readings. If you had, they would have noticed the difference between the last occupant's closing reading and your opening reading. Now, almost six month's on, you're saying the opening reading can't be correct. The previous occupant could insist their closing reading was correct - that would leave SE with unpaid energy. As it is, you didn't submit an opening reading so they are using that submitted by the previous occupant. One to chalk up to experience, I suspect.

Cardew

MadMonkey wrote: »

My biggest discrepancy is that with Southern Electric for 28 days in December they want £250, whereas British Gas who we switched to in January and who have had actual readings charged us £98 for January which was an equally cold month.

It is not in dispute that you did not use £250 worth of gas in December.

That really is not the issue!

Surely you can see Southern Electric's point of view. As far as they are concerned they have a valid start meter reading which you did not dispute.

Someone has used the gas!

For them to reduce your bill they would have to charge the previous owner more.

They have already 'written off' £50 for gas that was consumed; why should they write off more?

It really does seem that you were swindled by the previous owner and you expect Southern Electric to pay for your error in not bothering(for understandable reasons) to inform them of the correct reading.

P.S.
In any case as you have left Southern, why should they make any further goodwill gesture toward you.