Crunch time- unregistered electricity meter, can you help?

inventors

Mupette wrote: »

this thread caught my eye as i have recently moved into a new build.

I found out who supplies the electricity.

but no one can tell me who supplies the gas


electricity company sent bills to this address for the landlord (local authority) so i informed them of my tenancy start date, to take over the account, assumed they did the gas as well, but no they don't.

i gathered all the details off all the stickers on the gas meter for the electric company so they could see who was my supplier... nothing came up.

moved suppliers and even the new company cannot find who supplies the gas, they checked with transco (or who ever they are now)

Great free gas, i should be happy, but these things do have a habit of biting you on the bum further down the line.

can't your landlord tell you? didn't he set the utilities up when he brought the place? this is the bit i don't get, how do these things just get left unnoticed!

Mupette

landlord is the local housing authority.. they haven't a clue, even the company who built this place doesn't seem to know.

Premier_2

inventors wrote: »

four meters yes, but none attached to any of the individual flats addresses. when i moved in i wasn't given any meter readings or info and was told by the outgoing tenant that the flat wasn't being billed. when i couldn't find out the supplier i left it- my mistake, but i think it's clear none of the meters were registered in the first place

That wasn't what I asked. I said surely the supply was being metered. Nothing to do with whether the meters are registered (which also now seems to be in some doubt).


I suggest you find out for sure whether the address has a registered supplier

How to identify your electricity supplier

Even if it transpires you are currently in what is deemed a shipperless site, you may still end up paying

2.8.3 SHIPPERLESS/UNREGISTERED SITES

...
Suppliers are allowed to bill for all fuel that has been used, even if they were not the registered supplier at the time, therefore consumers should not be surprised to receive a bill for the entire period that they have lived at the property.

However, in many cases, suppliers will only issue a bill from the time that the consumer contacted them.

http://www.cravendc.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/E42C0230-4D3C-487A-B1C5-5E9D4C802DF0/3163/EnergywatchBigBookOfEnergy2.pdf

Premier_2

Mupette wrote: »

this thread caught my eye as i have recently moved into a new build.

I found out who supplies the electricity.

but no one can tell me who supplies the gas....

How to identify your gas supplier

inventors

Premier wrote: »

That wasn't what I asked. I said surely the supply was being metered. Nothing to do with whether the meters are registered (which also now seems to be in some doubt).


I suggest you find out for sure whether the address has a registered supplier

How to identify your electricity supplier

Even if it transpires you are currently in what is deemed a shipperless site, you may still end up paying

http://www.cravendc.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/E42C0230-4D3C-487A-B1C5-5E9D4C802DF0/3163/EnergywatchBigBookOfEnergy2.pdf

right, thanks for the link. i'm going to talk to the people that look after the flat. if they shed no light, i'll call the local distribution company.

Mupette

Premier wrote: »

How to identify your gas supplier

yup tried that, still no clue.

not enough informatio on the stickers on the gas meter, there should be another sticker but i've given all i can physically give them, there is nothing else, I hope someone perhaps would send a bill so then i could sort this sorry mess out

undaunted

electricity companies have a legal obligation to read / inspect your meter at least every two years. They have also been prevented from back billing for more than two years if they have failed to bill you. I would therefore question whether you will be billed for your entire consumption even if you do raise this now. Examples below

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/ask-an-expert/article.html?in_article_id=432812&in_page_id=92


http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/money/consumer_affairs/article7060053.ece


Lucky you!

Premier_2

Mupette wrote: »

yup tried that, still no clue.

not enough informatio on the stickers on the gas meter, there should be another sticker but i've given all i can physically give them, there is nothing else, I hope someone perhaps would send a bill so then i could sort this sorry mess out

Tried what exactly?

Presumably called National Grid and they said no trace. They should only need the address. (although the serial number would help)


What else have you tried? Called Envoy? What did they say?

Premier_2

undaunted wrote: »

electricity companies have a legal obligation to read / inspect your meter at least every two years. They have also been prevented from back billing for more than two years if they have failed to bill you. I would therefore question whether you will be billed for your entire consumption even if you do raise this now. Examples below

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/ask-an-expert/article.html?in_article_id=432812&in_page_id=92


http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/money/consumer_affairs/article7060053.ece


Lucky you!

Unfortunately, the 12 month back billing rule only applies if the customer has contacted the supplier and provided their name, so that an account can be set up and the customer billed.

Edit: the second link seems dead

undaunted

Premier wrote: »

Unfortunately, the 12 month back billing rule only applies if the customer has contacted the supplier and provided their name, so that an account can be set up and the customer billed.

Edit: the second link seems dead

I can see what you mean on the back billing but practically speaking though what was the reading when this consumer moved in?, was the last tennant responsible for the rest or where there other previous tennants? Is the Landlord actually responsible for all or any of the bill etc? Morally speaking the poster should pay for what they have actually used but practically & legally speaking? After 5 years the facts aren't going to be easy to establish & it could just be one former tenants word against anothers as top what the meter read when couldn't it?


Not sure about the second link problem - it's working for me - but the text reads as follows if that helps

From The Times

March 13, 2010


EDF in £8,500 electricity bill shocker

East Sussex couple receive a huge bill for underpayments after electricity consumption miscalculation

David Budworth


EDF Energy, one of Britain’s largest electricity suppliers, has been accused of “outrageous” conduct after claiming that a customer had fallen more than £8,500 in arrears because they incorrectly estimated his electricty consumption.

Peter Crawford, from Robertsbridge, East Sussex, was startled when he received the demand in January this year for £8,594.85 of underpayments dating back to 2003. The shock was in no small part due to the fact that his previous bill, in December, showed a £1,640 credit.
However, his shock turned to anger when he was told that his previous bills had been recalculated because EDF had not applied years of meter readings made by its own representatives.

Mr Crawford says: “When I phoned to ask for the repayment of the credit balance on our account I was told that the amount had been recalculated, and I owed EDF more than £8,500. It was a huge shock to be told that our bill had increased by £10,000 — it certainly raised the blood pressure.”

Even though Mr Crawford felt aggrieved at being charged for what was EDF’s mistake, he accepted that some repayment might be necessary, although not the full six years of “underpayments”.
He pointed to the Energy Retail Association (ERA) code of practice for accurate bills, to which EDF, British Gas, E.ON and Scottish Power are all signed. The voluntary code includes a pledge to protect consumers by limiting the backdating of incorrect bills to no more than one year.
Regular Times Money readers will notice similarities with the case of Adam Laurie, which also involved EDF (“I have paid all my electricity bills, but EDF says I owe £19,000”, July 4, 2009).
Mr Laurie, from Dorset, also quoted the ERA code after being billed for arrears of more than £19,000, even though EDF admitted that it had supplied incorrect bills for seven years. The energy company backed down, only after a long fight, when Mr Laurie received the backing of the Energy Ombudsman.
In Mr Crawford’s case, the company also initially argued that the code of practice did not apply because it had sent him requests for meter readings, which it claims he did not return.
In a letter sent on February 15, EDF states: “In relation to the code of practice in this instance I would have to confirm that within the terms of this agreement EDF would be justified in billing for the period in question, and not just for the past 12 months of usage.
“Throughout the life of the account, EDF has attempted to obtain readings on a number of occasions, which have either resulted in no access, or when reads have been received that were not in line, we have sent written correspondence to the above address seeking confirmation of the current reads on the meter.”
Mr Crawford, a high-profile showbusiness lawyer, says that his meter has been read eight times by EDF representatives since he moved in to his house in 2003.
He is also certain that he sent at least one of EDF’s meter-reading requests back and had a conversation with the billing department. However, he adds that he felt little compulsion to return all of the requests as he believed EDF’s own representatives had already read his meter.
Peter Vicary-Smith, the chief executive of Which?, the consumers association, says: “It’s utterly outrageous that EDF has allowed a customer to build up such a huge debt through its own mismanagement. We think it’s a disgrace that it tried to claw back this money, despite the fact that the mistake was entirely its own.”
After Times Money contacted EDF, the energy provider agreed to apply the code of practice, and to charge for only the past 12 months’ arrears, staggering the £1,184 payments over four years. Mr Crawford has agreed to accept the offer.
Mr Crawford says that he was definitely told that EDF did not think its own readings were accurate.
The company says: “After completing a detailed investigation, it was established that the billing code of practice should be applied to the account.
“According to our records, we have not received a meter reading from Mr Crawford since May 14, 2003. Regrettably, due to human error, we had not been using the accurate readings provided by our meter readers, and Mr Crawford received this large ‘catch-up bill’ as we had been estimating incorrectly his electricity consumption.”
Even though EDF backed down, its tardiness raises questions over how the ERA code of practice is being applied.
When Times Money first highlighted problems with the code in July, Consumer Focus, the independent consumer body, said that it was working with Ofgem, the energy regulator, and ERA to clarify the code and how it should be implemented.
This will bear fruit on April 1 when an overhauled billing code is introduced. The revised code will include a fuller explanation for consumers of how it works and when it is applied.
Audrey Gallacher, an energy expert at Consumer Focus, says: “The principal problem with the current code has been the inconsistency of its application. The new code should make it clearer where the supplier is at fault and where the customer has a degree of liability.”
Separately, Which? has written to the Office of Fair Trading and Ofgem asking them to investigate whether suppliers that allow their customers to build up large debts are in breach of consumer protection regulations.
Gas bills to fall
There was a spate of price cuts by energy companies this week as suppliers responded to lower wholesale gas prices. Scottish Power said it will cut gas bills by 8 per cent from March 31. Meanwhile, EDF said that its gas bills will fall 4 per cent, amounting to about £30 a year off a typical bill, from March 26. Similiar moves have been made by npower, British Gas, E.ON and Scottish and Southern Energy.