Free gas no more! Am I in trouble?

fireuptheband

Still in the same boat and have been unable to find out who supplies our gas.
It's been almost a year since we moved in and another year that the property has had gas.

I take a photograph of the meter reading each month, so that I have proof of the readings.
I also note the readings and predict what we're using.

I do want to pay the bill, but how can I when they won't let me?

tripled

It's normally easy to find out who supplies your gas.

If your meter says British Gas, Transco or National Grid, call 08706081524. If it has any other company name on it, call the company that fitted it.

Make sure you have your meter serial number to hand.

gotnobread

I'd sit tight in this situation. A supplier cannot decide that they have been supplying you from any particular date unless they have been registered against your MPRN ('supplier' is not always synonymous with 'shipper', by the way, they mean different things). Do you have a MPRN? Can they prove that they have been supplying it from whatever date?

Also, since your new build (or long-disconnected and recently re-connected) address does not appear on their computer systems (CRM in the contact centres or any of the myriad back office systems in use), there is nowhere for them to file information about you - this includes meter readings, your telephone calls and your letters. Hence the experience of previous posters on this thread, who have contacted their suppliers only to have that data disappear into the ether.

Since there are no meter readings from when you moved in to the property, they could obtain a current reading and use the number of people and types of appliances you have in your property to estimate a start reading for you. The key word is estimate. It is impossible for the supplier to prove that you have consumed even a single unit - the reading might have been the same since the day you moved in. If they took you to court without being able to prove that you have built up the bill then you are not going to have to pay it. Equally, the builders (or whoever occupied the place before you) is not going to pay a bill that they dispute years after the event, especially if it's based on an estimate.

Argue this strongly enough and you will have the bill written off. I know that this is the case because in common with some of the other posters, I used to work for British Gas (many years experience at various levels of seniority) and have seen bills of the order of thousands of pounds bills wiped out simply because the customer said "fine, see you in court". It would then be on BG to prove the customer was liable for the bill - good luck doing that, and good luck retaining other customers when the disgruntled customer coughs the matter up in the press, "incompetent gas supplier sues its own customers" etc etc.

You might have more of a conscience than me and so might want to make a contribution if a supplier proves they were supplying you during the period you were consuming gas. That's entirely a matter for you. Bear in mind that this is 100% about commerce, not ethics, so morals don't come into it.

Cheers,
Gotnobread.

Curley

When I first moved into this flat, nobody would accept responsibilty for my gas either, and I was told I was a "shipperless site". I rang round a few suppliers but nobody wanted to know it was not showing on anyones records.

In the end, I wrote to nPower with my MPRN, and asked them to look into the situation for me (telephone calls won't work, you normally get through to a telephonist who does not know the technicalities), whereas if you put it in writing then at least it'll find it's way to someone who can sit down and possibly look into it.

Within a week I got a phone call to say my letter had been passed on the the relevant department and they couldn't see a problem with taking me on as a customer. This was followed up in writing.

I was then told that it would be another 28 days before I would be contacted for my meter reading, and I would not be charged for using gas in that time. It's now sorted, and I do feel better now that I am paying for it.

So all in all, I had over 2 months worth of gas for free and I have been reasurred that I will never be charged for it, ever.

Please write to your nominated gas supplier explaining what's going on and i'm sure they'll look into it for you, or at least nPower will.

moonrakerz

Stamford wrote:

when we rang to find out who supplied our gas we were told that nobody did. So, we've been using it and not paying for it for a year.

You mean I have to pay for that trolley full of shopping I just collected in Sainsbury's ????

marleyboy

As far as I can see, youve tried, keep records of your attempts at trying. but until such a time, only sweat over the temperature from the heating, nothing more.