GAS: Back Billing with EON

StuieUK34

Afternoon all, need some help and advise please with regards to a tricky situation! Will give the facts first to build the picture.....:

Move into new build house Mar-2009 (gas meter installed in June 2008 according to install date on meter).
Landlord says Elec/Gas is with EON and to call them to setup the account....

March 2009 - call EON to open an account for Dual Fuel, pay by DirectDebit....
Details come through post, however, they were for Electricity only.... and labelled Electricity, not Dual Fuel.....
Over a 3 month period, several calls are made to EON to ask whats happening with regards to the GAS, only to be told its being sorted and bill should arrive soon.....

Sooooooo, since that date, bills received were for Electric only, and DD payments were say £35per month, and then as of November 2010, payments were increased to £44 per month (kids leave lights on = higher elec usage!) So no mention of anything Gas related, despite over 5 attempts to make them setup it, etc etc.....

24th March 2011 - letter comes from EON saying 'we have recently setup your gas account, and taken the details from your electricity account/merged the account'. Asks for a current meter reading.

6th April - I email the 'new connections' rep with the meter reading.
WE NOW get a letter through the post saying we owe £962 for gas going back to Mar 2009, based on estimate and actual readings.

The bill as such also seems to have been worded to show that the account is DUAL Fuel, and written as if its always been duel fuel, despite all my previous bills saying electricity only.......

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So in short, EON mess up with regards to creating the account for gas billing purpose... 2 years down the road, they realise there mistake for creating the account correctly, and then try to change the wording/account layout to show were on dual fuel, when its always been Electric only.....

I dont understand the laws on back billing, but do i have any protection against this? ie: I briefly heard of a rule that states if the gas company make a mess of things through there incompetense, then they can only bill you for the last 12 months usage.... ?
IE: I would put this as 24th March 2010 upto the present day, which works out to be around 1075cm (M3 meter, so ignoring the last 3 numbers, i have used 1075 cubic meters in say 12 months)

Where do i stand, as EON have said 'happy to discuss' this bill, probably hoping i dont know rules apply for consumers ?

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi StuieUK34

I'm sorry it's taken so long to sort out your gas account.

I would certainly ask if the Billing Code applies here. This is where we're at fault for not billing a customer.

If this is the case, we will only back bill for 12 months from the date the account was corrected.

Contact our Director's Office about this (contact details are on your bill). They are best placed to advise you. Ask for a complaint to be raised. This will stop debt follow up whilst the circumstances are investigated.

Hope this helps point you in the right direction StuieUK34. Give me a shout if you need any more info as will be happy to help.

Malc

StuieUK34

Cheers for the reply.....
After reading the code of pratice for accurate billing, i believe i should only be billed for 12 months usage from the date of the first letter received with regards to the Gas..