advice on gas supplier please

mikeouk

I bought a new build property in august 2004 and as soon as I moved in shopped around for the best gas and electric supplier, when i rang my chosen supplier there was no proplem getting the electric swapped over but they needed to know who was supplying the gas and I didnt have a clue,they said to take the serial number off the meter and ring transco(I think,,it was a long time ago) they said it wasnt one of their meters,,anyway in the end I just decided to sit and wait for the bill or for the builder to contact me with a cut off point reading,,,two and a half years later Im still waiting!!! so basicly someone who I dont know is supplying my gas free of charge,,well for the time being until they catch up,,but my question is,,where do I stand when they finaly do? I never asked them to supply my gas and theyve never sent any details,so am I legaly entitled to tell them to stick their bill? is it classed as unsoliceted goods or something similar?
mike

Ken68

You should pay for what you have used, Mike, at least you have the interest to enjoy.

Cardew

This happens quite a bit it seems. If you have used the goods(gas in this case) you are legally(and morally) liable to pay for them.

There is a law/guideline? that they will now not go back more than 2 years in billing you.

mikeouk

just found this and theres reference in the thread that "energy companies have been told that, as of July 2006, they should no longer bill for any energy used by consumers more than two years previously where the company themselves has failed to provide a bill. As of July 2007, energy companies will be expected not to bill for any amount that dates back longer than a year"


http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=181118

mikeouk

Cardew wrote:

This happens quite a bit it seems. If you have used the goods(gas in this case) you are legally(and morally) liable to pay for them.

There is a law/guideline? that they will now not go back more than 2 years in billing you.

Ive got no problem with paying for my gas, but I think if an energy company are too incompetant to chase up who they are supplying to then why should I pay them the full wack? I havent purposefully evaded paying, I just dont know who to pay,but its gone on that long that if they billed me now for the whole lot id probably have to increase my mortgage,I dont think morals come into it though.

tripled

It is quite likely the company hasn't set up an account to bill properly, however it is possible the company is billing you. If they haven't been notified by the builder of the postal address it could be coming out under plot details and the post going missing, in which case the company would not be at fault and you may be liable.

It should be very easy to find out who the supplier is - didn't you consider asking the builder, or a neighbour? Alternatively it should say on the meter which pipeline company fitted it, in which case call them and they should be able to help you.

It is up to you which path you take, provided you are confident you could afford a large bill if it came through and you were expected to pay it then you could ride your luck, otherwise call around and get registered. Also take into account the fact that utility companies are charged for 'imbalance', ie gas that has been pumped into the network but not billed for. These companies aren't going to take the hit on their bottom line, it feeds through on the tariffs they charge everyone else.