Wrong meter reading for a year

Jumpingjackflash

Hi everyone,

For the past year I have been supplying British Gas with the readings from meter "x" as when I first moved in British Gas confirmed that of the 3 possible meters (x, y & z) the reading on "x" related to my flat.

A year on & after having a gas engineer come & perform the yearly landlords gas certificate check he has confirmed that my meter should actually be meter "y".

Unfortunately the meter reading for "y" has used twice as much as "x" during that year :eek: Going forward I want to use the correct meter reading (previously there were 4 people in my flat, where as there are now only 2 of us so the gas usage should go down considerably), but I want to know will British Gas charge me for the extra usage over the last year even though they confirmed that meter "x" was for my flat & not "y" when I originally moved in?

Many thanks!

macman

Yes, you will be of course be charged for the gas that you have actually used, minus what you have already paid.
It's a billing error, and they are entitled to correct it. If it worked the other way, would you not expect BG to repay you?
What you should be able to do is negotiate a repayment period in line with the length of time that the error has been there-so up to a year.

dogshome

Hmmm - From your post it seems that Meter 'Y' that you now find is your meter, has a current reading that is roughly twice that of meter 'X' that you originally thought was yours.

Unless you have a record of meter 'Y's reading on the day you moved in, this does not mean that your use is double what you thought it was.

Jumpingjackflash

Initially I'd be inclined to agree but as BG have already been charging the other meter to another tenant (a different flat) then BG have already been paid for that meter reading. If BG were to charge me then in theory they'd be receiving payment for that meter reading twice over plus the meter I've been paying for (due to their mistake, not mine)?
Would it not be down to me to liaise with the neighbours & resolve any payment issues with them rather than BG?
Thanks again.

macman

No, do not attempt to adjust the billing with your neighbour (even assuming they were willing)! Let BG sort it out.
They will surcharge you, and credit the neighbour if applicable-any payments already made will be allowed for in the revised billing.
Meter mismatch is a very common error, and the billing systems are designed to cope with it, once the revised data is collected.