100 Pounds for 10 days !! What should i do

almallak11

Hi

i switched from british gas to utilityware house.
british gas sent me a bill for 10 days ( period between my last bill and the day i switched to the new supplier). the bill was based on my reading for the meter.

the problem is my landlord provided them with the reading when we moved in and it seems he didn''t provide the right reading. and when i provided them with the new one there was a gap of 100 pounds to be paid for the electricity bill only.

we can't track the meter reading for the first day we moved in and the landlord is saying he provided the right reading. an other thing is my landlord cancelled his account with them and he got a refund before we move in, which means if he changes the reading he will have to pay back.

what do you recommend i do?
if i don't pay what would happen as the account is in my name but i am with a new supplier now.

thank you very much

Cardew

Welcome to the forum.

From BG's point of view it it a third party dispute - between you and your landlord.

Obviously you should have checked the landlord's reading, but it is understandable that you trusted him.

One point is the bill you paid BG 10 days before you switched. Was that based on an actual meter reading, or could it have been under-estimated. If so this £100 bill could be a 'catch-up bill' i.e. paying for for the underpayment of the previous bill.

You have no grounds to refuse to pay BG, the electricity has been used. As the bill was in your name - you are liable. If you don't pay, BG will pass the debt to a Debt Collection Agency(DCA) and you will get threatening letters etc. I doubt if it will go to court for £100 but it will affect your credit record.

almallak11

Thank you for your reply.

i think my landlord has given them a wrong final reading because he was closing his account and when he gave them the last reading he got a 300 pound refund.. when i moved in last august i didn't actually live in the house until september, as i was abroad. which makes it hard to believe that i spent 270 pounds in 2 months !!

the only problem is we don't have a reading of the first day we moved in, i assume if we don't reach an agreement with the landlord we have to pay the 100 !

jd87

You simply shouldn't have trusted the landlord. All you can do now is either have a falling out with your landlord, or put it down to experience and move on.

almallak11

jd87 wrote: »

You simply shouldn't have trusted the landlord. All you can do now is either have a falling out with your landlord, or put it down to experience and move on.

Yes i totally agree.
i guess now i am more experienced !!