Powergen - No bill then big bill 1 yr after moving out

Bloke

I'm hoping someone can help, I've read through previous posts that are similar but they dont seem to cover the same scenario I'm in, the post is likely to be long to include all the information but please read on if you think you can help...

Moved into a new build apartment in around June/July 2004 and never recieved a gas bill from Powergen despite constant phone calls to them for about 3 or 4 months by which time I gave up.

Moved out in August 2006, doing a part exchange with different developers on a new build house. When we moved out we did inform Powergen of the meter reading and gave forwarding details.

This weekend we recieved a bill from Powergen for almost £700

The bill is laid out in three sections as follows...

Estimated Reading July 2006 = x, Estimated Reading August 2006 = y, Difference = z; Cost approx £90

Estimated Reading August 2006 = x, Read By Us April 2007 = y, Difference = z, plus Estimated Cost to End of April 2007; Cost approx £540

Estimated End of April 2007 = x, Estimated June 2007 = y, Difference = z; Cost approx £55

What can I do?? Although we gave a meter reading in August last year they dont seem to have a record of this on there and we can no longer find what the reading was, although I'm guessing it must have been around the figure they read in April this year as the developers haven't managed to sell the property yet and I doubt they will have used any.

Can they still charge me after all this time? Can I say I didn't own the property from August 2006 so will just pay the £90 even though this is an estimated reading on the bill so I doubt it? Will I have to find the cash to pay it?

Please help if you can, it's a hell of a lot of money to find, and I'd appreciate any advice or information.

Thanks,

Paul

Madnessa

Hi

I don't know anything about the legal side of this but I do think that if they expect you to pay a years worth of electric and gas in one go they are being very unfair as it is their own fault they never sent you proper bills in the first place.

Give them a ring and try and sort out a better repayment schedule.

But I am sure someone will be along shortly to give you better advice!

Good luck!

msmicawber

Hi Paul,

£700 sounds about right for a couple of years worth of gas. Since you know you didn't pay them at the time and that you owed them for the gas you did use, I'm surprised you didn't put money aside for this when you were chasing them to supply you with bills.

All I can suggest is that you point out to them that you've tried to pay in the past, they've been incompetent and now you don't have the money, so you propose to pay them at x per month until the bill has been paid.

Good luck.

tripled

You will have to pay them I'm afraid, if you try to get out of paying it will just come back to bite you further down the line. You should arrange for the accounts to be amended and ensure they bills are over the correct period and charged correctly. If you don't have the right date for opening the account the developer may get a bill and say hey Powergen, Paul used this gas, and if you don't have the right date for closing the account the current owner or occupier will get a bill and say a similar thing. Either way the bill will get to you in the end.

However they seem to have charged you for all the gas you have used over the course of the last seven months. This is wrong because you have been in there since 2004.

They need to amend it because (a) they can't charge for gas used more than two years ago where they are at fault for not billing you (so they can only bill you from June 05) and (b) prices were lower in the winter of 2005 than the winter of 2006 (although this may not make a big difference as it would be offset by a longer billing period and therefore an increased standing charge).

Once they have done this they should arrange a payment scheme. If they are at fault and you are having difficulty paying then they should give you the same time as the debt was accrued to pay it, so in your case 21 months.

I'd recommend giving them a call with the details firstly to get everything amended, backed up by a letter confirming the details sent recorded delivery. Then, if things aren't resolved, you would be able to turn to energywatch for assisstance.

Just out of interest, what reading have they opened your account from and what was the reading in April this year?

Bloke

Thanks tripled, so am I right in thinking that if they can only bill me from June 05 that they should effictively only bill me for half this amount? Could this be why the first mention of a date on the bill is July 2006 to get around this?

The first reading is an 'Estimated July 2006' (Even though I was in from July 04) at 1104, and the reading 'Read by us in April 2007' was 2986.

Paul.

olly300

In future if a utility company refuses to bill you complaint to the company concerned in writing asking them to send you a correct bill within 21 days otherwise you will take the matter further. Then if they don't bill you report them to energywatch immediately. (Strangely you will get a bill.)

Telephone calls DO NOT work with most utility companies.

stewie_griffin

It sounds like an account was never properly set up for the builders when it was being built and has only recently been sorted out hence the bill you've received. If you moved out in August last year then you can only be charged up to that date. What you need to do is get some sort of proof of when you sold the property, who to etc and send it to them along with a covering letter explaining your situation. If you've got a record of any meter readings you took whilst at the property include these as well. Even though they can't charge you from after you moved out, they may be able to charge from before July 06 up to 2 years ago depending on how the account has been set up on their system.

tripled

I did a calculation as though I was dealing with the account and they seem to tie in with Powergen's, whether this is by accident or design I'm not sure.

My calculations:

New meter fitted read 00000
Move in date 01 June 04 read 00100 estimate (to allow for some usage by builders, about £20 worth of gas)
Reading 01 April 07 02986 (customer own read)
Average consumption over 34 months is 84.9 units per month
Therefore estimating forward 12 months from 1st June 04 would give an estimated reading of 01118 on 1st July 05 (when they can start billing you from).

However I would still recommend getting them to amend the account so their reading shows June 05 instead of July 06, this will ensure gas used up until that reading is written off (as it is they may still bill some of it seperately). It will also ensure you are charged at the correct rate, as there have been major price increases over the last few years. This probably won't have a major impact on the bill, as the reduction in cost will be offset by the earlier date the account was opened from (so extra standing charges).

Once you they have issued a new bill with this information, you can be confident you have been charged correctly and arrange an installemt scheme. As mentioned earlier they should give you nearly two years to pay it off. If you complain loudly enough you may get a goodwill gesture off the bill too, although as they are already writing of 12 months gas don't expect them to be overly generous.

If you have problems at any stage contact energywatch who will ensure this is sorted out correctly for you.