Gas meter standing charge?

winnston84

I've tried to find more on this, but not coming up with anything concrete so I apologise if this is a common..issue.

I purchased my flat in Oct 2012 (a purpose built block), my electricity is supplied by nPower, there is a gas meter but gas is not connected. Around the turn of this year/end of last I received a letter for payment reminder of 15 pounds, but no bill as to what this was for. It was addressed to The Occupier.

I phoned the company, Southern Electric, and was told there was a "standing charge"for having a meter, I contested this and asked for an itemised bill. I also have not found anything on their website about a standing charge for a meter, nor heard of anyone who has had one.

I've since had another letter through roughly 3-4 months later, at just over 39 pounds, still addressed to The Occupier.

Are they allowed to do this, to just send me payment reminders without sending a bill as to what it is for, and expect payment? What happens if I continue to ignore a letter for a service I don't use, not addressed to me by name? How can I get them to stop sending these letters, as I don't particularly want some baliff turning up at the door over an amount that started off at 15, nor do I want this amount to snowball.

I will phone the company, but should I withhold my name so I don't start getting this addressed to me personally?

2013yearofthehouse

You'll probably need to either ask them to remove the meter or pay the standing charge.

Apparently there is a bit of a debate about this at the moment - see this similar thread from yesterday / today: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4963760

They should send you a bill with a breakdown of charges though. Then you could change suppliers if you wanted to keep the meter but not pay any standing charges. You'd have to register your name to do this.

Do all/any of your neighbours in your building have unconnected gas meters as well?

Nada666

If you didn't contact the gas supplier then how can they provide you with a complete bill?

Ofgem demanded two-tier tariffs be banned. As a result you now face a daily standing charge for your gas supply.

If you want to stop receiving bills then contact the supplier to have your meter and supply stopped. This may cost hundreds of pounds. Alternatively switch to a tariff with a standing charge of zero pounds. You still have to pay the new standing charge from the end of last year until you change supplier. Note that if you do not pay your arrears a switch may be blocked and you will accumulate even more standing charges.

winnston84

Thanks for the advice, I will check with SE about having the meter removed, hopefully not for hundreds of pounds.

Nada666 - I did phone SE for an itemised bill, which they didn't send.

EycplUK

May be a good idea to keep the meter and just change the supplier to , maybe , something like Ebico who have no standing charges as could be a selling point if you ever sell your flat on

molerat

If the meter has never been connected and you have not spoken to the supplier to arrange an account and you have never used any gas then it is the opinion of OFGEM that a contract, deemed or otherwise, has not been entered into so no monies are due. Tell the supplier this.

wavelets

winnston84 wrote: »

I've tried to find more on this, but not coming up with anything concrete so I apologise if this is a common..issue.

I purchased my flat in Oct 2012 (a purpose built block), my electricity is supplied by nPower, there is a gas meter but gas is not connected. Around the turn of this year/end of last I received a letter for payment reminder of 15 pounds, but no bill as to what this was for. It was addressed to The Occupier.

I phoned the company, Southern Electric, and was told there was a "standing charge"for having a meter, I contested this and asked for an itemised bill. I also have not found anything on their website about a standing charge for a meter, nor heard of anyone who has had one.

I've since had another letter through roughly 3-4 months later, at just over 39 pounds, still addressed to The Occupier.

Are they allowed to do this, to just send me payment reminders without sending a bill as to what it is for, and expect payment? What happens if I continue to ignore a letter for a service I don't use, not addressed to me by name? How can I get them to stop sending these letters, as I don't particularly want some baliff turning up at the door over an amount that started off at 15, nor do I want this amount to snowball.

I will phone the company, but should I withhold my name so I don't start getting this addressed to me personally?

If the gas meter is still there, then you almost certainly have a gas supply. What services did the seller advise were connected when you purchased the property.

Whether you elect to use the gas is your own choice.

Use a comparison site to find the best deal for you based on anticipated annual usage in kWh.

But first you need to register an account with the supplier, before you can switch supplier or transfer tariff. In the meantime you will be charged at the suppliers deemed (usually expensive, standard) tariff.

Or you could pay to have the service disconnected. That may adversely affect the value of your property.

steampunkmimi

Are you certain that you don't have a gas supply? It seems odd that there would be a meter if the property is not connected. You do have our sympathy, although this happened in reverse for us: the utility companies reused to acknowledge our existence durin the first 18 mnths that we lived in our firt property. Then they had the gall to send bills with notes requesting payment within 2 weeks. The money was there (we'd all budgeted), but we made them wait, on principle....

excuse typos... arthritis nobbling my spine and co-rdination...

steampunkmimi

oh, and don't other with 'phone calls. E-mail them, and insist on keeping communications in writing. They can (they'll say they can't... oh yes they can... they have to, if one is deaf), and it's a lot easier to prove who said what if you've a written record.