Paying wrong gas bill for 10 years

[Deleted User]

Hi,

stampede wrote: »

I was under the impression he was paying a lower amount?

yes he was.

Though, somebody was paying the higher amount,so he just says 'oh well been paying someone else's higher bill, I'll just keep quiet about it'.

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

stampede wrote: »

Exactly, it's the gas companies responsibility to bill the correct amount, not the customers.

Personally I think the OP is mistaken, but I would expect a refund for the other person & writing off of any debt for the OP/

I have personally had a similar experience, although it didn't involve anyone else. my 9 year electrical came to just £1300
Why pay out when you don't need to?

So it's a lose lose situation for the energy supplier then?

And how about if it were a local tradesman who made a similar mistake? Or is only big companies that can get hammered in your world?

Fortunately back in reality, receiving an invoice/receipt does not constitute full and final settlement if a mistake has been made.

http://lifehacker.com/5969021/what-should-i-do-when-a-company-makes-a-mistake-in-my-favor

stampede

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays wrote: »

So it's a lose lose situation for the energy supplier then?

And how about if it were a local tradesman who made a similar mistake? Or is only big companies that can get hammered in your world?

Fortunately back in reality, receiving an invoice/receipt does not constitute full and final settlement if a mistake has been made.

http://lifehacker.com/5969021/what-should-i-do-when-a-company-makes-a-mistake-in-my-favor

If the case is correct, I would expect the energy company to take the loss, they can afford it.
In my case the energy company wanted to charge me over £5500, & as a compromise we agreed on £1300, they obviously agreed they were responsible, so took the hit.

Not sure why you are quoting an american site? I tend to spell favor with a U

Fruit_and_Nut_Case

user342354325 wrote: »

To make it worse, the meter we've been paying for 10 years is almost half as much as our actual meter, meaning I probably have paid a shortfall of ~£1500.

Not necessarily. You only have the current readings; you'll need to find out the readings at the time you moved in and subtract. The two meters might not have started from the same point.

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

stampede wrote: »

If the case is correct, I would expect the energy company to take the loss, they can afford it.
In my case the energy company wanted to charge me over £5500, & as a compromise we agreed on £1300, they obviously agreed they were responsible, so took the hit.

Not sure why you are quoting an american site? I tend to spell favor with a U

Right, and if the energy company can't afford it? npower didn't make any money in the UK between 2009 and 2011.

I think everybody should pay for the energy they've consumed, I don't think that's asking too much. In your case, the £4200 shortfall was passed on to other consumers. Cosmic.

stampede

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays wrote: »

Right, and if the energy company can't afford it? npower didn't make any money in the UK between 2009 and 2011.

I think everybody should pay for the energy they've consumed, I don't think that's asking too much. In your case, the £4200 shortfall was passed on to other consumers. Cosmic.

Great answer, the energy company has no money - righto!
You might be daft enough to believe their woes, but I'm definitely not.
They can move money from pot to pot & all said & done a few k is not going to affect any of them, they still pay out terrific bonuses to all their fat cats even when they make a loss.

I suggest the OP actually checks for certain whether his assumptions are correct. You never know, someone else might have decided to have put the system on full bore at the same time.

user342354325

Thanks for the comments everyone - turned into an interesting debate that I wasn’t expecting!

I’ll do what stampede suggests and get as much info together as I can; never good to go on assumptions.

And thanks to matelodave - I’ll email & recorded-delivery it, once I’ve had time to get it all together.

From my perspective, I’m ultimately with Bluebirdman and happy to pay anything I legitimately owe (regardless of the gas industry's own business practices), unless of course there is some legal/ethical standpoint that states it's the gas company’s responsibility to check, though I can't find any source for that. So while that might make me a schmuck and open me up to a world of hurt in some eyes - including friends/family it seems! - I’d prefer to keep my own conscience/karma/whatever clean. Each to their own though. :-)

I’ll post back with developments for future reference.

Thanks again all.