Mixed up gas meters - with an extra twist

daco92

Hi all,

For the last year and half since I've moved into an apartment I've been paying gas with a gas card. Out of the 6 gas meters in the complex only one has a gas card reader. And the card worked with it so there were no problems moving in. I double checked with the landlord that it was payg with the gas and he said yes.

I first noticed something iffy when I was only needing to top up the gas with £20 every month or so. But tbh I just thought it was an efficient boiler as it was a new build. However problems arose recently when the boiler lost pressure and I rang the gas company (Firmus energy) to say to them in case it was a bigger problem. They got back to me and said they needed to update my details. They had me down as payg but it turned out the meter I was paying into wasn't mine, it was the one beside it that didn't have a gas card reader installed at all. They've now replaced my meter with a gas card reader and say that they will get back to me about sorting out the mess.

I had been getting post addressed to another person from Firmus energy but sent them back as I thought it was just junk mail. But there was no post for the person who moved in before me either.

So I was wondering if I have a leg to stand on if I get back billed or not. I more annoyed at the fact that if there had been an emergency that needed the gas turned off I would've been turning off the wrong gas line, which is quite a big safety issue.

Any thoughts, comments or ideas are especially welcome.

Many thanks

tl;dr I've been paying for someone elses gas using a gas card as the meters were mixed and now the energy company is possibly going to back bill me for unpaid gas

lstar337

daco92 wrote: »

I've been paying for someone elses gas using a gas card as the meters were mixed and now the energy company is possibly going to back bill me for unpaid gas

They will deduct any you have put on the key I'm sure.

They are not going to bill you for the same gas twice.

The issue you may have is that you may have been using more on your (unknown) credit meter, that you have been crediting to your (mistaken) pre-pay meter.

You'll have to wait to see if you get a catchup bill, or a credit refund.

feda16

I thought the cards are only registered to the meters they are first inserted into. This would mean it would come up with card error on any other meter it was placed into.

lstar337

feda16 wrote: »

I thought the cards are only registered to the meters they are first inserted into. This would mean it would come up with card error on any other meter it was placed into.

The meter was registered to the wrong address, so the card would have been paired with that meter.

It is not the OP that has made the mistake, it is whoever registered the meter.

I'm guessing the OP never let the meter run out of credit, because it would have been obvious something was up when the credit is 0 and the meter is still giving gas.

modsandmockers

This story reminds of when I moved into a redevelopment which was previously a cluster of charity almshouses. The gas meters were all brand new because there had previously been no gas supply, but nevertheless I soon discovered that my neighbour and I were being billed for each other's gas consumption because the meter numbers had become switched at some point during the installation. Luckily, it was sorted out quickly and amicably.

But the electricity (and the water) was a different story because, historically, the supply had been communal, and, over the years, the charity had created a chaotic electricity metering system. All the meters, old and new, were in a single cupboard on the back of the building which the meter readers could only gain access to if I happened to be at home when they called. But they always went away scratching their heads, because there was no record of which meter was linked to which apartment.

I easily worked out which meter was mine, and I started keeping regular meter readings. I tried for three years to persuade a supplier to recognise my meter and address, and in the very week before I moved out, I had a call from British Gas asking for my help to sort out their records. I came away with a 100% write-off of my 3 years' electricity costs in return for supplying the information which I had been trying to give them for the duration of my residence.

I also never paid for any water, but that's another story.