Gas provider has monopoly in my building - and overcharging!

Robz_3000

Hiya,

I'm new to the forum so please be gentle if i'm being stupid.

Basically, just bought a flat in a new apartment block in London - thing is, they didn't tell me beforehand that the gas provider is fixed and you may not switch as they are a 0 carbon provider specifically for that area.

However...

. They charge £30 standing charge a month for the technology they've invested in - erm... that's not my concern?
. They are not registered with an ombudsman so you can't make a formal complaint
. They have no call centres so you can't get through to them

and to top it off, they are direct debiting my account twice each month for the same amount!!

Can anyone advise on where I stand with this? I really think it's a con that I am locked into, and it's costing me a small fortune!

Any help would be massively appreciated!

R

Robz_3000

also just to point out the £30 monthly charge is before i've even used any heating!

davidmcn

Robz_3000 wrote: »

and to top it off, they are direct debiting my account twice each month for the same amount!!

This is the easy bit - invoke the direct debit guarantee with your bank and get the overpayment refunded. And maybe cancel the DD mandate until you've managed to contact the supplier to work out what's going wrong.

System

Robz_3000 wrote: »

Hiya,

I'm new to the forum so please be gentle if i'm being stupid.

Basically, just bought a flat in a new apartment block in London - thing is, they didn't tell me beforehand that the gas provider is fixed and you may not switch as they are a 0 carbon provider specifically for that area.

However...

. They charge £30 standing charge a month for the technology they've invested in - erm... that's not my concern?
. They are not registered with an ombudsman so you can't make a formal complaint
. They have no call centres so you can't get through to them

and to top it off, they are direct debiting my account twice each month for the same amount!!

Can anyone advise on where I stand with this? I really think it's a con that I am locked into, and it's costing me a small fortune!

Any help would be massively appreciated!

R

It would appear that you are supplied by a District Heating Scheme. This is something that should have been revealed to when your solicitor carried out his/her property search - provided, of course, that the right questions were asked.

macman

As above, you are probably being billed for hot water and heating, not for gas. What system do you actually have in the property, as if there was no separate boiler, but still wet rads, then it should have been obvious to you when you viewed it that it was not a conventional system. How was the heating and hot water system described on the property particulars?
Caveat emptor applies here, as always with property purchases so, it's up to you to ask the questions, not for them to volunteer info.
All you can do is complain to the management company or freeholder who presumably run the scheme.

macman

Robz_3000 wrote: »

also just to point out the £30 monthly charge is before i've even used any heating!

Yes, that's what it called a standing charge-which would still apply if you had a conventional gas-fired heating system. Though typically more like 30p per day, not £1. That s/c is presumably in effect a sinking fund that will eventually finance the boiler replacement or upgrading.
You will doubtless have other service charges in such a new development, so are you saying that this £30 did not appear in the list of charges that should appear somewhere in your lease?

J_B

macman wrote: »

Caveat emptor applies here, as always with property purchases so, it's up to you to ask the questions, not for them to volunteer info.

Or perhaps your solicitor should have asked and informed you!

macman

This is surely basic stuff-you don't need a solicitor to ask: what are the annual service charges, and what is the heating system?

J_B

macman wrote: »

This is surely basic stuff-you don't need a solicitor to ask: what are the annual service charges, and what is the heating system?

You forgot to say 'In my opinion'!

What seems basic to some is gobeldygook to others.

Cardew

Robz_3000 wrote: »

and to top it off, they are direct debiting my account twice each month for the same amount!!


Any help would be massively appreciated!

R

Why did you sign a direct debit mandate if you didn't know what you were being charged? As said above you can always cancel the DD.



Can you post the exact charges involved. i.e standing charge and kWh charges for gas and electricity.

macman

J_B wrote: »

You forgot to say 'In my opinion'!

What seems basic to some is gobeldygook to others.

No I didn't. Since when has the conveyancer been responsible for determining the type of heating system? There's no legal aspect to that at all. OP has not come back to us, but I've never seen a property description that didn't specify it. If you spend upwards of (wild guess) £200K on a new build flat then it's wise to ask a few questions before signing.
If the developer did not answer the relevant questions truthfully then that is of course another matter.