Never paid for my gas

donnalou

Hi There,

I moved into my current home over a year ago. When I moved in I took a meter reading and tryed finding out who supplied my Gas. After many phone calls to Transco etc I was told that no one reconised my meter number. My home is not new by the way. Its over 100 years old. I was talking to my Neighbours the other day They told me that a previous owner had the same problem and they don't believe that they ever paid for Gas either.

I understand that if I did get a Bill they could only charge me for a year, but I feel guilty not paying for it.

Any advice would be grateful

Donna

ladypinkof66

I too had a similar situation to yourself recently however my property was new, i had not received a bill for gas or electricity and i did try to find out who the supplier was, and got no joy. I went along putting it to the back of my mind until I needed to move, I then got a bill from power gen for electricity and gas backdated to the day i moved in, 2 1/2 years in total and the bill was £1500, I don't understand the bit you say about only being charged for 1 year, as when I queried it they said they can go back even longer - 5 years.

In the end i had to end up paying the bill as i knew i owed the money and did not want to affect my credit rating.

donnalou

I'm sure someone will be able to confirm this but the law has now changed they can only charge you a maxium of one years usage.

Terrylw1

Hi,

Since 2005 Ofgem's policy has been that if you had not been billed they could only go back a maximum of 2 years. This changed to 1 year in 2007.

Thats does not mean that Supplier won't try to con you out of more. I know of some that advise their staff not to mention it and hope they pay then as soon as the customer does, they agree to stick to Ofgem's policy.

Ok, the meter number is one thing but as long as Transco can locate your MPRN by your address, thats all thats needed. The Supplier can then investigate the meter number and clear that up. It's probable that they have got a previous meter number or Transco have sent them an erroneous meter number or there is a crossed situation with another address.

That stuff is very common. So, I can't understand why Transco wouldn't trace your MPRN otherwise thousands of customers a year would have these issues in gas & elec and would never pay.

Give them your address and ask them to trace the MPRN for the Supplier. Then contact your Supplier and tell them about the meter number. They will then sort it for you.

Honestly, you want to see the elec side as there are many tens of thousands of incorrect meter numbers but it doesn't stop them tracing your Supplier.

Now, you are liable for the usage within Ofgem's rules but the longer it goes on the more free gas you get. So, it's up to you - I won't condone it either way, but just be prepared for a large bill at some point.

Your Supplier would arrange a payment plan though.

Someone will be aware of your consumption when they read the meter.

donnalou

Thanks for your reply
What does MPRN stand for?
Transco told me that they only have records for my Neighbours at number 3 and 2 I live at number 4 and number one does have a Gas supply


As far as we know no one has paid for Gas in our house for at least 10 years, Maybe even longer.

I think I'll just wait and see whats happens.

Donna

Terrylw1

MPRN is Meter Point Reference Number. It's just a number that denotes your property.

It could be that a Supplier has changed the address at some point and caused this. The meter number should still be traced to a MPRN with a Supplier so it could be investigated from there.

You could also argue that you have tried to resolve it and that Transco have told you you cannot be loctated. So, a Supplier is losing out and you could wait until they finally contact you.

They can only then backbill you 12 months whether you knew about it or not.

So, the longer it goes on the better off you are.

I have seen this happen in electricity before with customers between 6-20 years without any records. It's just a write off issue from a Suppliers point of view because you often can't even prove the usage either.

Enjoy it while it lasts!

kel_mooloo

Hi the reason Transco (national grid gas) might not be able to find out who supplies your gas is because sometimes they are not the main transporter. It will be an independant one, which is annoying as it can be harder to find. Transco is the main transporter, but there are some smaller, independant ones. it often happened when i worked at british gas.

This will provide you with some useful info

http://www.energylinx.co.uk/independent_gas_transporters.htm

good luck

Terrylw1

True, but since the house is 100 years old and the previous occupant had the issue there is a good chance that it won't be an IGT. So, if no IGT can find you, it's back to the original issue. Even if there is an IGT, there should be a billing Supplier so occupier letters would go out for this long running consumption issue.

Give it a try but if they can't find you, back to square one.