Business gas complaint - any experience?

GasGrr

As a small business we rented a light industrial unit for 4 years but only used it for storage. Visited once every few months, and turned the lights on, but nothing was ever connected to the gas. In fact, I don't think we remembered we had a supply, or attention wasn't drawn to it by the landlord. My memory of conversations at the time (bear with me, we're not incompetent: us = tiny non-profit, landlord = tiny social enterprise, result: everyone wildly over capacity) was that the landlord was going to let us know who suppliers were. They never did that, nothing prompted us to follow up.

So, we've moved out, new tenants have informed suppliers they've taken over the unit, and we've got a bill for nearly £1500 for 4 years of standing charges.

British Gas's argument is that it's not their responsibility to find out if a tenant has moved.
My argument is well yes, but how, in 4 years of presumably not being paid, did BG not do a rudimentary search when they would have easily seen that we were the tenants (paying business rates), or contact the landlord, who would have passed the query on to us. We could then have had the choice to disconnect completely and avoid ongoing costs for something we weren't using.

We're now locked into a 'who blinks first' situation of BG saying they'll offer a 20% discount if we pay it in full now, but we're welcome to take it to Ofgem. At which point they'll revoke the 20% discount offer and the full amount will be due if Ofgem don't support our complaint.

Anyone come across any similar case? Or know where to find any details of previously successful or otherwise Ofgem rulings? I've searched but can't find anything, which makes me think we're unlikely to be successful. Ofgem website a bit rubbish.

Thanks in advance for input.

PaschalFun

You should be able to find details of their default tariff on their website

Hasbeen

GasGrr wrote: »

I don't think we remembered we had a supply, or attention wasn't drawn to it by the landlord.

the landlord was going to let us know who suppliers were. They never did that, nothing prompted us to follow up.

British Gas's argument is that it's not their responsibility to find out if a tenant has moved.
.

It was your responsibility to find out inform .

Personally I would take the offer.

But some one knowledgeable on back billing will turn up shortly

[Deleted User]

BGB (British Gas Business) can charge round £400 a year for business standing charges for only a small G4/U6 type gas meter which is never used. I think you will have to blink because OFGEM will not be able to deal with this complaint.
I can contradict BG up a little in that I am sent out to read small business meters and if the occupier is not named there is a section for me to add the new occupiers company name to inform the supplier, but if the unit is constantly locked up , it can go on for years without establishing if an occupier is using the unit
Domestic customers have the Energy Ombudsman to call upon for this sort of complaint. I m not sure if business customers have the same sort of ombudsman to call on, but if there is , that is who you need to contact
Best of luck anyway.As a meter reader for BGB and BG I always made a point of letting the unit holders know if they were not using gas to get BGB to remove it to avoid expensive standing charges especially for those who had not got a contract in place

Hasbeen

Try info here especially step 3

https://www.britishgas.co.uk/business/your-account/making-a-business-complaint

GasGrr

Hi all

In response to posts:

1. We made steps to find out. Both sides ran out of steam.

2. We've already exhausted the BG complaints procedure.

3. Yes we can go to the ombudsman. The issue is whether we have the appetite for it considering constraints on staff capacity, and we could end up losing the 20% discount currently offered (which is what BG relies on I'm assuming).

3. We don't know what we don't know: it's not obvious that there would be charges for a service you don't use. My argument is that in 4 years, a supplier should make greater endeavours to find out why no-one appears to be paying anything. If a customer doesn't pay us for a year and isnt' responding to communications we're all over the internet checking that they haven't gone bust, or are in other difficulty, or been taken over, or changed their contact info etc etc. This is a large org with plenty of resources to chase debt.

I'm really just interested in finding out if anyone has successfully gone to the ombudsman with a similar situation. I maintain that 4 years is way too long to have let charges build up without making further endeavours to establish who is responsible for the supply.

PaschalFun

Hasbeen wrote: »

...
But some one knowledgeable on back billing will turn up shortly

I'm back again, guys!

Customers should pay for energy they have used and should help their supplier with obtaining meter readings and resolving queries.
1. When you move into new premises:

• Check thoroughly to see how many meters there are on your premises.
• Register with a supplier straightaway.
• Read the meters, and make sure your gas and electricity supplier has your correct name and address - it is your responsibility to ensure your supplier knows your details
• If you have not registered with a gas or electricity supplier you are deemed to have an energy contract with the supplier that was previously supplying your property. You are expected to pay your bill for any energy consumed.
• Any communication from a supplier addressed to you or the occupier should be opened and read.
• If you do not receive any correspondence from an energy supplier, or the correspondence is addressed to someone else, you must take steps to find out who your supplier is or to register with a new supplier.

GasGrr

Yes Pachal, that's lovely. But we're talking about a situation in which we didn't know you had to take over a supply when nothing was attached to it. If you haven't experience this before, having a connection but not using it, actually it is reasonable to believe there is nothing to do. We didn't know standing charges would be payable on a supply that isn't used. We hadn't had our own business supply before as we'd always been in buildings where we'd been recharged by the landlord. We/the address of the storage unit didn't receive any communication from any supplier. The landlord didn't pass us any info about utilities despite us asking. I would have expected to get some communication via the actual unit's mailbox or via the landlord from BG after a couple of years of presumably them not getting any money from anyone.

4 years. BG may well have their nice list, but that doesn't make it reasonable in all circumstances. Also, people who don't know they are in this situation WON'T KNOW TO LOOK IT UP AND READ IT.

Streaky_Bacon

I'm always keen to advise people to push back regarding back billing, but in your case I think that taking the offer is the best idea.

I think it is likely that the ombudsman would find that you are at fault for not contacting the supplier.

I take on board what you are saying about not being aware of the need to take over the supply, but I don't think that will be sufficient.

You may wish to consider whether you may have any claim against the landlord. Do you have any in writing, which you think may be relevant?

Do you feel that, before you signed the lease, you were unaware that there was a gas supply, and that the landlord did not draw your attention to it?