Dispute on Gas reading.

Phillius

Good Morning,
Could do with some support and advice please.
In June last year my Dad passed away but we kept the gas/elec account running as normal as the bill came out of a joint account. 
On Nov 1st 2019 we moved out and as per expectation I gave a final meter reading.
Now almost 4 months on I have received a new revised bill saying I owe them £400 as the new home owner has disputed the meter reading.

They are trying to say between Oct 1st and Oct 31st we used £438.00.

That's what we have used in 3 months in our new house, which is much bigger and has an extra old person living with us, so on all day.

Now the evidence I have, monthly gas bills showing consistent usage.
2018 bill statements which mirror almost identical usage of 2019. Again showing our diligent meter reading.
I have a yearly statement of usage for 2018 which shows I used £700 in a year. So £438 is obscene.
Last but not least I have picture or the meter reading on my iPad with the date and time stamp of the day we moved out.

Now my thoughts are that the new home owner clearly didn't give them a new meter reading and there first meter reading must have been recent, after the winter gas usage.

Any advice on what I should do would be appreciated and any thoughts on if I have a case.

Thanks

Phil 

Robin9

Did you have a final bill following your Nov 1st reading ? Was the meter reading on the bill in agreement with the one you gave?

Phillius

Hi, yes the final bill matches my meter reading picture. So I gave the correct reading.

tacpot12

I assume that when you say you moved out on 1st Nov, that this was the date the sale was completed. If completion was a later date, you are liable for the utility bills to the date of completion. 

If 1st Nov was the date of completion, call them up and say you are not going to pay because you have evidence of your usage to 1st Nov - offer to send them the timestamped iPad phone because you think the new owner is mistaken (or lying). It sounds like you have the most rock-solid case ever!

The only possible issue is if the meter has been under-reading for some time, in which case, you might owe them a lot more, but it's up to them to figure out that their meter was broken, for how long, and what the impact might be on you. However, and annual bill for gas of £700 suggest that the meter is not broken, so if they suggest that it is, I think you should argue against  this most strongly. 

matelodave

The best idea is not to try arguing over the phone - send copies (not the originals) of the bills with a covering letter explaining the situation by Recorded Delivery (and make sure you keep the posting receipt).
As said above perhaps the new owner didn't send in an opening reading (or is trying it on) but if you've kept previous readings and bills, especially the final one, then it shouldn't be a problem to sort it all out.
It does show the value of saving bills for at least a couple of years after you've either changed suppliers or moved house

Talldave

Explaining that you have a photo of the reading you sent should put a stop to their stupidity. And if not, hopefully the ombudsman can view photos!