Charged for standing charge for gas I have never used.

nottsphil

What would happen if a prepayment was fitted and the OP never topped up his card (it would build up the s/c that would have to be paid off if he ever topped up but would disappear if a new customer turned up)?

Presumably he would be chased for the debt the same as a credit customer would. 

MWT

pochase said:

As long as you are able to just start using gas whenever you want there will be a standing charge.

The rule is that the meter need to be removed. I think this is very clear, if not necessarily fair.

That is true if the customer has willingly entered into a contract with the supplier, or has at some point in the past used gas, it is not true if it is a new customer who has not entered into a contract.

It is a 'loop-hole' which Ofgem have allowed as the deemed contract is triggered by energy use, so no use = no contract = no standing charge...

If you phone the supplier upon moving in and open an account for the gas then the opportunity has gone and what you have written applies...

pochase

OP says he did not agree to a gas account been opened, but the supplier did nevertheless.

How long ago was that? Did you raise a formal complaint about this? 

MWT

pochase said:

OP says he did not agree to a gas account been opened, but the supplier did nevertheless.

How long ago was that? Did you raise a formal complaint about this? 

Exactly, which is why I said earlier in this thread that this point is the key part of their complaint.

Would have been stronger if the complaint was made at the time and while there might still be recordings to support their claim that they did not want the account to be created...

Mobtr

With the company I used to work for if a customer moved out their account was closed and a new account for the property automatically opened. You can’t not have an account unless the supply has been disconnected and the meter removed. 

The new account would with be in the name of ‘the occupier’ or the new tenants name if we knew it. It would be on a deemed tariff and if no energy was used then there was a standing charge rebate & the bill for that fuel would be zero. If we knew there was no gas being used & had a history to show this, we had no problem in keeping that fuel on deemed. Which is why there is no harm in asking the energy company if they will do this