Government installed a heat pump in my house. Still getting gas bills. What happens if I don’t pay?

Tadgh78

Hi, the government installed an airflow heat pump in my housing scheme rented house in the summer. But I’m still getting gas bills. No gas was used but the bills include the standing charge and “vat on the standing charge”… 

What happens if I don’t pay?

 If I just ignore it will the gas company eventually cut me off and let me forget about it? 

I owe about €80.

Thanks.

Ceol

Just to check since you wrote the amount in Euros, are you in the UK or in the Eurozone eg Ireland?

In the UK, you can request that your gas supplier caps off your supply and removes the meter. There may or may not be a charge. I don't know how this would work if your house is rented via a housing scheme, so you might have to seek other advice, but I shouldn't imagine they'll have a problem with it if you can't even use the gas.

I don't think that there's an easy way to escape the bill. Sure, they could cut you off and stop charging you extra, but they'll also assign the debt to debt collectors, and it could get nasty. Whilst you're not using gas, you are still using the gas network as long as you have a meter, and your supplier is not going to forget about that because they have to pay the company that owns the meter rent to have it installed in your home.

Tadgh78

Ceol said:

Just to check since you wrote the amount in Euros, are you in the UK or in the Eurozone eg Ireland? 

Ireland. Yeah, I think I’ll just ring them up and ask them to disconnect the meter.

Thanks!

rp1974

Don't know how things work in your locale,in the UK if you dont pay your supplier will pursue any amount which is due and any additional associated costs involved in the recovery of said amount.
Unlikely the supplier will forget about it,would you if you were owed?,pay up and be done with it.
Since this was done much earlier in the year by the "Government" why was the gas metering and supply not removed then?,when it presumably was rendered redundant.