Four months in a rental... still no gas supplier.

concernedlondoner

Back in August I moved into a London rental in a large Victorian home divided into three separate units (not a HMO - three separate households). Prior to moving in, I asked the landlord to confirm the gas and electricity supplier(s), and then took over the accounts from the previous tenant - or tried to; electricity was fine, but the supposed gas supplier adamantly denied supplying the property. After a bit of back and forth, they pointed me in the direction of another supplier who I got in touch with immediately.

Sure enough, the MPRN on the gas meter labelled as ours (i.e. Flat 2) was registered for an account with this supplier. However, the account is associated with another flat in the building (i.e. Flat 3); meanwhile, the MPRN for the meter labelled Flat 3 apparently isn't on the national database at all - which confusingly only shows a generic address, Flat 1 and Flat 3, no Flat 2. (It's a lot to get your head around, I know).

Since establishing this in early October, I have been chasing up the supplier to try to rectify the situation. Initially they asked me to run all the gas appliances in our flat and see which meter ticked up - I've done this a few times, but it's been inconclusive (though I'm leaning towards the meter for Flat 2 indeed being mine). They also asked me to find out and confirm the name of my neighbour in Flat 3 so they could check whether they had an account, however this made me feel uncomfortable to say the least. The landlord - who is generally very helpful and responsive - has not been helpful at all.

Either way, I've been chasing up the supplier for further clarification about next steps and not heard anything substantial; after about five or six emails, I did eventually hear something back but was told that as I'm not (yet) a customer, they don't have a ticket associated with the issue, so I've kind of fallen in the gaps. It feels like I'm kind of just in limbo - they don't recognise me as a customer, but they are supplying the meter that is meant to be mine, without knowing which flat in the building it actually belongs to.

As the weather drops, it's all a bit nerve-wracking - I can't comfortably turn on the heating without knowing what I'm potentially going to be billed for or when. I'm also worried they'll cotton on to something being wrong and cut it off. Is there much else I can do but continue to hassle them and put some money aside to ensure I can pay if and when they decide to take the situation seriously?

[Deleted User]

concernedlondoner said:

I'm also worried they'll cotton on to something being wrong and cut it off. 

First thing to note - you should not worry about this.  They will not cut off your gas.

concernedlondoner

[Deleted User] said:

concernedlondoner said:

I'm also worried they'll cotton on to something being wrong and cut it off. 

First thing to note - you should not worry about this.  They will not cut off your gas.

Good to hear - did think that was a bit far-fetched!

Alnat1

You've done what you can and notified them. Leave the companies to sort it out (or not) and make sure you put some money away for when (if?) they ever get themselves sorted.

Treat yourself to a nice winter holiday on the cash next year if it still isn't sorted 

macman

If your gas supply is shipperless then you should just continue to use it until such time as the industry identifies it and finds you a supplier.
You have done all you reasonably can (make sure you have written evidence of your enquiries), and you cannot be back-billed for a shipperless supply, since there is no-one to bill you. So no need to put money aside.
It's quite possible that your LL is well aware of the situation but wishes to avoid any billing to himself during void periods.

[Deleted User]

macman said:

If your gas supply is shipperless then you should just continue to use it until such time as the industry identifies it and finds you a supplier.
You have done all you reasonably can (make sure you have written evidence of your enquiries), and you cannot be back-billed for a shipperless supply, since there is no-one to bill you. So no need to put money aside.
It's quite possible that your LL is well aware of the situation but wishes to avoid any billing to himself during void periods.

It looks like the OP's supply isn't shipperless though - it's just being paid for by someone in a different flat.

The supply to that other flat is shipperless.

concernedlondoner

[Deleted User] said:

macman said:

If your gas supply is shipperless then you should just continue to use it until such time as the industry identifies it and finds you a supplier.
You have done all you reasonably can (make sure you have written evidence of your enquiries), and you cannot be back-billed for a shipperless supply, since there is no-one to bill you. So no need to put money aside.
It's quite possible that your LL is well aware of the situation but wishes to avoid any billing to himself during void periods.

It looks like the OP's supply isn't shipperless though - it's just being paid for by someone in a different flat.

The supply to that other flat is shipperless.

Although in that case, assuming my neighbour does have an account with the supplier and is paying for usage, they will be submitting the wrong readings as the meter that apparently doesn't exist is very clearly labelled for their flat.

It's an awkward conversation to have.

[Deleted User]

It looks like the OP's supply isn't shipperless though

I agree: this sounds like a classic case of meter mis-registration. Given that it is just 3 flats it should be a simple exercise to identify the meter connected to the property: just turn the gas boiler off when you know that the two other flats have their heating on, or vice versa and check the meters.

Once you have identified the meter. Take a photo of it which shows the meter serial number. Send this photo to your supplier and ask it to check on the database the MPRN which is linked to the meter serial number. Ask the supplier to change the MPRN listing to your property address. DO NOT encourage them to break the link between the MPRN and the meter serial number: it will end in tears. Tell your neighbours what you have done so they can check their bills and meters.

concernedlondoner

[Deleted User] said:

It looks like the OP's supply isn't shipperless though

I agree: this sounds like a classic case of meter mis-registration. Given that it is just 3 flats it should be a simple exercise to identify the meter connected to the property: just turn the gas boiler off when you know that the two other flats have their heating on, or vice versa and check the meters.

Once you have identified the meter. Take a photo of it which shows the meter serial number. Send this photo to your supplier and ask it to check on the database the MPRN which is linked to the meter serial number. Ask the supplier to change the MPRN listing to your property address. DO NOT encourage them to break the link between the MPRN and the meter serial number: it will end in tears. Tell your neighbours what you have done so they can check their bills and meters.

In fact, it's only two of us who have meters on that part of the property - Flat One has a separate smart meter, as far as I understand. I have tried to make contact with the supplier to say I suspect the meters may be mis-registered but they've not properly responded to me since September (I had an apology for not getting back in touch in response to one of my emails, and then no follow-up when I tried to arrange a time for a call).

concernedlondoner

[Deleted User] said:

It looks like the OP's supply isn't shipperless though

I agree: this sounds like a classic case of meter mis-registration. Given that it is just 3 flats it should be a simple exercise to identify the meter connected to the property: just turn the gas boiler off when you know that the two other flats have their heating on, or vice versa and check the meters.

Once you have identified the meter. Take a photo of it which shows the meter serial number. Send this photo to your supplier and ask it to check on the database the MPRN which is linked to the meter serial number. Ask the supplier to change the MPRN listing to your property address. DO NOT encourage them to break the link between the MPRN and the meter serial number: it will end in tears. Tell your neighbours what you have done so they can check their bills and meters.

Okay, now fairly confident that this is what has happened having done this test as you described. My meter (2) ticks up when the boiler is on while the neighbour is out and his (3) stays in place.

We have already established with the supplier that meter 2 is registered to his property, so it's a case of them correcting the MPRN listing.

Could you possibly kindly expand on next steps, obviously bearing in mind I have repeatedly tried to make contact with the supplier about this but as a 'non-customer' keep hitting a wall. Will I have to repay for the four months here that my neighbour had the associated account? Would you discuss with the neighbour before/after going through this process?

Any guidance on how to word my request so that they do not break the link between the MPRN and meter serial number - and dare I ask what happens if they get this wrong?

[Deleted User]

We have already established with the supplier that meter 2 is registered to his property, so it's a case of them correcting the MPRN listing.

The gas meter MPRN database is managed by XoServe but all changes need to be managed by your supplier. You need to find out your MPRN: this can be a bit of a challenge. Here are some numbers to try:

(Source: SAYNO TO 0870)

As a starter, I would use the 0121 623 2000 number at the bottom of the table. You want the ‘Who is Gas supplier/MPAS’ department. 

Explain that you believe your meter has been mis-registered; give them your neighbour’s meter serial number and ask them to confirm the MPRN linked to it.

Submit a written complaint to your supplier. Inform the supplier that you have carried out a ‘burn test’ and you have confirmed that the meter serial number XXXXXXX supplies your property (provide a photo showing the meter serial number). Ask them to amend the address listing on the MPRN database: that is, change it to your address. The linked meter serial number will transfer across to you with the MPRN change.

If you delink the MPRN and the attached meter serial number then the system ends up with a MPRN and no meter, and a meter with no MPRN.

There is no harm in speaking to your neighbour. It might speed up the process. 

Edit:

As far as payment is concerned, you will normally pay for the energy recorded by the correct meter.