British Gas back dated bill

Darrener83

Hi,

New member here looking for a bit of advice.

I today received a back dated bill from British Gas in the sum of £917 which they claim is for gas/electric usage for the period December 2020 to August 2021. 

I left the property in question in August '21 and had confirmation from BG that the account was closed. My final bill at the time was £33 which I paid and thought that was the end of it. 

I called them up today and they claim that my final bill was estimated hence the bill they recently sent me. I don't recall if I gave my final meter readings when I moved out, but in December '21 they sent me a refund of £161 which I took to mean that I'd overpaid. 

I was paying £79 a month up until I cancelled the account, so by their logic they claimed I've used £917 of energy over the 9 months, which would have meant my monthly payments would have been £180 a month! The property was a one bed flat and I lived alone and work full time. 

Is this bill legally enforceable? I understand that as per the OFGEM rules that you can't be billed for energy used over 12 months ago, so where do I stand? I've had no contact from them at all until this month so where has this amount come from all of a sudden? 

I did submit meter readings sporadically as I wasn't able to access the electricity meter (the flat was above a shop and the meter was in the basement) but had my gas meter read normally. I had advised BG of this situation multiple times.

I'm still waiting on a response from BG and my next steps would be Citizens Advice/Ombudsman, but I just wanted to get an idea of where I stand. 

Thanks. 

CSI_Yorkshire

Darrener83 said:

Is this bill legally enforceable? I understand that as per the OFGEM rules that you can't be billed for energy used over 12 months ago, so where do I stand?

That's not quite what the rules say - it's a common misconception.

Others will explain it better though so I won't try in case I get it wrong.

[Deleted User]

Suppliers are like any other company/organisation. They can apply for the recovery of a debt at anytime which is only limited by a Statute of Limitations which times out some debts after 6 years.

Under Standard Licence Conditions, a supplier is required to produce a Final Bill within 6 weeks of ceasing supply. However, the Conditions also allow suppliers to correct a Final Bill as soon as more information comes to light. Clearly, they have to demonstrate that the amended bill is correct.

Backbilling normally applies to ongoing accounts. If it is applied, then the supplier is allowed to take into account all payments made which would include asking you for the £161 refunded to you in good faith. That said, unless you can show that you provided closing readings and didn’t just move out, then you may not have a case to argue.

Sadly, when consumers don’t give moving out readings the new occupant can get landed with a large bill. There is then a period of ‘to and froing’ as the new occupant provides proof of the date of occupancy; the supplier then amends the new occupant’ bill and then looks to the new occupant to pay for unpaid for units.

Darrener83

Thanks for the advice. 

Would this be worth taking to the ombudsman or is there no chance?

If they’ve based this bill on estimated usage how can they say it’s correct?

QrizB

Darrener83 said:

Thanks for the advice. 

Would this be worth taking to the ombudsman or is there no chance?
If they’ve based this bill on estimated usage how can they say it’s correct?

I think everyone here would agree that BG's billing system can sometimes be idiosyncratic.

The first thing is to get all your old bills out, work out your usage for the period, compare that to your payments, and see exactly what your final bill said.

Then use BG's complaints process. Complain to them that you settled the account when you moved out and that this re-billing is unjustified. Mention the back billing clause in the licence conditions (even if it technically might not apply, you still want to mention it).

Then, if you can't reach an agreement with BG in 8 weeks, complain to their Ombudsman and see where that gets you.

You might still need to pay BG something, but until you've been through the process you won't know.

Darrener83

Sounds good, I’ll do that. 

Happy to accept that I may have to pay something, but I think the amount they’re asking for is way off!

debitcardmayhem

I would guess that you can't argue whether it is correct since you can't remember if you sent them a leaving reading.

 I don't recall if I gave my final meter readings when I moved out, 

Darrener83

Yeah could be a sticking point. 

All I can do is speak to them and see what they say.

Jonboy_1984

Don’t forget to see if the bill/credit that accompanied the refund had an estimated, customer or actual meter reading quoted.

Gerry1

debitcardmayhem said:

I would guess that you can't argue whether it is correct since you can't remember if you sent them a leaving reading.

 I don't recall if I gave my final meter readings when I moved out,

The final bill should have the evidence.  If @Darrener83 can't find it then a Subject Access Request should do the trick.