Not signed a Contract gas company demanding daily charges

alldaysaver

Hi All
We purchased a property over 2 years ago and are still renovating with major structural work. During construction the builders suspected a gas leak few months ago and reported it to the the board who in turn attended and disconnected the meter. We have not used any gas since the purchase of the property or signed any contract with any provider. The company who we can only assume provided gas to the previous owners are demanding daily charges etc which now amount to over £2,400. Can they do this? The property was previously vacant for over 9 years and in a poor state. Can anyone help. Many Thanks

la531983

As soon as you take possession of a property you are in a deemed contract with whoever supplied the property before.
So yes, they can do this.   The fact it was vacant for 9 years before isnt relevant, someone would have owned it and someone would have been responsible for the gas (and other utility) supplies.

Did you not read the meters on taking possession and contact the supplier?    its one of the basics of house buying I am afraid.

As for someone coming in and "disconnecting" the gas, unless this was done properly in conjuction with the supplier you are still legally connected to the mains and the standing charges apply

https://octopus.energy/blog/disconnecting-your-gas-supply/

So you need to ascertain if this was actually done or if it was just a temporary measure that was undertaken at the time to stop the leak.

molerat

How do standing charges amount to £2400 ?  2 years will be just over £200.  Where was the leak - I assume it was your side of the meter so you have used gas.  Did you take a meter reading when you took control of the property and again when the meter was disconnected ?

la531983

molerat said:

How do standing charges amount to £2400 ?  2 years will be just over £200.  Where was the leak - I assume it was your side of the meter so you have used gas.  Did you take a meter reading when you took control of the property and again when the meter was disconnected ?

I would suggest that there is doubt here that it was properly "disconnected", maybe we need to clarify that first. 

Alldaysaver are you still being charged standing charges as of today?

Jonboy_1984

Generally you are automatically in a deemed contract with the previous occupants supply on the day you move in, per https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1986/44/schedule/2B/crossheading/deemed-contracts-in-certain-cases#:~:text=the%20owner%20or%20occupier%20shall,defence%20in%20any%20criminal%20proceedings.

If you literally have not used a single unit of gas (including for pilot lights/other automated boilers etc etc on the day you got the key) you may be able to argue you haven’t yet “taken a supply” and therefore have not yet entered a deemed contract. This may take some fighting to prove (and won’t be the case if your leak was after the meter, as that is your pipe work to maintain in good order).

QrizB

Does the £2400 owed include a metered quantity of gas lost during the gas leak?

We're meter readings taken when you moved in, and did you lodge these readings with your supplier?

For that matter, who is your supplier?

doodling

Hi,

la531983 said:

As soon as you take possession of a property you are in a deemed contract with whoever supplied the property before.
So yes, they can do this.   The fact it was vacant for 9 years before isnt relevant, someone would have owned it and someone would have been responsible for the gas (and other utility) supplies.

Not true, you are in a deemed contract as soon as you take a supply which in my (hopefully correct) interpretation means as soon as you use (or have leak from your pipework) any gas.

If you have the meter readings for when the property was bought and for when the meter was removed and they are the same then there is a good chance that you can successfully argue that you never took a supply and therefore no standing charges are due.

Are those two sets of readings the same?

la531983

doodling said:

Hi,

la531983 said:

As soon as you take possession of a property you are in a deemed contract with whoever supplied the property before.
So yes, they can do this.   The fact it was vacant for 9 years before isnt relevant, someone would have owned it and someone would have been responsible for the gas (and other utility) supplies.

Not true, you are in a deemed contract as soon as you take a supply which in my (hopefully correct) interpretation means as soon as you use (or have leak from your pipework) any gas.

If you have the meter readings for when the property was bought and for when the meter was removed and they are the same then there is a good chance that you can successfully argue that you never took a supply and therefore no standing charges are due.

Are those two sets of readings the same?

Surely that depends where the leak was, as already said.

This may be one of those threads where much more info is actually needed because as pointed out, 200 quid would be 2 years of standing charges and not 2400.

doodling

Hi,

la531983 said:

doodling said:

Hi,

la531983 said:

As soon as you take possession of a property you are in a deemed contract with whoever supplied the property before.
So yes, they can do this.   The fact it was vacant for 9 years before isnt relevant, someone would have owned it and someone would have been responsible for the gas (and other utility) supplies.

Not true, you are in a deemed contract as soon as you take a supply which in my (hopefully correct) interpretation means as soon as you use (or have leak from your pipework) any gas.

If you have the meter readings for when the property was bought and for when the meter was removed and they are the same then there is a good chance that you can successfully argue that you never took a supply and therefore no standing charges are due.

Are those two sets of readings the same?

Surely that depends where the leak was, as already said.

This may be one of those threads where much more info is actually needed because as pointed out, 200 quid would be 2 years of standing charges and not 2400.

If the meter readings are the same then the leak will be before the meter which (assuming that pipework hasn't been damaged by the OP or his contractors) will be the gas supplier's responsibility.

la531983

The OP hasn't given any indication of any meter reading whatsoever thus far, or even if they were read when they took possession. 

Ectophile

If you have never used any gas since you bought the property, then you are not a deemed customer of the gas supplier.

Gas Act 1986 Section 8 paragraph (1):

"Where a gas supplier supplies gas to a consumer otherwise than in pursuance of a contract, the supplier shall be deemed to have contracted with the consumer for the supply of gas as from the time ( “the relevant time ”) when he began so to supply gas to the consumer."

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1986/44/schedule/2B/crossheading/deemed-contracts-in-certain-cases

If you have never been supplied any gas, then this section does not apply to you.  You are not a customer of the gas company, so they have no legal basis to bill you a standing charge.

But... If the gas leak was after the meter, then you will have been supplied gas, even if it leaked out.  If the leak was before the meter, then put in a formal complaint to the gas company, asking them to cancel all the standing charges.