What to do next when OFFGEM don’t help?

Bebbie

Hi guys,  this is my first post so please be gentle with me!
 I moved into my flat in April and signed up with Scottish Power for my gas and electric,  only to find out that I have no gas supply at all.  I contacted SP and I was told that I have to pay the standing charge for the privilege of having a capped gas meter. I was also told that I would be charged £389 if I wanted the meter removed so therefore in their mind it's cheaper to pay the standing charge! I am struggling to understand how a company can charge for a service that they're not providing! They keep talking about supporting their customers in the cost of living crisis and yet they're very happy to take money for nothing. I was under the impression that your energy provider is not the owner of the meter and if this is the case, I'm paying a company for a service they don't provide and for a meter that isn't theirs!
 Sorry it's a long post but I would love some feedback/advice!
 Thanks 

Phones4Chris

@Bebbie
You'd have been better starting your own thread for this rather than confuse this existing one (maybe report your own post and ask them to move it to your own new thread).
So, two questions at this point,
1) why did you not check you had Gas before signing up for gas?
2) Is there actually a meter (for clarification)? And it is the supplier who is responsible for the meter BUT they are not the ones to say how much you would be charged to have the meter removed. 
Use https://www.findmysupplier.energy to check who is the "Gas Transporter" and that your meter MPRN and serial number is correctly recorded for your address and that SP are the supplier.
Contact the Gas Transporter to see what they would charge to Cap the supply.

Is there no Gas pipework and appliances in the property?

Gerry1

Welcome to the forum.

Do you own or rent? This will make a significant difference as to how you should proceed.

Scot_39

The standing charge is associated with the physical presence of the meter - not the service itself.  You pay every day whether you use gas or not.  Your supplier pays others on the basis it's present.

You are in a somewhat mixed situation if have meter  but supply is capped.  Are there any tags.  Is the cap at old ECV / GDO supply side or customer side after meter.


You might be allowed off the standing charge regardless if enter complaint on basis 

New occupant
Meter capped on arrival
Never used gas (unable to)

Previous occupant should have resolved with SP - assuming they were the deemed supplier.


I assume there are no gas using devices present - boiler, fires etc. If some planned action by previous occupants.

Would you ever want the gas supply reinstated ? 


If there are, wonder if this was some sort of aggrevated non payment situation with previous tennant / occupant.

Or more simply an emergency leak prevention action - never then resolved due to costs.  Si ilar to advice you have been given - that charge is nearly 4 yrs at current SC - a much higher multiple of old.

I'd talk to both supplier and local GDO to see what records they have if any or your landlord if renting.

And if bought - what info did - or should - you have gotten from previous owners via your solicitors ?


You don't seem to be in a normal process (one by user choice) to go off gas grid.  See e.g. 

https://www.energynetworks.org/customers/disconnecting-from-the-gas-network#


As it says some wont charge, some will.

Quick google came up with 2 variants and both old posts on blog entries from 2022 re charges.   Octopus who started with very green credentials didn't, my supllier EONext would.

Octopus never used to.  And seen a couple of more recent posts where they appear to have done so as part of their heat pump installs. But note they hint if frequency increases....

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

And according to the blog its not even their meter - so they have to absorb costs from MAPs when applied to do so (for their loss of rental income)

And again as ENA they wouldn't charge the SC once meter removed and supply capped at meter.

EOnNext an example of potially thers were charging, and those costs were non trivial, 

https://community.eonnext.com/threads/5939-Gas-Meter-Removal

Again 2 years old, but price quoted by one user almost double anothers memeory - and fairly similar to level you were quoted by SP

"This depends on the size of the meter and the complexity of the job. However, as a guide, a standard U6 domestic meter removal, with the pipework capped off at the ECV, starts at £330 + VAT." 

But in tge same thread the actual CS EOn employee quotes a much lower

"It seems our CS team have beat me to it! I was going to let you know the cost of the job will be £148.32 and that the network would have to attend to to cap the supply."

So not clear if that Lower price includes any GDO cap charge.



And as per ENA the GDO would typically come and disconnect supply a year or so later at street level if required for safety for free.


Note if you are needing the street disconnection say for building works then the whole process is probably chargeable - as would be reconnection.

Phones4Chris

@Bebbie Who was the previous supplier and who was paying the Standing Charge for the Gas?
If the reason the Gas Meter is capped is because you are renting and the Landlord has removed all gas pipes and appliances, then IMHO the Landlord should pay any standing charge and the Gas supply should be in the Landlord's name, OR the Landlord should pay any costs for having the meter removed.

Interesting that Octopus say that the supplier is responsible for removing the meter and they are currently offering the service FoC. Perhaps you should consider changing supplier to Octopus IF you are NOT renting, otherwise you need to discuss this with the landlord.

Leezy2

I thought i'd give an update, although sadly no news of any progress.
The Ombudsman re-escalated the old complaint and assigned someone to it. They queried it with SP and SP sent the Ombudsman 'proof' they had billed correctly. This was a copy of a bill from Feb 2021 in someone else's name and with their DD payments on, as before. The Ombudsman said 'there you go, all sorted' but fortunately when I spoke to the officer assigned she realised SP still hadn't done as they were told. She advised she would get back in touch with them, this was the end of October, and for us to start a new complaint with SP about the way they had behaved most recently and the fact they had ignored the situation since March 2021 and not sent a bill since 11 March 2022.
The Ombudsman has to date had no response from SP.
I had a reply from the Ombudsman team at SP on 18 Dec, only seven weeks after I emailed them, with no response to my comments at all just saying 'get back in touch with the Ombudsman if you still have an issue'.
The new complaint, which I sent 5 Dec got a reply much quicker on the 15 Dec. Unfortunately they ignored every comment I made, every item I wished to complain about, literally no comments at all about anything I sent them. They simply said ' I would like to refer you back to your previous complaint' and said if we weren't happy then contact the Ombudsman and they would now mark the complaint as closed.

Head, wall, banging.

grn99

That sounds infuriating beyond belief!

it does seem the Ombudsman really have little influence when a supplier doesn’t do the right thing… there was something on Rip Off Britain this morning about suppliers not honouring the Ombudsman decision; sounds like  the current Ombudsman service needs a root and branch overhaul. I’m awaiting the outcome of my Ombudsman complaint against BG, but given the experience of others, I’m not convinced BG will be any less inept than they have been so far.