Gas Bill dilemma

Davidxela

I have a moral dilemma and I don't know what to do. 
I was once supplied with gas and electricity from Co-op energy on a duel fuel tariff. When octopus energy bought co-op energy my account automatically switched over to them. 
Or so I thought.
I continued to pay by D/D every month and thought nothing of it. I've not needed to fix my energy or switch to a different tariff, I was happy with what I was charged as standard.
I live in a new build property, a flat, and before it had a flat number it was a plot number. 
The other week I noticed a letter in the communal area address to the occupier of plot number *** which was my plot I've now worked out.
I opened the letter and it turns out it's a gas bill for around £1200! 
Octopus haven't been charging me for gas for at least 3 years......
The letter said there's no direct debit set up and that the bill obviously needs settling.

Now I don't know what to do.
Do I ring them, admit I live in plot number *** and arrange to pay the money for the gas used?
Do I have to settle the account if it's been so many years without them chasing it?
Is it my fault the energy switching clearly didn't work as intended and does the mistake lie with them? 
Could I ring them and say up a new account as if I've just moved in now to start from scratch? 

Any help and advice gratefully received 

matelodave

I think you really know what you should do rather than asking other people to condone dishonesty otherwise you wouldn't be asking the question.

I find it really difficult to understand how people can go for several years not checking gas bills, meter readings or even their bank accounts and not recognising that something isn't quite right to the tune of of £50-£100 a month.

Neil_Jones

Octopus bought Co-Op energy back in 2019.

Have you been giving meter readings?

Your direct debit is not your bill.

How were you paying before Octopus rocked up?  All that money has to have gone somewhere.

Davidxela

So I have always paid by Direct Debit. My direct debit amount must have gone down at some point when it was just the electric bill being charged to me, but I didn't realise at the time. 
Living alone my gas bill use to be something silly like £20 a month and electric was similar. 
But I think the direct debit went up to £40 at some point and I assumed it was still for both.

And I have smart meters so never needed to submit readings ect

Altior

No dilemma really. Unless you can't pay the gas bill that has accumulated in one go. 

I live alone, nee new build and my domestic dual fuel bill has gone from average £40 pcm to £100+. £40 would likely barely cover the SC these days. 

squirrelpie

I'm with Co-op Energy and still get bills emailed to me every month telling me how much my variable direct debit will be for the latest month. And showing details of the smart meter readings that back up the bill. So I'm curious why you apparently don't?

If they really haven't billed you for three years, does the rule about them not being able to bill more than 12 months in arrears apply?

QrizB

Davidxela said:
Any help and advice gratefully received 

Contact Octopus, express surprise that they've not been billing you for gas since 2019 (or whenever), provide a meter reading, and get it added to your account.

cannugec5

As you live in a flat it is possible that your direct debit has been paying the bill of a meter in someone else’s flat. 

We had that situation a number of years ago when our meter and the one in the flat opposite had got mixed up. 

The letter addressed to plot number rather supports that. 

A basic check of the old bills should confirm your meter number/s .

Scot_39

Address and lot number problems on new builds are not as rare as you might think - even in distinct homes.

If you bought new - it was really up to you to check paying bills - the correct bills - and sort out with supplier if not.  With smart in smart mode some who dont often find they have been paying a neighbours bills - and those neighbours theirs - and with two customers and two suppliers involved  can take months to resolve.   

And in flats - the problem is often even worse - as meters can be miss-labelled or miss-allocated to the flats - meter A feeds flat B not A etc.

You wouldn't be the first not to check. But it is often an error too many posters here have come to regret.

So - ignoring the bills issue - are the meters in your flat - or in a communal cupboard / room somewhere with other flats ?

If not in flat - have you ever performed a meter sanity check against the serial numbers you are or I presume at least were for both fuels at one time being billed for ?

As a transitioned to Octopus customer after sale - they should have moved the billing correctly.

[But it is widely regarded as part of your responsibility in a supply contract with them to check your statements and to provide monthly in case of Octopus as a rule readings - in your case ideally smart - but manual if not - to allow them to bill you - for both fuels.]

So IF - and I mean IF - things were working smoothly with Co-Op and you were paying for both fuels with them - for the correct meters at the correct flat number / address - and Octopus screwed up the move / billing when moved accounts across - that that is hardly your fault [but they might try to argue you should have spotted  much sooner really]

I dont suppose you thought to keep any old Co-Op bills until you checked against Octopus bills once heard about the sale - so that you can prove you were ?

If they messed up - there is an argument backbilling could be applied - but if they can pin a major error on you - like not paying Co-Op either or paying for the wrong meter - you could be legally responsible to Octopus for the bills - from both Co-Op days and Octopus days.

Is there any chance you were only paying the Co-Op for electric ?

Did you ever check the initial Co-Op bills against your actual meter readings and actual serial numbers or were even for both fuels ?

There is no logical reason for them suddenly to revert to plot numbers if both were correctly registered to the address at the Co-Op ?  But mistakes do happen when moving accounts.

And these firms have been known to catch errors - actually in some cases i'd be tempted to say - deliberately review and look for them - e.g suspect accounts or say national meter database inconsistencies (one in a block / group allocated to them or CoOp - but no billing record) - to look for errors - as much as 5+ years old - as potentially still court actionable for recovery.

Record keeping and bill checking may seem anal to most  - but potentially invaluable in a dispute.

I keep stuff for 6 years - tax, bills around changes, etc

Can you at least now 

check the serial numbers and readings on your Octopus -presumably electric only - bill to address - match your meter ?

and the serial numbers and readings on "your" new - presumably gas only - bill to occupier / lot number ?

Davidxela

Thanks Scot_39.
Yes I've access to the old bills online through the octopus website. These old bills include 4 quarters worth of bills from co-op energy showing I was paying for gas AND electric before the company changed. All meter numbers match and are correct.
That's why I'm so confused why suddenly they only charged me for electricity.
I have always gotten a message once a month from octopus saying £40 will be taken from my account for my bill, and it's always been fine and I've never needed to check it. 

So is the consensus I should contact octopus, express surprise at bott having been correctly billed for gas for the last 6 years, and then hope they bill me for the last 12 months worth and set up a new direct debit to include both fuels? 

QrizB

Davidxela said:

So is the consensus I should contact octopus, express surprise at bott having been correctly billed for gas for the last 6 years, and then hope they bill me for the last 12 months worth and set up a new direct debit to include both fuels? 

That's what I'd be doing, yes.