Not had a gas bill...... ever!

thebigstillmeister

Hi,

Wonder if anyone can help,..... we moved in to our newly built apartment 3 1/2 years ago,.... (which was our 1st property).

At the time (3 1/2 years ago) my gf tried 4 or 5 times to contact the gas company to allow us to set up a direct debit etc,.... basically asking if we can pay them.....

They never got back to us and we even tried to move to another gas company so we could atleast pay someone,... this was not successful either,.......

So to this day we have never paid a thing and have never been sent anything from any gas company?

Am I right in thinking that the gas company could only bill us for the last 12 months if they ever realised?

..... I'd be happy to contact them again and say can we pay you, but now I don't want to get stung with a 3 1/2 year bill?

And if so where can I get this confirmed.....,? ie is there a UK regulator website or something?

Many thanks,

themoffster

i am the same. i am with scottish power and although they bill me for my electricity, i have never had a gas bill - they are on separate meters too.

Cardew

If you have never had a gas bill, when/if, they find out they can only go back 12 months.

Andie2308

thebigstillmeister wrote: »

Am I right in thinking that the gas company could only bill us for the last 12 months if they ever realised?
And if so where can I get this confirmed.....,? ie is there a UK regulator website or something?

Hi, they could go back and bill you and probably will find out one day - I used to work for an energy co. and they often set up task teams to track meter numbers that they had registered with themselves but weren't billing and sent someone to read them and feedback, so I would think that you would have someone read your meter before they bill you with it being so long since you were billed. This was never my area so i'm not totally clear with these things but I think they will let you spread the bill out over quite a few months if you phone them and tell them what you can afford to pay.
The regulator if Ofgem www.ofgem.gov.uk and you can also get advice from Energywatch www.energywatch.org.uk who should be able to confirm who your supply is currently with. Hope this helps

Andrea

Derek_A.

Cardew wrote: »

If you have never had a gas bill, when/if, they find out they can only go back 12 months.[/quote)
You are wrong they can claim back what you owe
them,come off it you are using the Energy, why should'nt you pay for it.:eek:

Maz

Cardew wrote: »

If you have never had a gas bill, when/if, they find out they can only go back 12 months.

Wasn't there some Ofgem ruling about this?

I'm in the same situation with Scottish Power, they insist that they're not my supplier but I switched to them 18 months ago!

olly300

Derek_A. wrote: »

Cardew wrote: »

If you have never had a gas bill, when/if, they find out they can only go back 12 months.[/quote)
You are wrong they can claim back what you owe
them,come off it you are using the Energy, why should'nt you pay for it.:eek:

There is now a limit a years limit the energy company can claim back for not sending out a bill. http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Media/PressRel/Documents1/11069-r30_05july05.pdf

However I strongly advise the OP to keep records of when they contacted the energy company either their telephone bill, emails and the automated response, or copy of letters written to them. That way when they do come asking for the full amount of money you can prove without difficulty it is their fault you were not billed.

I'm sure someone has posted on this board a certain energy supplier has tried to find ways around the OFGEM ruling which basically blames the customer.

Cardew

Derek_A. wrote: »

Cardew wrote: »

If you have never had a gas bill, when/if, they find out they can only go back 12 months.[/quote)
You are wrong they can claim back what you owe
them,come off it you are using the Energy, why should'nt you pay for it.:eek:

I am NOT wrong!

They can go back a year with back billing. Until July 2007 it was 2 years!

The morality of having 'free' gas or electricity is not the issue here. Of course this situation should not exist as the rest of us, in effect, pay through the higher prices we pay.

The problem is the way prices are structured in the industry. They are Regulated and allowed to make x% profit after all expenses. So if they have, say, 1000 customers like the OP and lose £1million in revenue, the rest of us pay that £1million in higher prices.

Care to withdraw your post?

djohn2002uk

Derek_A. wrote: »

Cardew wrote: »

If you have never had a gas bill, when/if, they find out they can only go back 12 months.[/quote)
You are wrong they can claim back what you owe
them,come off it you are using the Energy, why should'nt you pay for it.:eek:

Totally Wrong!
How about apologising to Cardew.

claretslass

I own a shop which I use for my business, with a flat above it which I let out. I've had the property since about April 06 and never had a gas bill, nor has the occupier of the flat, though I did receive a refund cheque of about £36 in the name of the previous owner in the early days. Not much use to me. I've tried my best to sort it out but I spend hours on the phone and get no-where, what can I do!
Its good to know theres a 12 month limit on what I'll have to pay when they eventually get their act together.

Terrylw1

The limts on billing of gas & elec came in as a result of Energywatch Supercomplaint in 2005.

From 2005 you could be backbilled for 2 years. This changed to 1 year from July 2007.

Thats fact! You can find that information on Energywatch's site and you an even find the document published by Ofgem (ask if you want it)

This is accepted by law and has been since 2005.

Claretslass - business supplies are not allowed this protection, you can be backbilled 6 years (8 I think in Scotland). However, the flat would be considered a domestic and would be ok. However, if you only have 1 supply and submeter privately to the flat you will be classed as business and be subject to the full penalty period.


P.S. this is not an issue of fraud. There are lots of customers trying to get a bill but errors at the Supplier/Agent ends mean they cannot until these issues are sorted out. So, this ruling covers negligence and incompetance.