Gas Bills

[hayley2956]

Hi all

I've lived in my rented house since August 2007 and have never received a gas bill. When we took out the lease the letting agents said they would contact all services to tell them we have moved in. We recived a letter from British gas telling us they were not our provider, we have contacted the national grid who say they don't know who our provider is. We are due to move out at the end of June.

Should we just leave it and maybe it will catch up with us in the future??

any advice greatly appreciated!

xx

[lawsanass]

I think the onus is on them to send you a bill, even if they sent it 'to the occupier' If they send a bill, then pay it, you cant if they dont send you one, looks like you could be quids in, good luck

[ChuckFickens]

be a bit careful though, I don't know about the legal side of it but where I live now there wasn't an electricity bill received for 11months, then one day a nice man turned up to fit a card meter due to non payment of the bill. I very nicely sent him on his way telling him that if they send a bill I will pay it, but if I hadn't been home I would have got back to find a card meter fitted.

[hayley2956]

We've only had electricity bills for former tenants, from EDF who do our electricity but apparently not out gas!

oh well!

xx

[Buenchico]

Technically, you've been stealing any gas you've used.

Whenever you move into a new property, you have to enter into a contract for each of the services provided to that property. (If you use any of those services, prior to entering into such a contract, it's legally theft). That means that you needed to sign something! Somebody should shoot the letting agent because any decent agent should know about that. (i.e. it's not good enough for them just to tell the existing service providers that the tenancy has changed).

The previous tenants' contract, for the supply of gas, was automatically terminated when they left. So there's no current contract with anyone. (You were required to choose your own supplier when you moved in. There was no obligation to use the same company that the previous tenants had a contract with).

Since you're moving out at the end of June, you could just wait to see what happens. You might well find that you never receive any bill. However, since there's no contract, your gas supply could be cut off without any warning. Additionally, if it was clear that you'd never made any attempt to pay for the gas you've been using, it's possible that you could face a criminal prosecution for theft.

Chris

[whiskygalore]

One of my friends was in the same situation a couple of years ago, thought they were in the clear when they moved out because they had made reasonable attempts to find out who they should be paying their bills to and subsequently vacated.
Six months later, the managing agents must have given EDF his forwarding address, then a debt collection agency letter for �600-ish.
Because he and his flatmates hadn't thought to take first and final readings, they couldn't prove they hadn't used this much electric and had to pay it off to avoid a bad credit rating.
Before you leave make sure you have a record of your opening meter readings (agents should have put these on the check-in report) and make sure you take your final reads yourself. I would also put something in writing to the agents explaining that you have attempted to pay but have not been able to do so.
Utility companies will generally do write-offs for small amounts that aren't worth chasing, but they will keep coming after you for 12 months' worth of energy.

[whiskygalore]

P.S. Did Transco say why they couldn't identify your provider?

[hayley2956]

No they didnt say why they couldnt tell us who was our provider.

The gas was connected when we moved in as it hadnt been disconnected from the previous tenant, they had just paid (maybe) up til thy moved out, so maybe no one has ever paid in this house???

I don't know who to pay for my gas so I cant be stealing!?? What can I do??

[novalis]

Contact OFGEM and expalain the full situation to them.