This is a very odd one. Recently moved into a property and was told by the landlord that the previous tenant used a particular supplier for both gas and electricity. The Find My Supplier website confirmed this was the case for gas, as did another supplier, and when I called customer support prior to moving in they also said they supplied the flat with gas, but that they couldn’t find an account for electricity but would investigate and get back to me. Tenant, landlord, an official resource, another supplier and the company all able to confirm they supplied the property with gas — if not electricity.
I called up again on Monday and was told they could not find an account associated with the flat since February 2022, despite the tenant moving out earlier in August. Again, they would investigate — but again, it was definitely gas, certainly not electricity.
Today I called to ask what the status of the investigations were and was told that they only supply the property with electricity and that the previous account was closed with a final reading on August 13 (which matches when the previous tenancy ended, but obviously not the earlier claim about February 2022). Finding this odd, I spoke to somebody else who also said they had never supplied the property with gas.
To make the obvious joke, I feel like I’m being gaslighted: has anyone ever experienced an energy supplier behaving like this?
14 comments
Never underestimate the ability of companies to cock up.
Some years back I got in touch with London Electricity to say I was moving house, please terminate the gas and electric accounts, etc.
They said sorry to see you go, but we don’t supply you with electric, only gas.
Oh really? They claimed I’d closed my electric account after a month. And indeed, checking the other half’s bank statements confirmed we’d paid no electric for 11 months.
Got in touch with NPower who allegedly I’d chosen to move to. They said I’d chosen to move to them. Which I hadnt, because apart from anything else I’d never have moved just one account. So I asked for proof I’d moved to them. Turned out it was a fake signature from when a rep had gone round to try to get the spouse to change accounts. So I refused to pay, given I had proof I’d not been there.
Cue a few snotty letters back and forth but eventually we got away with 11 months of free electricity.
Take a photo of the meter, confirm when you moved in, and refuse to pay for anything related to before that date.
Yes actually.
Many moons ago when I was a student we realised we hadn’t been paying for any electricity. For about two years. We had setup the DD and then at some point they just stopped taking it and we never noticed.
Contacted npower who were the company we had originally signed up to and they flat out denied we had ever been a customer. Despite us having records of being their customer.
In the end it turns out that during some mergers etc we had been sold as customers to another supplier who never actually did anything with our account. It also turned out that our meter was actually registered to the wrong address. There were about 4 flats all impacted by this as our meters were all registered wrong but no one knew when the error happened.
We signed up with another supplier as brand new customers and npower let us off with the bill as they had absolutely no idea how much it should have been.
I had the opposite.
British Gas started sending me overdue bill notices for gas. I called them up as there wasn’t a gas meter and it had been removed by the previous tenant.
They refused to believe this and kept saying “if you can’t find your meter, we can help”. After multiple times where they didn’t call me when they said, and several more notices that I didn’t reply to as they were just addressed to “the occupier”, but I would always message them again eventually they sent someone out after 6 months to check it had been removed and then that all stopped.
Incompetent to say the least
Why do you need to know? You can just pick a supplier and tell them the date you are responsible for the property from? You don’t even need to know who the previous supplier was as it’s literally not your problem?
Yes, I bought a new build years ago and the initial energy supplier didn’t know what I was talking about but everything else pointed to them. They eventually agreed with me and said they would get it sorted out and send me a bill.
Nothing ever arrived, lived there for 5 years and never paid a single gas or electric bill.
Looking back on those days nostalgically right now.
I bought and moved into a flat in 2004. The flat had been newly built in 2001.
It took me three months to convince British Gas that they’d cocked up the meter references when it was commissioned. The previous occupier had been paying someone else’s bill for 3 years.
I once had this, turns out the Gas meter wasn’t registered when the house was built.
I’m sorry to hear that, that sounds very frustrating!
No, but british gas came round once and installed a new smart meter which it turned out should have gone in next doors.
I thought it was weird cos my existing one was almost new but they rocked up at like 8 am and I hadn’t had me coffee so I just waved them in and let them get on with it. As they were finishing neighbour popped his head out and asked them if he was next.
Watching the gasmans face go from his paperwork to my house number and back again over and over was priceless. He couldn’t take it back either, no required paperwork even though i said it was fine.
Just the nature of big companies, paperwork fuck ups are a constant.
Make sure you keep a record of who you spoke to (names) and when, and what was said. Make sure you have safely and permanently recorded the meter readings from when you moved in (or now if you don’t already have this). The energy supplier will eventually come looking for money. Maybe put money in an account instead of paying the bills so you have it handy when the dickheads finally cotton on.
Had a similar issue with British Gas years ago and it was hell to resolve.
Oh yes
My dad in law moved into rented accom in our town 6 years ago
Got told who the supplier was, set up dd
amounts varied considerably, and seem to be up when he wasnt there in summer (spent summers on his boat)
we queried. no not us they said
went to landlord. tried again. nope
eventually got hold of northernpowergrid who run the cables and have a central database. got firm details. still said no.
eventually got npg and supplier onsite. They worked out it was them and all the flats in the house block had been charged wrong! that took 6 months for electric
Now thegas was being paid for dd ok until about 2 years ago. weve only just found this out. we had a statement of supply for 20-21 of 0 at £0.00, and 21-22 of 0 at £0.00. but saying due torisrs if we changed tarif he could save £42.60!
Lol. have tried ringing. got nowhere. the bill is obviously wrong even to a casual glance. But no one accepts ownership not even the reputed supply company. whats even funnier us that ive now found the pre payment. meter that he has never even know existed. So how the heck does he get gas. on top of this he now has the start of dementia and cancer
you couldn’t make it up.
This is happening to me right now. British Gas said they don’t supply gas to my address but I’m literally using their gas card? I just want the account in my name
Yeah. My dad tried moving electric suppliers and, I can’t remember why, but the new vendor didn’t open the account properly/at all and the old one closed his old account. It may be similar with you because the gas never got moved, he was still billed for *something* so he never noticed. It only came to light when he moved and tried to give them a final meter reading.
Yep. Been living in a flat for a year and about to leave. Took me from September to January to get utilities issues straightened out. Converted house with a shared cupboard where gas metres were kept, unlabelled, letting agency couldn’t tell me which was mine. To make matters worse my address being “7 Example House, Some Road” has the same postcode as 7 Some Road. British Gas decided that they’d just assign me to the other property for whom they also supplied electricity and billed me for that for weeks, even though I was already paying Eon for electric. Had to figure out which gas meter was mine by turning the hob on and then going out to the cupboard and switching gas meters off to see which turned out the flame. I feel bad for the shit show for the incoming tenant.