Hi folks, im looking for some info on how to deal with this situation i find myself in.

I moved to a new property in Jan and switched my electric over from previous address with SSE, i am on a pre payment meter.

Looking back over the letters they have sent me they seem to have included gas with it as well but im pretty sure i never signed up to their gas services as the meter in this property was capped and i was happy to leave it how it was as i would never use it and din't want to be paying a standard charge for something i was never going to use.

They told me the gas meter wasn't one they could take over (smart meter from United Utilities) and it would have to be changed if i wanted their gas services, which i declined and it has never been changed.

The situation is now that they are sending me bills for gas.

The 1st one that came through i rang them about and it was wiped off after i explained the meter situation (being capped an not their own meter) but they keep coming through.

I have one here for gas that came through just 2 weeks ago, a reminder for a bill i was told was wiped off and when i rang to sort it out i was told i have been with them for gas since i moved to this property and the bill is an estimate as they have never had a meter reading from me.

Also, that even though the meter has not been changed yet and i din't sign up for gas that i am now with them for gas which can't be changed and i have been accumulating the standard change for gas since i switched my address at the beginning of Jan.

The no meter reading is obviously not true as my time on the phone to them after the last bill i received i gave them the reading and explained the situation again, which resulted in them telling me the bill would be canceled/wiped off.

I'd love to get this sorted asap as the bill also includes a threat of "steps to fit a prepayment meter" and debt collectors!

It seems as though they are trying to bully me into paying for something i don't want and din't ask for and tbh i am ill equipped to deal with it as i haven't had any experience with this sort of thing an have a pretty non existent knowledge of my rights on the matter.

If anyone could point me in the direction of good info or maybe if someone has had a similar experience and dealt with this kind of situation before i would be very grateful of any advice on how to proceed with this.

Thanks.

Might be worth phoning United Utilities with the gas meter reference numbers and ask them whether they are still the registered supplier of gas services at the address. UU can look up the gas supply on a central database and see what has happened. If SSE has attempted to take it over, it should be noted.

Then with the info you get from UU, i would suggest you contact SSE head office saying that you are getting nowhere with customer services. Give SSE all of the information you have including meter numbers and ask them why they think they are supplying gas at the address, when it was never requested.

CEO Email [email protected]

Telephone 01738 456000

Switchboard 01738 456000

Fax 017 3845 7005

Website http://www.sse.com

Social Media T F Y

Postal Address Inveralmond House, 200 Dunkeld Road, Perth, Perthshire, PH1 3AQM

Company Number SC117119C

Hi unclebulgaria67, thanks for the reply.

I should start by correcting a mistake in my post, i meant Utilita not United Utilities, must have been looking at another letter at the time of writing and its slipped in

Anyhoo, i will certainly give your suggestion a whirl and see what Alistair replys with after i e-mail him.

Thanks again for the reply and suggestion, will report back with any progress. Cheers.

Slight update, it seems SSE did take over the gas at the same time they took over the electric, according to Utilita.

Strange after they told me the meter needed to be changed for me to use their services and i've had no contact from them to get it changed in all this time, as i declined the service, yet they took over the gas anyway and i'm still billed?

You would have thought they would be eager to change the meter if i had signed up for the gas service. Its all very odd.

Do energy companies routinely do this sort of thing?

Slight update, it seems SSE did take over the gas at the same time they took over the electric, according to Utilita.

 

Strange after they told me the meter needed to be changed for me to use their services and i've had no contact from them to get it changed in all this time, as i declined the service, yet they took over the gas anyway and i'm still billed?

 

You would have thought they would be eager to change the meter if i had signed up for the gas service. Its all very odd.

 

Do energy companies routinely do this sort of thing?

They can't just register you for a service you have not asked for. It should be your choice which company you use.

Suggest you email a dispute to SSE about this. If the meter is capped and not in use at all, then i can't see why a standing charge would apply.

you should demand a transcript of the call you made regarding the transfer and opening of the account and make it clear that you dispute they have any authority to run a account for the gas at all. Make this part of your CEO complaint so that way he has to do a bit of digging before sending out a response.

As for standing charge, if ther is a meter then a standing charge applies but that is nothing to do with SSE as they are not the supplier.