British Gas advised me not to pay my bill?? Really???

[Srah]

Hi, Can anyone advise where I stand legally on this?

I moved house in November. NPower were providing my previous property and when I advised them that I was moving they told me to give them all my meter readings (old and new) and they would sort out the transfer from the supplier at the new place (british gas). This I did and heard no more about it until I recieved a letter from a litigation company saying I owed British Gas £150!!! for 4 weeks supply. This is more than I have been charged for the subsequent 6months worth of gas!!

I called British Gas and after half an hours row which resolved nothing the charming, understanding man on the end of the phone told me that since the bill was in the name of the occupier and I at no time entered into any agreement with British Gas I am not legally obliged to pay the bill anyway and should therefore ignore it??

Is this true or by ignoring it am I likely to find myself hit with additional fees???

[Surfer01]

Firstly you need to check with Npower on the date that they transferred you to themselves on the new property If you gave Npower a reading for the date that you moved in, but Npower only transferred you three weeks later unfortunately BGAS can claim for supply. They will need to demonstrate what they were charging the previous occupier and can then raise a bill on it.
Unfortunately with BGAS it will not go away and at some time in the future, they will try and nail you. Npower should be able to give you an estimate of your usage with BGAS for the period in question, if any.

[gondukin]

Unfortunately when you moved in you enetered into a 'deemed contract' with British Gas, so you are legally liable for the power you have used. Whilst they cannot take 'the occupier' to court, they often get details off credit records, the voters roll and the land registry and change the name on the bill.

You need to provide BG with the date you moved in and a copy of the meter readings. If you do not have the readings, then BG will estimate them.

From the date you spoke to nPower, it usually takes between 4-8 weeks to switch back at your new address. You can check the changeover date independantly with Xoserve (National Grid Transco) for gas (08706081524) and your local MPAS service for electricity.

nPower should have advised you to let BG have a copy of the readings and of the changeover period when you moved in. Whilst all companies have some staff who don't always mention this, nPower are particularly bad in this area.