powergen electricity mix up

[inq80]

Hi all,

I came across this forum a while ago and found it pretty handy for my problem then so thought i would see if any one could offer some advice for my current issue.

I'll try and keep this brief (but it'll be hard to...) : i'm a tennant in a 2 bedroom flat. I've been in this flat since 01/11/2005. I moved in at the same time as my flatmate and did all the usual about setting up accounts and such.

The problem begins with these accounts. The water and gas were done fine, but when we rang powergen about the electricity, they couldnt find any details for the property. All in all we rang them 6 times over this, and after the 6th time of asking and powergen insisting they dont have an account for the property, we gave up trying. So lucky us (or cheeky?) have not been paying for electricity up til now.

My flatmate left, and others have come in - now with my third flatmate since moving in myself. Thing is, this has now caught up with me because on monday 16th august, i get a warning of disconnection notice through the door. It was addressed to "thomas fish & sons" and plot 32, which i have since found out are the builders of the apartments. When i rang them asking what it was about, they said ignore it and it obviously been sent to the wrong address. The next day i get a call from someone else at powergen who said it wasnt the wrong address and could i check the meter serial number? So i did and called back on friday 20th august with the details. They matched.

The lady there said they have had an error on the account with their admin department and apologised for the mix up and said it was partly their fault. Now i want the matter sorting so gave her the current meter reading and the amount outstanding is £470 (is this good for 2 years?) Her next statement really surprised me: she said as it was partly their faulty for the original mix up and not keeping their records in order she said they would come to some arrangement to pay off the total amount in smaller payments.

Now i know this would happened eventually and have money set aside for when it did. I also know i am responsible for half that payment as my share of the bills so would happily pay £235 towards it. What i want to know is can powergen insist on me covering someone else half payment? The previous 2 flatmates have since moved on to god know where, but shouldnt powergen have to take some of the financial burden for their error? I know the bills are the responsibility of the tennants, but my arguement is, if these bill were sent on time the costs would have been split - this now cant happen due to their "admin" error.

i really would appreciate it if anyone could offer some advice on this matter about where i stand legally. thanks for reading.

[mree]

£470 for 2 years is very good! But still, under rules which came in in July this year, they're not allowed to bill you for more than 1 year backdated if it's their fault you haven't been billed, which it sounds from their post that they've already admitted is the case.

[inq80]

oh right, thanks for that. i wonder if they have already done that and the amount they are asking for is just the last year?

anyhow, i'm sure i'll find that out when the bill and letter arrives explaining the charges. could you tell me what these rules are and who decides them so i know what to quote when i call?

thanks very much for your help by the way...

[Clare_L]

The one year rule came into affect in July this year. With regards to the other tenant who was living there at the time, was their name on the gas account too? Have you or can you get copies of the tenancy agreement to prove that someone else was living at the property at the time?

[inq80]

hi,

yes the tenancy agreement has both names on and the gas was in their name up until they moved out. also shouldnt be too hard to get copies of the agreement for everyone who has lived their since i moved in.

don suppose you know the name of this 1 year ruling in case i need to quote it do you?

[Clare_L]

There is no specific name for it, just advise them that they cant backbill you beyond 12 months if they have made no attempt to read your meter or bill you in that time. They will certainly know about the 1 year ruling and should acknowledge it. I work for Powergen and we are all aware of this. Ask them for a manual bill quoting the billing period inclusive of meter reads. Looks to me also like they have only charged you for a years consumption but they should also provide you with a summary of charges.

[mree]

The rule is in the 'Billing Code'

[inq80]

Hi,

thanks for that - i've spoken to powergen today and asked them why their charging for more than a year? they asked where i heard that from, but then said i was mistaken - they cant charge the the last 18 months.

has anyone any idea why they would say that?

i've found a copy of the "code" online and think i've found the section that applies to me:

"If the supplier is at fault, and the customer has not received a bill for more than one year, then from 1st July 2007 any outstanding amounts that relate to energy consumed more than one year ago will be cancelled."

seems quite clear there, so not sure why there could be some confusion over the dates?

[inq80]

oops - meant to say i was told by powergen they can charge for the last 18 months.


does anyone know anything about this?

[crystaltipps]

There is a potential question here as to whether the inq80's situation is covered by the Billing Code. If Powergen have created a bill and attempted to the read the meter and have sent it out in good faith to the builders and the builders have not informed Powergen of the change of address from a plot to a postal address, and in addition the builders have not rung to query the bill and advise that someone is now occupying the property then I don't think that this falls under the Code.

If Powergen have not created any kind of bill, or have not attempted to read the meter (ie not assigned a meter reader), then inq80 is covered. This issue here is that the code is a Backbilling Code - there is a time limit on how long you can wait before you produce an original bill for units used - sending to the wrong address in good faith is not included.

That said, if you can produce a copy of the tennancy agreement which shows that you are only partly liable, you should be able to get them to agree to only charge you for your part, with the arguement that you tried to set it up in joint names at the time. (You would not be able to do this if you had been able to set up an account at the time)

[inq80]

thanks for that - i've written to powergen and am currently waiting for their reply. i'm hopeful this can be sorted out reasonably and so far i have to say powergen have been quite helpful.