Possible to claim back incorrect bills?

[Mr_Joe]

Hi,

Me and 4 other students got our 1st house together on the 1st July 2007. We were renting from a housing agency but we have a landlord too. We moved in on 3rd July and rang British Gas to set up electricity and gas. The people that rang British Gas explained that we had just moved in and so were setting up a new account. The British Gas operator asked my housemates to supply meter readings but as they had never done this before they didn't know how to. They explained this to British Gas who said they would estimate the reading.

3 Months later we get a bill of about £270 for electricity and £50 for gas. Now although we had the house from July 1st we didn't occupy the house until the start of term, which was in September. The bill therefore was for one months electricity and gas. This figure can't possibly be right and we queried this with British Gas who at first rejected our claims. They then agreed if we sent letters from our parents stating we didn't move in until the September they would reduce the bill.

After sending the letters they said this wasn't acceptable and that we still owed the money. My housemate got threatening phone calls from debt collectors saying she would be taken to court unless she paid, so in a panic she did.

Is there anyway we could claim back the money for the incorrect bill?

Cheers,

Joe

[2Grumpy]

First I'm presuming that you have looked at the bill carefully and checked the dates match up with when you moved in

Is the current reading actual or an estimate? If an estimate how does it match with the current reading?

The previous tenant might have moved out without providing a meter reading, or BG might have estimayed and come up with a reading lower than the reading when the previous tenant moved out. You are obviously easier to chase than the previous tenant.

Surely BG could have told you where to find the meters & how to read them. There sounds some scope here for a complaint, especially if the bill was an estimate & it is very far out.

[Mr_Joe]

We had an actual reading in the September but when I rang them they told me the last time the meter was actually read was in January 2007, 6 months before we moved in. I think the previous tenants may have been giving them false readings in the last 6 months.

My gripe with British Gas is that we told them we were moving in, that we didn't know how to read the meters, surely anyone with half a brain cell would have sent someone round to read the meter.

Is it for me to prove how much electricity I used within that first period or should they be proving it?

[2Grumpy]

It depends whether the previous teant provided a meter reading when they moved out, but if they did, what was there for them to estimate?

Is it possible that gas heating was left on all that time & was heating water every day? Could anyone else have been living there at the time?

I think that you need to call BG, explain the situation, ask if there was a meter reading from when the previous tenant moved out. If there was one, you could ask what it was (to check with your bill) and say that you don't trust that. Also ask why they didn't send a meter reader or say how to find the meter reading. Then ask them to justify the readings and the bill.