Unregulated gas charges?

Unregulated gas charges?

9:18 AM, 20th March 2024, About a month ago 5

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Hi, I’ll try and be as clear as I can with this, it is not a system that everyone is aware of – new builds now come with a heating/energy system that produces heat and hot water to flats, this is billed separately to anything else and the leaseholder is directly responsible, usually you can get the tenant on the bill.

I’ve found major flaws in this system as an RTM director and now as a landlord with no real access to management have found that the management has changed the unit charge for the gas (for my rental, so my tenant) and they are being billed at an exceptionally high rate.

I took it up with the management who have said that this is because they were being billed too low for the last couple of years – it was relatively low but I had assumed that this was because they had ‘bought’ the gas at the right time.

It seems there is an error in the billing and they are looking to back bill for up to 6 months and it will be considerable at the rate they are suggesting from old 7p to new 37p per unit (Gas for one of my blocks is now 45p). I have asked for an explanation of why they are charging so much when the unit rate is now low and whether was it a ‘mistake’ that they underbilled in the past.

Another leaseholder has told me that as the freeholder is supplying the gas to the building they are not regulated and can charge whatever they wish. Doesn’t sound correct but who knows?

So my first question is can they back bill and secondly can they charge what they like?

The difficulty for me is that my tenant is unlikely to want to pay back energy, if the bill comes to them, I certainly don’t want to (lease says I’m ultimately responsible) and secondly I sold one in the development 5 months ago – so who is responsible there.

I always manage to ask the unanswerable but maybe someone has been through this complicated system.

Thanks,

Harlequin


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Comments

Harlequin

11:34 AM, 20th March 2024, About a month ago

this is a system that supplies hot water and heating via an interface/network - I have an old '30s block with communal heating (billed via the service charge) where it goes off but this is on 24/7/365 tenants can always access heat and cooling - this is individually metered use.

Thanks for the links, the managing agent is putting out that they can 'back bill' as the freeholder is the gas supplier and so can also set the rate - I think I'm going to have to dig in with the links above as best I can but frankly I'm sick and tired of being taken as a mug by the managing agents for the new builds - and that includes cladding and fire stopping costs - enough retirement beckons.....

Simon F

11:47 AM, 20th March 2024, About a month ago

Unregulated by OFGEM may be true, but that doesn't mean entirely unregulated.

Maybe report it to Trading Standards. See what they make of it. Even if they don't engage directly, they might point you in the right direction.

reader

13:20 PM, 20th March 2024, About a month ago

What has been said above is relevant but the charging for community heating systems is covered by regulations.

Harlequin

13:05 PM, 31st March 2024, About 4 weeks ago

Reply to the comment left by at 20/03/2024 - 13:20
Can you point me to this legislation please?

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