Back billing

The dispute

The consumer bought their new property in 2015 and when the accounts were set up, they were advised that they had a dual-fuel account. Regular monthly payments were made from 2015 onwards. In July 2021, the consumer received a call from the supplier informing them that they owed over £2,000 as they had never paid for their gas supply.

The supplier confirmed that through an audit of its systems it had a partial record for the customer, failing to bill the gas account. The supplier apologised that the consumer had been left with a balance to pay and pointed out that the consumer should have noticed only the electricity supply had been billed and highlighted this. In consequence, the supplier decided that the consumer should have to pay the balance in full.

The outcome

Our review found that the supplier had failed at account registration stage and although the electricity account had been set up, no gas account had been started.

We decided that it was unreasonable for the supplier to have blamed the consumer for the problem. There was no evidence to suggest the customer was aware of a problem or had been deliberately avoiding paying for gas. It was unreasonable for the customer to be asked to pay for 12 months of gas and required the supplier to clear all other charges, resulting in £1,550 being removed from their balance.

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