|
G/2007/2396
Mr E contacted EWOV, dissatisfied at receiving an unexpectedly high natural gas bill and unhappy with the response when he queried it with his gas retailer. Mr E said he was told the bill included some old charges — he disputed this, saying the retailer had previously told him the matter of these outstanding charges was resolved, but hadn’t sent him anything in writing to this effect.
Contacted by EWOV, the retailer confirmed the high bill included $132.70 from a period in 2001, when Mr E held a joint account with a housemate. It said this amount was outstanding and still payable — and, as one of the account holders, he was responsible for it. The retailer also advised that its review of Mr E’s recent high bill showed a meter reading error.
The retailer apologised to Mr E for the inconvenience he’d been caused. It waived $156.65 of his current usage charges to address the identified meter reading error. Although it maintained Mr E was legally responsible for the outstanding amount on the joint account, the retailer recognised he’d likely have difficulty recouping any of this from his former housemate and waived the $132.70.
However, the retailer still required Mr E to pay an outstanding amount of $115.30 for gas usage at a previous address where the account had been in his name only. Mr E was unhappy that this amount wasn’t waived too. We confirmed to him that, as the account holder, he was responsible for the debt and explained that, if he didn’t pay it, the retailer may take debt collection action, with a possible effect on his credit rating.
Mr E remained dissatisfied with the service he’d received from the retailer, but accepted the retailer’s offer. H e indicated he’d be looking for a new retailer.
Even a fair and reasonable offer made by a company in an effort to resolve a complaint may not, in the customer’s mind, make up for previous customer service deficiencies. As this case highlights, it’s important that customers are made aware of their ongoing responsibilities in relation to accounts in joint names and account arrears from previous addresses.
Return to Gas Case studies
|
|
To read more about high bills, download our fact sheet: High electricity, natural gas or water bills
|