Do I have the right to get the money back and what amount?

booksale

I am not sure whether this is the correct forum but would appreciate any help.

I live in a granny flat having my own meters (gas and electricity) but not own bills, i.e. only one main bill for the main house and the man in the main house calculated my usage and did the bills for me. Now he moved out and another people occupy the main house, so I am the one who's in charge of the bills. I found out that he made a mistake taking my gas meter as a ft3 meter while it's a m3 meter. So I ended up paying much more than I actually used.

So I informed the man. He refused to give me the whole amount and is just willing to give me half as he said I 'agreed' on the conversion factor as I paid what he asked for those times. (Indeed, I would prefer to say I 'trusted' him and my 'agreement' was based on the assumption that he had the formula right). Also, he has moved out and he did not expect that. He admitted though he made the mistake and did not aware my meter was/is a m3 meter.

I have kept the handwritten bills from him (with the wrong conversion factor) and I have a photo of my own m3 meter.

My logic of thinking is if I am dealing with the gas company myself, I assume I would be able to get the whole amount of refund? If so, do I have the right to get the whole amount of refund from him? If not, why not?

I am also aware that I am not dealing with the gas company, so then would it change my right?

Any opinions appreciated.

CIARAN_BOYLE

Not certain but I feel that this is a case of let the buyer beware.

This is different from if dealing with the gas company because a lot of the time consumer rights are added on in legislation to prevent a corporation with more power and many experts bullying a little guy.

When dealing with the gas company you have the right to expect that the metre is done properly because a reasonable person would expect a gas company to have experts to the metre. In this situation neither of you are experts in metre conversion and neither of you have an automatic right to expect the other guy to be an expert.

He being a non expert suggested a formula and you agreed so it stands.

Its kinda like the way you have different rights when buying a car from a normal person vs buying a car from a dealer.

PS not a lawyer, have done a couple of law classes so I hope that helps.

knotknowbody

Unfortunately OP I would agree with CIARAN_BOYLE, you agreed to the conversion so I would expect it to stand, the guy would most likely be within his rights to refuse any refund, I'd say you are lucky to be getting half.

It could be argued you also made a mistake with the conversion as you did not ensure it was done correctly, so I think half is the most you could expect.

ted1

Can you post a part if the bill?

Gas is genreally metered in m3 and then converted to kwh as local meters can 't calculate the energy content.

The multiplier should be around the 10.5 to 11.5 mark

There may be more stuff going on

booksale

Thanks for you guys' opinions.

But I did not agree, I trusted. I understand though he's not expert. And I believe that it's just a complete mistake, not an intended act to cheat my bloody earned money.

Ted, attached please find the photo of bill. The main house was using ft3 meter, so the bills were in ft3 meter. It's just after that they moved, the old meter changed into new m3 meterv(as they told me, but I will ask them to show me all the original bills if I get to see them).

I think I will talk with them again face to face (as so far we were just swapping emails) . I will also consult a solicitor if I really need to do so.


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booksale wrote: »

Thanks for you guys' opinions.

But I did not agree, I trusted. I understand though he's not expert. And I believe that it's just a complete mistake, not an intended act to cheat my bloody earned money.

Ted, attached please find the photo of bill. The main house was using ft3 meter, so the bills were in ft3 meter. It's just after that they moved, the old meter changed into new m3 meterv(as they told me, but I will ask them to show me all the original bills if I get to see them).

I think I will talk with them again face to face (as so far we were just swapping emails) . I will also consult a solicitor if I really need to do so.


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Afaik your trust can be considered to be an agreement. By trusting him you agreed to follow his arrangement.

Pat Mustard

Just to clarify here, are you saying that you were being charged the tariff for gas consumption in cubic pounds?

booksale

The Mustard wrote: »

Just to clarify here, are you saying that you were being charged the tariff for gas consumption in cubic pounds?

Not sure what you meant.

But the conversion factor they had been using was around 31- 33 something all the times based on the conversion from ft3 to kwh.

But my own meter is in m3. So the conversion factor should be 10.5-11.5 as a poster mentioned to converse energy measurement I used from m3 into kwh.

So, I was paying around triple more than I should.

The conversion factor they used was not matching with the my m3 meter and I have proofs for all these (I kept all the handwritten bills he gave me with the ft3 conversion factor and also my actual m3 meter). I am not sure how helpful these can be for me to get back the money, but at least I have something black and white.

I still disagree with the 'trust' = 'agree with a mistake I did not know and would take part of the responsibility in it'. But I get what you guys saying here. I will research a bit more.

Pat Mustard

booksale wrote: »

the conversion factor they had been using was around 31- 33 something all the times based on the conversion from ft3 to kwh.

But my own meter is in m3. So the conversion factor should be 10.5-11.5 as a poster mentioned to converse energy measurement I used from m3 into kwh.

So, I was paying around triple more than I should.

I looked up what an actual gas bill looks like online and what you say makes sense to me now.

booksale wrote: »

I still disagree with the 'trust' = 'agree with a mistake I did not know and would take part of the responsibility in it'. But I get what you guys saying here. I will research a bit more.

I think that you could look up mistake in contract law. Some of the better public libraries have reasonable law books.

I can't see how an argument can be made out against the gas company where the tenant was the bill payer, and it was he who sublet to the subtenant, and it was said tenant who made incorrect calculations, as a result of which the subtenant was overcharged.

I'd ask the landlord if that ex-tenant has left a forwarding address.

booksale

The Mustard wrote: »

I'd ask the landlord if that ex-tenant has left a forwarding address.

I will not contact the gas company as it's not their mistake.

The landlord collects rent from me. So the man wasn't subletting.

I know where the man lives as I helped dropping them posts after he moved. He is coming to talk with me about it (he claimed he did not have all the original bills though). I will see.

THANKS.