British Gas bills Tower Hamlets woman for defunct meter

Razina Farha, 43, suddenly started receiving gas bills in 2022, even though the gas had been capped since before she moved in eight years earlier.

The bills are being sent due to a law which says that even if your gas is disconnected and your meter is disabled, you have to keep paying the standing charge.

But British Gas says it cannot remove the meter without permission from Tower Hamlets Council, and the council says it cannot grant permission so it is up to British Gas. 

In the meantime, Razina has been billed £360 in standing charges for gas she cannot use and faces paying the bills in perpetuity.

“Why should I pay for gas that’s not even connected?” Razina said, exasperated.

“They are charging me for nothing. It’s unfair and ridiculous.”

The gas inside Razina's council flat, between Mile End and Stepney Green, is capped - and has been ever since she moved into the property in 2014 (Image: Razina Farha)

Razina’s case was highlighted by Havering financial consultant Tusher Sarkar.

Mr Sarkar previously represented Romford man Thivendran Kodeeswaran, who received repeated legal threats for non-payment of a £14,000 British Gas bill he had been sent in error.

The debt was written off after Mr Sarkar called the Romford Recorder.

Now he has drawn attention to Razina’s plight.

“She shouldn’t have to pay a single penny,” he said. “This is affecting her very seriously.”

Razina said the stress and anxiety of receiving the sudden bills had seen her put on medication.

 “It’s making me very forgetful,” she said. “The other day I put my mobile phone in the fridge and then couldn’t find it. My children are getting very scared.

“Because they (British Gas) keep phoning and emailing me about this, I’m scared now whenever my phone rings. I have to keep my phone on silent because when it rings, it gives me a panic attack.”

Tusher Sarkar, a financial consultant from Havering, drew attention to Razina's plight, saying it was unfair and she should not have to pay (Image: Charles Thomson)

Razina said that in 2014, when she moved into her flat in Carr Street, between Mile End and Stepney Green, she was given a key to top up the pay-as-you-go electric meter.

There was a disused gas meter, she said, but nothing in the property was gas-powered, nobody mentioned anything about gas and she never received any gas bills.

“The gas meter reading has been frozen exactly the same since 2014,” she said.

But in 2022, she received vouchers from the government for £400 off her energy bills, so called her electricity supplier, British Gas, to ask how to use them.

She said she was asked for details of any meters in her home, so read them out as instructed.

Weeks later, she received her first gas bill, backdated to December 2020, saying she owed more than £200 in standing charges.

Razina's Tower Hamlets council flat has a gas meter, but it has never been used since she moved into the property in 2014. However, the law says that because it is there, British Gas can bill her for standing charges (Image: Razina Farha)

In March 2023, a contractor called K&T Heating carried out a routine gas safety inspection in her flat, on behalf of Tower Hamlets Homes.

It confirmed her gas was capped and filled out every question on the inspection form as “N/A”.

But because there is still a meter in the flat, the law says she must keep paying.

As a tenant, Razina cannot make the decision to remove the meter.

“I went to the council offices for permission,” she claimed.

“The guy said, ‘Sorry, we can’t allow that because if you leave tomorrow, we may need to restart it again for the next tenant’.”

After being contacted by this newspaper, the council suggested it was happy for the meter to be removed but could not grant permission. 

"The supply pipework belongs to British Gas," it said. "We can't give permission to have it removed. Any such request would be for the utility provider to authorise and take forward."

Razina said the stress and anxiety of dealing with the unexpected bills, and the thought of having to pay them in perpetuity, was affecting her mental health (Image: Charles Thomson)

“What if I live here another ten, 20, 30 years?” said Razina. “I’m not rich and this is a waste of money.”

The standing charges over decades would add up to thousands of pounds.

British Gas declined to make any on-the-record statement.

Tower Hamlets Council said: "This is undoubtedly a stressful situation for Razina, especially in the current cost of living crisis.

"We are happy to work with British Gas to get this issue resolved."