I appreciate she is not trying to get out of paying and i would not have mentioned Ofgem's back billing charter or consumer direct in one of my previous posts if I didn't think there was fault on behalf of the providers/developers involved.

What I did want to do is make Bez aware of the relevant legislation, arguments she is likely to encounter if the bill/excess is challanged, and the energy ombudsman's view on payment for services she has received.

The reason i mentioned consumer direct and so on is because i believe there has been a customer service failing on behalf of both npower and b/gas.. one, if not both of them should address this and i believe that CD can provide her with relevent information to her circumstances, not to mention provide her with the means to escalate the situation within b/gas and npower themselves.

I agree with what you say Brian, but it's just a little more complicated than that is what I was trying to say. You don't have to have written or agreed to anything, simply owning the property and using the fuel is the basis of a deemed contract.