Bill from Dec - Feb came to more than CHF 800 for a 2 bed flat (80 sq m), by SIG.

Long email exchanges with the regie, SIG, have led me no where.

SIG claim they charged for what passed through the gas meter.Regie refuses to accept responsibility.

I got a Chauffage guy to come and inspect in Feb once I got the bill. He made some adjustments (switched off the communal radiator in the entrance) and the bills seem to have normalized since.

If (as is likely) the hefty bill was due to the communal heater which was ON when I moved in, should I be paying for it? Regie has washed his hands clean off agreeing to pay for anything.

Suggestions and similar stories welcome!

Was the meter reading correct on your move in date?

Yep! And then it moved super fast for 2 months. Now it seems to have relaxed a little over the last couple of months.

It's much warmer outside....

A) join ASLOCA! This is the swiss tenants association and is intended to help tenants with problems such as this. You'll find their details for your area online.
Membership is ~100 francs a year and they provide advice and legal representation if necessary for their members.

B) if you have access to the meter cupboard, keep a monthly record of the readings, preferably photographic with dates, etc.

The communal area radiator certainly should not be 'wired' into your apartment's meter (unless perhaps you are the only beneficiary?); the cost for heating and maintaining communal areas is normally covered by the monthly 'charges' paid by each tenant in the building as part of their rent.
Heating, caretaking/maintenance, and possibly hot water costs are then divided up annually between the tenants and you will receive a statement and (normally) either an additional bill for the difference between what you've already paid or a refund.

I'm unsure if you'll be able to do much about the original bill if the Regie (rental agents) are being so stubborn, but strongly advise getting ASLOCA involved now in case someone turns the radiator on again and there's a risk of a second one!!

The gas bill is rediculous, move to another flat asap.

I payed 1800 sfr per year additional costs (water, heating, cleaning in the house), i will get a refund of 1080 sfr .

Thats how it should be.

I love minergie and floor heating, can't be better then that.

Thanks. Looking into joining ALSOCA now.

If it is the communal heater all people in the block should have such high bills, if not it is a problem restricted to either your installation or your behaviour, so you want to start with asking your neighbours.