PowerGen ripping me off - HELP :(

snadge

3 years ago I got myslef a very small 1 bedroom flat , PowerGen where the supplier on a Key Meter - this was around December 2005 they put £25 on the Meter - As soon as I got the flat My partner decided I could just live with her so other than the two hours I was in the flat painting the kitchen I NEVER used any electric at all - no fridge , nothing - electric was OFF all the time - I had the flat a total of SEVEN MONTHS from dec 2005-jun 2006 , during all this time that £25 slowly dwindled away to £0 - If I remember correctly it was 4 weeks before I finally handed the flat over that the £25 actually ran out - which I left because:-

A) I didnt live in it nor did I have anything that required power
B)I knew it was going back to the Landlord (Nomad)

now 2 years pass and I still live in the same BLOCK of flats with my partner , imagine my surprise when I see a letter on the floor addressed to me (spelled totally wrong) in the old flat address (the current tenants must have left it out) from a Debt Collection Agency saying I owe £388 to PowerGen (thats £55 month avg for the 7months) and its going up to £500 ..??? eh? I was on a Key Meter?, ive never recieved any bills or previous letters?? How can I owe that?

A) you cant get into debt on a key Meter - thats whole point of it...
I was in credit almost the whole 7 months and never used ANY electricity because I didnt live in the Property...

So I contact PowerGen to say ive found out about this bill and its totally wrong, I ask if they can look into it - gave them my phone number etc... for weeks i never hear a thing then tonight at 7:30pm I get some snotty kid blasting me down the phone saying I owe £388 because PowerGen couldnt get in to read the meter??

RUBBISH - I explain that I didnt live in the flat and that I was in credit the whole time - he says "if they cant get in to change the rates you owe money , now just give me a settlement figure.." I told him where to go in the end because he wouldnt help me at all - I said theres been a computer or human error (or mixture of both) ... "HOW could I be in credit the whole time and run up a bill of £55 every month because they couldnt change the rates?? and im in credit and the electric is OFF and NOT getting used??" it just doesnt make sense at all - AND he just wanted cash out of me regardless - like they get paid BONUSES or summit to get payments from poor unsuspecting customers - he wasnt willing to investigate at all - in other words he didnt believe me and wasnt interested

PowerGen are robbing me blind and others by the looks of things, now AFTER I spoke to him im thinking - well hold on "Read The Meters?" - the whole time ive lived in this block (4years) we've not had the meter read unless we were moving in/out propertys? once a meter is in thats it? - REGARDLES - i know I dont owe the money because I didnt live in the flat and had the electric off the WHOLE time and was in credit AND the meters are outside for them to get access to??? - they obviously have a very poor billing system that cocks up all the time and instead of taking the customers word and looking into they threat for money instead...

Is there anything I can do?

Thanks

WhistleBlower

Check what date they say you left the property because if it was never taken fro your name in two years then a stnading charge debt may have been building up (the only kind of debt you can build up on a pp meter)

They will probably request proof of when you left the property

snadge

the dates match - dec2005-jun2006 - they provided dates... when I left the property there was NO debt on the key meter or nothing - the dates are right so the current tenants havent done anything wrong - I just find it ODD that TWO YEARS later suddenly £388 pops up- its DEF. wrong...

1) Key Meter with £25 credit lasts the whole tenancy of 7 months cos i never onced lived in the flat - even at the service charge at about 90p per week works out at around that £25...and like I say the £25 ran out (without me using it - service charge) JUST as the tenancy was up -

Theyre just robbing me like others .. just search for Powergen rip off or similar on google and you will find MANY others in same predicament with PowerGen

My shock is they refuse to even take my word and look further into it? absolute crap

spiro

Three important questions: (1) When you moved out did you advise your supplier? (2) Did you provide a closing reading and (3) did you provide a forwarding address? If the answer to all 3 is yes then they can only back bill 12 months which means you owe nothing. If the answer to 1 or 3 is no then they may claim it is your fault it has taken 2 years to bill you which appear may be the case as the bill was addressed to your old address. In this case you will over for everything used betwwn moving out and now unless your landlord is willing to confirm to them when you moved out.

snadge

im not owing for from then till now - theyve confirmed the bill IS for those 7 months... I admit NO I didnt do all 3 but that still doesnt give them the right to bill £388 for nothing? they say its cos they couldnt get in to change the rates but that would mean electricity prices risen in those 7 months by FIFTEEN FOLD (1500%) - I dont think so...

see below a copy of my email to PowerGen CS Director Of Complaints it explains everything in greater detail - I DO NOT OWE THIS MONEY...

RE: £388 - 3 ********, Winlaton, Blaydon-on-Tyne, NE2****


Dear Director,

Iam absolutely astounded at the level of customer service that I have recieved, let me start by explaining whats going on - 3 years ago I got Tenancy of a very small 1 bedroom flat, as soon as I got the Tenancy my partner decided I could stay with her (in the same block) so - after I started the Tenancy and PowerGen put £25 on my meter I never lived in the property nor did I have the electricity on or any devices like a fridge in the flat - the total length of the Tenancy was 7 months -- from December 2005 - June 2006 - during this time I had £25 on the Key Meter and electricity was off and I lived in the flat upstairs (My girlfriend is obviously a full witness to this and is willing to go to court and stand up and tell the judge exactly what Im telling you) - now everything was fine when I moved out, Imagine my surprise when more than TWO YEARS later I find a letter on the ground where all the Tenants letterboxes are addressed to someone else with a similar sounding name as mine in 3 Rooksleigh - now I thought I wonder if this is supposed to be addressed to me? so I open it and its a debt collection agency saying they want £500 for a £388 debt to PowerGen - WoW I was astounded (as im sure you are now reading this) I thought well its not even in my name but i KNOW its supposed to be :-

• but I didnt rack up any bills?
• I never even lived in the flat or used any electricity?
• and I was in credit on a Key Meter which prevents debt?

I thought well theres obviously been a huge mistake here so I will come forward and present myself to powergen and tell them I think the bill is for me when I lived in the property and theres obviously been a mistake which they will see when they investigate a breakdown on their system of usage and readings? right?... Wrong! - I emailed the DCA and told them I dont owe the money then I also contacted PowerGen and said thats I had the flat 7 months and never lived in it or stayed in it - it wasn't even furnished and I was on a Key Meter and in credit the whole time? - I supplied a number for them to contact me... I heard nothing for a few weeks then tonight at 7:30pm a PowerGen Collections Rep called me up and basically wouldnt take my word on it and pursue an investigation? he said "because they couldn't get in to read the meter they cant change the rates therefore I owed an extra £55 for every month I had tenancy of this flat???" oh and by the way all the tenants key meters are in a room outside fully accessible to all - to be honest in the end I had to hang up on him because he is obviously paid bonuses to retrieve payments and wouldnt take no for answer and even asked me to "make an offer?!" (now come on) - then he trys to say that its an estimate -which he FAILED to acknowledge early on in this conversation - it sounded like he was getting desperate for money so i hung up - there is no way im paying money for something that ive never had...

Now lets say this 'scenario' was possible - the only credit that was ever on the meter was £25 - how could rates change so that instead of £25 worth of electric I really had £388..?? - did the rates increase suddenly in those seven months by 1500% - I dont think so... did the cost of electricity increase by FIFTEEN TIMES - I think not - there is OBVIOUSLY some human/computer error - and I think I may know what it is - after searching online I found hundreds of your clients in the same position - it turns out for the majority they (like me) live in a block of flats and the electric key meters for all the flats are all in same cupboard and it SEEMS that the reader may have taken readings from the WRONG meter... now lets sum up my scenario:-

1. key meter (cant get into debt with those? yes? well thats what i thought anyway that was the whole point of them)
2. In credit of £25 from day one to the last day! (£25 credited by PowerGen - thats ALL that was put on and I have a witness)
3. The flat is empty the whole 7 month Tenancy with electricity off!

TWO YEARS LATER I find a bill for the property in a name similar to mine saying this person owes £388 - Now I could have left it because it wasnt billed to me? it was billed to a P. BARCLAY - well thats not me... I could have walked away in full knowledge that im not getting billed, charged even credit rating spoiled by this phantom debt - but NO I was honest thinking PowerGen were a great company so for their great service I will help them with this and I'm sure they will find the error and erase the debt with an apology - wow I couldnt have been more wrong!

Now to be fair and honest - I DID get £25 credited to the meter and I never credited the meter with any money myself after that so I DO OWE the £25 that was put on THATS ALL! - this I WILL pay back but theres no way in this life or the next that I will stump up £388 for something i have not used or had - and EVEN MORE SO when I see hundreds of other PowerGen clients having the exact same done to them (and most of them are stumping up the money just to get rid of the hassle)...Im really quite annoyed because until today I used to think PowerGen was the best supplier to go with and I would constantly praise the cheapness of the service but now I my views have changed, I WILL agree to pay the £25 but other than that I will be taking legal action, I have a witness that I lived with her and that the £25 on keymeter lasted the whole tenancy and that the electric was off the whole time.

It would be great If we could resolve this matter amicably - im SURE if PowerGen investigate into this Properley they will find where they went wrong...

Yours

Paul Bartley