electric

sunflowerburst78

can anyone advise me on the best solution too my elec prob, im currently on a prepayment key meter after my token meter was taken out, i noticed an increase in the amount i was putting on to it soon after this, i rung n power who told me i have being paying lower rates for 4 year so now they were taking this back weekly!! as this is not my fault that the rate was not changed on my old meter should i be paying this?? i ave just recieved a £1600 bill from them, because of this:mad:, am i right not too b paying this bill who should i contact??

Fire_Fox

I am sure I read somewhere else on this forum that they can't take money from over 12 months ago if they failed to bill you. I will look for it and edit post.

Magentasue

Fire_Fox wrote: »

I am sure I read somewhere else on this forum that they can't take money from over 12 months ago if they failed to bill you. I will look for it and edit post.

I think that's if you don't get any bills, so not applicable for prepay.

Fire_Fox

"Looking through the posts on here can someone advise if I am actually liable for this as the Energy Billing Code states:
The Code includes a requirement for consumers to be protected from debt where the supplier is at fault for not billing energy supply. Where the supplier is at fault, consumers cannot be back-billed beyond 12 months from the date on any subsequent bill."
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1394393

It's worth a try: if you are prepay then you haven't been billed before have you? You have paid in good faith, you might have changed supplier or moved away if you had known the full extent of the charges. It's not reasonable to charge someone an extra £1600 when they have been making regular payments.

Fire_Fox

"Under what circumstances will suppliers agree not to charge customers for energy used?
Energy Suppliers have a responsibility to ensure Customers are accurately billed for energy consumed. Likewise, Customers have a responsibility to pay for the energy they consume. The Supplier is completely within its rights to bill in full for any energy consumed where it can demonstrate that;

a) use of supply has been made by a Customer but that no attempt has been made by a Customer to contact a Supplier to make or arrange payment, or

b) the Customer is wilfully avoiding payment, or

c) the Customer has not co-operated with attempts to obtain meter readings or resolve asset queries required to facilitate accurate bill production.

Unless the above clauses (a) to (c) apply, Energy Suppliers will not seek additional payments for un-billed energy consumed over 12 months ago if they have:
d) received the necessary industry notifications but have failed to set up a record on their billing systems, or

e) failed to set up or maintain accurate meter and metering data, or
f) failed to use valid readings provided by the Customer or data collectors, or

g) failed to reassess regular payments within the previous 15 months based on accurate information available to them, or have failed to communicate the need for and use of a Customer own reading at this time, or

h) failed to attempt to obtain a valid reading during the previous 15 months, or
i) failed to send a bill to the Customer or billing address during the previous 15 months, unless their express agreement with the individual Customer allows for this.

Where Suppliers issue a bill which has these principles applied, they will credit the account with the value of the unbilled energy consumed over 12 months ago, taking into consideration any payments already made by the Customer or credits applied to the account, so that the Customer is not required to pay any additional sums towards this previously unbilled energy consumption."

http://www.energy-retail.org.uk/documents/BillingCodeFAQs15Oct08.pdf

Joyful

Some companies are though writing off Tariff debt from Token meters. Others are billing a maximum of £70.
This is taken from the consumer direct website.....

I have a debt because my token meter wasn’t adjusted quickly enough, is there a limit to how much money my energy company can charge me?

Yes, but the amount will depend on a variety of circumstances. For price changes before August 2007 most electricity companies will only try to claim back money for the past 12 months if the delay was their fault, but it depends upon the company.

In every instance your supplier should not attempt to backcharge for token meter debt older than 12 months.

Your electricity provider must provide a written justification of how they have calculated the amount you owe. If this does not provide a suitable explanation of how they calculated your token meter debt, contact Consumer Direct for further advice.


For more info check out :- http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/EnergySupplyandPost/energysupply/managingbills/prepayment/

Fire_Fox

That's a really great link from Joyful. I'd write to NPower saying you dispute the charges and quoting from some of the above (give references) and asking for a written justification. They should back down, if not you can report them to the ombudsman.