Electricity bill out of the blue!!! HELP!

breakskid

We bought our house in August 2004, the house needed renovating and central heating installed. We had to get gas connected from the street, got BG and Npower to quote - Npower being the cheaper.... As there was alot going on I suggested to my wife that she read the electricity meter and give this to Npower, so we had both utilities with the same supplier. We both work long hours, have no kids and have been living pretty comfortably.... and thus have not really given the utilities a second thought since. This was a mistake, as last week a bill from Eon dropped through the letterbox, for electricity supply... just short of £1300! It would seem Npower didn't bother to take over the supply, and we owe Eon for 4.5 years of electricity.

I phoned Eon on friday, gave them the account number but did not tell them who I am. This is because the first reading was in April 2005, and the bill states this reading was given by us. This is incorrect, as we've only read the meter once - and that was in Aug 2004 when we moved in, and the reading was given to Npower. I asked the woman why (if I provided the reading April 05) they had no idea who I am... she couldn't tell me why. I also asked why we had not received a single bill in 4.5 years, even though the bill clearly stated the meter had been read by them at approx 6 month intervals since April 05 - she could not tell me why. She could only tell me that the address was registered as uninhabbited, and they're system was incapable of flagging consumption at an unihabbited address - and it would of been identified by someone trawling through dead accounts.

I have heard about some rule which states they are unable to backdate bills beyond 2yrs, she told me this was true - but only if the account is in my name. Therefore as the bill is to "the occupier", the full 4.5 year debt stands.

Has anyone any experience of this situation, any advise greatly appreciated.


Thanks.

Premier_2

So you've been using electricity for 4-5 years and haven't paid a bean?
...and you didn't think this was odd?

No wonder it was a shock receiving a bill!!! I mean, who'd have thought you actually have to pay for electricity you consume??? :rolleyes:

Oh, well, now you know you do. You'd better get saving...

breakskid

Premier wrote: »

So you've been using electricity for 4-5 years and haven't paid a bean?
...and you didn't think this was odd?

No wonder it was a shock receiving a bill!!! I mean, who'd have thought you actually have to pay for electricity you consume??? :rolleyes:

Oh, well, now you know you do. You'd better get saving...

Glad to see this forum isn't short of clever !!!!!!...

I wish I had enough spare time to troll round posts asking for advise, making sarcastic comments.

If I did, I'd have enough time to read my Npower bill beyond the page which tells me how much I owe them.... and then I would realise that despite the fact we gave them the electricity meter reading, they didn't bother to take our business... and the bill is just for gas.

McKneff

You cant possibly ask us to believe that you didnt notice you werent paying for electricity. In any case i think £1,300 for 4.5 years electricity is pretty reasonable, dont you in all honesty

Vestra

Have the bills been arriving in the name of the occupier and you just ignored them or is this the first one?

breakskid

Rian1988 wrote: »

Have the bills been arriving in the name of the occupier and you just ignored them or is this the first one?

This is the first bill we ever received, I would not ignore a bill.

The £1300 isn't unreasonable, I'm just dumbfounded they waited for the debt to rise to that level before they sent the first bill.

Im also amazed Npower didn't take the oppertunity we placed in their lap, to make more money out of us by charging us for both. Our direct debit is about £60 a month, which I thought was about right for gas & electric to a two bed house.

Im not looking to get out of paying anything, Im just annoyed they've taken all this time to show themselves. Also, because it was 4.5 years since we bought the house, Ive no record of the original meter reading... and the house was rented before we bought it.... so I don't know if we have actually used all that electricity.

My wife is also currently off work with a serious eye condition, and our income is down about £1800 a month. So the debt couldn't of appeared at a worse time.

losgiganteskid

I guess that a bill of £1300 over 54 months equates to "only" £24 per month - and for a two bed house that does seem rather low, so although the bills have not been sent suppose you can't complain at £24pm. As has been said you can only try and put some of the blame on the utility provider and see what happens - suggest paying 50% each !!

Vestra

breakskid wrote: »

This is the first bill we ever received, I would not ignore a bill.

The £1300 isn't unreasonable, I'm just dumbfounded they waited for the debt to rise to that level before they sent the first bill.

Im also amazed Npower didn't take the oppertunity we placed in their lap, to make more money out of us by charging us for both. Our direct debit is about £60 a month, which I thought was about right for gas & electric to a two bed house.

Im not looking to get out of paying anything, Im just annoyed they've taken all this time to show themselves. Also, because it was 4.5 years since we bought the house, Ive no record of the original meter reading... and the house was rented before we bought it.... so I don't know if we have actually used all that electricity.

My wife is also currently off work with a serious eye condition, and our income is down about £1800 a month. So the debt couldn't of appeared at a worse time.

Why not, I'm sure someone else will clarify but this situation sounds like it falls under the billing code.

breakskid

Can I change supplier with an outstanding debt?

The reason I ask, is because if I agree to a payment plan to clear the debt... once they then get a direct debit set up... they have a tap into my bank account - and can effectively take what they want.

If I could agree a plan to clear the debt, and switch supplier - I can use a standing order to clear the debt, and Eon wont be able to change the payments; as they could with a direct debit.

Magentasue

breakskid wrote: »

Can I change supplier with an outstanding debt?

Some people have done this, but very often the original supplier will prevent it to prevent you from defaulting. Although the supplier can alter the DD, it is more often done because the customer is using more than they are paying for, rather than randomly retrieving more of the debt than agreed.

If agreeing a monthly payment, check what usage they are basing that on (how many kwh a year) and make sure you keep within the limits. You should then only have the DD changing when prices alter.

SwanJon

I agree that this sounds like the 12 month rule will apply - if they havn't raised any bill for the last 4.5 years, they can only bill you for the last 12 months, regardless of who's names is on this bill.
If a bill to the Occupier had arrived from Eon 4 years ago you'd have realsied something was wrong, and had a chance to fix it.
If they claim they have issued bills in the past, ask for copies and ask why they didn't chase the balance from those bills.
They won't let you leave with a debt (unless you slip through the net). Agree an amount based on a read 12 months before the bill was produced, get yourself on their cheapest tariff without a lock in, and pay it off as soon as you can, then you are free to switch.
If you agree a DD and they change the amount they need to give you 10 days notice before they can take the money - giving you a chance to stop it. If you doon't have this notice tell your bank you weren't informed and they'll reverse the payment under the DD guarentee.