Backlog from estimated bills - will we be charged at current rates?

mrscairns_2

Hi,

Having a young family I had got behind with submitting my meter readings to Ovo. I have now checked and we have used quite a lot more gas than they had estimated us to use (if my calculations are correct, we've used 15556 more kwh than they estimated, which at our current rate of 3.11p/kwh works out at nearly £500 ).

My big question is, will we be billed for this at current rates - which obviously are higher than they would have been when we actually used a lot of the gas? If we are, do I have any redress to ask them to charge us at an older rate?

I know I should have been checking and submitting readings; on the other hand, I am a bit cross and confused that since joining Ovo 17 months ago we have *only* had estimated readings on our bills, despite the fact that several meter readers have been in the house to read them during that period. I don't understand why Ovo have not updated their estimated reads to take into account these actual meter readings.

I am now planning to switch to a cheaper supplier (British Gas WebSaver 11 - Dual Fuel is the one which keeps coming up on comparison sites). However I guess we will have to clear our debt with Ovo before we can switch? Or can we leave before we have paid them off?

Thanks for any help/info you can offer.

KimYeovil

What on earth has any of that to do with 'having a young family'?

mrscairns_2

OK it's a poor excuse , but it's just with young baby and 3 year old clamouring for attention, reading the meters wasn't the top of my priority list.

undaunted

mrscairns wrote: »

OK it's a poor excuse , but it's just with young baby and 3 year old clamouring for attention, reading the meters wasn't the top of my priority list.

And why should it be? Clearly wasn't even top of Ovo's either

Cardew

You will normally have to pay off any debt balance before switching supplier - the losing supplier can block any switch in these circumstances.

They should estimate the consumption at the date of any price rise and charge accordingly.

If you talk to them and agree to pay off arrears in a lump sum they will often knock a sizeable percentage of the amount owing - 20%??

backfoot

I think you can put forward a case to have the additional units above the estimate apportioned back over the period back to last firm reading.

From memory the price increase for OVO was around October 2010, but you need to check the precise date for your tariff.

This should help you apportion some of the catch up units at the lower rate. In the absence of their firm readings as well as yours, I think they should and will compromise.

They may argue that you have spent more since October due to the winter period. I would be saying that with your family you have used heating consistently.

Hope this helps.:)

mrscairns_2

Thanks for these helpful replies. We'll see how we get on... Going back through the bills, it looks like our biggest increase was actually very recent, at the start of February, so I'll be arguing hard to have as much as possible apportioned to the previous lower rate. Thanks for giving me all the right vocab like 'apportioned'!! Thanks also for the useful tip about the possibility of having money knocked off for paying off in a lump sum - we'll look into that and work out whether we can afford it!

mrscairns_2

OK I finally got the bill - quite a scary one! I've emailed them to ask them to apportion the energy used over the last 18 months and reissue the statement using the appropriate charges. I also asked about a discount if we pay off in full. I'll try to keep you updated in case others are in a similar situation and interested to see what happens.

spiro

Their T&Cs ask you to provide meter readings to ensure accurate bills as they only have to read the meter every 2 years. They also ask you to check your bills

If you have not done this or checked previous bills then they could argue that the 'catch up' bill is your fault (which it is) and why should they spread the consumption over the last 18 months which will mean 'cancelling and reissuing' 6 bills (assuming quarterly billing). When prices fell a couple of years ago I bet you would have been very happy to pay for all the consumption at the newer cheaper rate.

Whilst there are lots of practices by energy companies I dont agree with, like NPower's sculpting, I have to side with them when people get a 'catch up' bill because they haven't bothered to check their bills because it's their fault.

smidgey

I'm not quite so sure why the OP should get a discount for paying for the energy they have used? 20%? Why? :think:

KimYeovil

smidgey wrote: »

I'm not quite so sure why the OP should get a discount for paying for the energy they have used? 20%? Why? :think:

You're new here, aren't you? This is MoneySavingExpert. Whingers believe being obstreperous idiots pleading ignorance absolves them from responsibility. Unfortunately companies can't be bothered with the expense of throwing good money chasing bad. And with the rate absconders are usually given to repay debts it may be more sensible to receive 80% in a timely fashion rather than have the whole amount trickle in at £3 per week.