Underpayment discovered by Electricity Company large payment requested

ChasH_2

Hi,

I moved out of my flat 2 weeks ago and took a final meter reading to pay my final electricity bill. I have since received a bill for £800 (which as you might imagine was a big shock) since i had always had a standard direct debit set up to pay monthly (please note figure of monthly direct debit was advised by electricity company based on consumption and a previous bill i had paid without using direct debit). I rang them to query the large amount and they explained that they had been using the day time readings as night time readings and night time readings as day time readings and it was their fault. All my readings i had provided were always correct and it was their fault, but the law states i must pay this £800 because they are able to go back 12 months to claim any underpayments.

I understand the rules but as this is their fault and i have always paid my bills on time and with a direct debit amount they suggested (which was a normal amount based on friends who live in similar properties) i'm at a loss to see how they can demand this amount of money. They have clearly said i had provided correct readings and i had done everything correctly, but i still have to pay the stated anmount of £800. In my view if they can't use their expensive IT systems properly and train their staff properly to input readings correctly, how can this be my fault? I have never once thought i am paying too less, it has always seemed like a normal amount. They said my case had been referred to another team and someone will be calling me to explain further.

Can someone shed some light on my rights please?

Thanks

hcb42

I would have thought they can do this , the electricity has been consumed, but they should be reasonable over the payment terms

DVardysShadow

helencbradshaw wrote: »

I would have thought they can do this , the electricity has been consumed, but they should be reasonable over the payment terms

True enough, it has been consumed. But is it true that the meter readings have been swapped?I would want to be convinced of this before considering whether to pay and how to draw the battle lines.

Premier_2

I'd love to see the figures. :cool:

A flat would suggest you had electric storage heaters. An £800 difference also suggests you had NSH.

However, with NSH, one would presume you used more night units than day units.
If they are now saying the registries needed to be swapped to reflect true consumption, then they probably owe you money :beer:

I await the details with interest