Erroneous transfer,can I get compensation.

andy8442

Hello all. I was the victim of an erroneous transfer of my electricity from Brit Gas to N-Power last summer. After many months and endless phone calls and emails it now looks like it will be sorted.

Now my question is what if any comp can I expect to receive from both suppliers as they were both at fault.

In short I was moved to N-Power instead of my neighbour when she tried to change suppliers, because of incorrect serial numbers for our meters. BUT 5 days before the transfer took place I told N-Power not to go ahead with the transfer because it was a mistake, yet they still went ahead and did it.

I am not a believer in the compensation culture but I am the one that has put all the work into getting back to BG and I want something for that.

Any thoughts?

somethingcorporate

Start with your actual losses (increased phone bills, letters, etc) and add a sum for your inconvenience - say £50-100 and send it to the companies and see what they say.

No entitlement to anything but your actual losses but given the level of inconvenience I am sure they will offer some token.

Out of interest are you with either of these suppliers at the moment? you may find the one you are with may be more accommodating to keep your business.

jalexa

andy8442 wrote: »

I am not a believer in the compensation culture

Well "ex-gratia" awards are the way organisations admit error. If you don't want the money give it to charity.

chanz4

It maybe the problem with ecoes and not even the suppliers, bg wont compensate you and to be honest npower may but dont have to as its not really their error

jalexa

chanz4 wrote: »

to be honest npower may but dont have to as its not really their error

How not?

"... 5 days before the transfer took place I told N-Power not to go ahead with the transfer because it was a mistake, yet they still went ahead and did it..."

It may have been to late to stop but not too late to advise how to remedy.

I may be missing something but !!!!!! is "ecoes"?

chanz4

Its not possible to stop if it was 5 days before the transfer, hence the et it puts you back as if you have never left.

Joyful

Ecoes is the industry Electricity information database. It shows what MPAN ( Meter point administration number) is allocated to a property. It also shows what serial numbers are attached to each property. If the information on this is incorrect it can lead to problems.

I agree that if Andy 8442 contacted Npower and told them it was the wrong property they were taking over they should have instigated the erroneous transfer but why/ how did he only find out 5 days before.

andy8442

Thanks for the replys. I got a letter from BG saying they were "sorry I was leaving" at which point I leap into action.....to no avail.

Yes it was a problem with Ecoes, which both parties were aware of, but still NP carried on with the transfer. I've basically spent the last 11 months banging my head against the brick wall that is both BG and NP staff not prepared to actually listen to what I am telling them,and not doing anything about it.

Funnily enough as soon as it's all sorted I will be taking my business else where.

jalexa

andy8442 wrote: »

I've basically spent the last 11 months banging my head against the brick wall that is both BG and NP staff not prepared to actually listen to what I am telling them,and not doing anything about it

You only need to give a utility one and only one opportunity to resolve an issue 100% to your satisfaction. Then raise a formal complaint (in writing or by email). That starts an 8 week clock, at the conclusion of which, if you remain disatisfied, you are entitled to ask the Energy Ombudsman to consider the issue.

andy8442

Thanks, yes I am now aware of that. Shame I didn't know about last summer.

Terrylw1

Meter numbers into ECOES are passed by the meter operator, not the supplier.however, any update that would trigger that would send a copy to the supplier at the time which in your case would be Bgas. Now Bgas if they know there is an error should update it via the meter operator.

It is possible the supplier before them failed to do this do Bgas were less aware, however every meter reader visit would inform them there is a different meter on site and your readings would cause them problems. So, I suspect that the meter operator and the supplier were OK but ECOES was incorrect. ECOES had a lot of data errors when it was launched and they continue to this day.