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Southern Electric gave me rebate by mistake... now they want it back

Hello all, some advice needed please... a brief synopsis

I moved out of a property 7 months ago and gave a final meter reading. Some bright spark (;)) at SE decided this was too high, and amended the total I sent them on their system to something they thought was more appropriate. This triggered an automated rebate of around £400, which I cashed a LONG time ago.

Recently, the new occupiers of the propery gave a meter reading which read more in-line with the reading I actually submitted to them in the first place. They now realise the error, and have told me I owe them over £400.

So where do I stand? I am not at fault at all over this (SE acknowlege this) and I'm hoping I'm somehow entitled to keep the money. What are the experts thoughts on this?

Thanks.

Comments

  • wealdroam
    wealdroam Posts: 19,180 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Try the Gas & Electricity board.

    You could offer to pay them back at (say) £10 a month.
  • fluffnutter
    fluffnutter Posts: 23,179 Forumite
    You can't keep the money, it's not yours. However, it's worth appealing to their nicer side (!) and ask that they agree to a favourable repayment schedule that doesn't leave you impoverished. If you cry hard enough, they might even write off the debt.
    "Growth for growth's sake is the ideology of the cancer cell" - Edward Abbey.
  • wealdroam
    wealdroam Posts: 19,180 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    So we have now got this on three boards, with eight replies all saying essentially the same thing. :D
  • Slowhand
    Slowhand Posts: 1,073 Forumite
    wealdroam wrote: »
    So we have now got this on three boards, with eight replies all saying essentially the same thing. :D

    The OP will I suspect stop when they get a reply saying 'no you don't have to pay it back'.
  • I'm not sure if it's happened in this case but quite often people will be told they have posted their question on the wrong board and that is one reason why we end up having multiple threads.
    I know the op is not a new member but he/she is a inexperienced poster.
    I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us.
  • Lip_Stick
    Lip_Stick Posts: 2,415 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Probably a stupid question but how would SE know that the gas hadn't been used between the OP leaving and the new occupiers moving in. It was 7 months which is a long time.

    I realise the OP has stated that it appears to be around the amount they gave them, and my question isn't about allowing the OP to get out of it. Just in circumstances like this, someone could end up paying more if a person had moved into a property for a small while and moved on without ever notifying the supplier.
    There's a storm coming, Mr Johnson. You and your friends better batten down the hatches, because when it hits, you're all gonna wonder how you ever thought you could live so large and leave so little for the rest of us.
  • Enfieldian
    Enfieldian Posts: 2,893 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    Lip_Stick wrote: »
    Probably a stupid question but how would SE know that the gas hadn't been used between the OP leaving and the new occupiers moving in. It was 7 months which is a long time.

    I realise the OP has stated that it appears to be around the amount they gave them, and my question isn't about allowing the OP to get out of it. Just in circumstances like this, someone could end up paying more if a person had moved into a property for a small while and moved on without ever notifying the supplier.


    The way I read the first post is that the OP supplied a final reading which SE decided was too high.

    The property was then occupied by another party who have "recently" supplied a reading which substantiates the OP's original final reading.

    I don't think that the property has been empty for all of that time.
  • Enfieldian wrote: »
    The way I read the first post is that the OP supplied a final reading which SE decided was too high.

    The property was then occupied by another party who have "recently" supplied a reading which substantiates the OP's original final reading.

    I don't think that the property has been empty for all of that time.

    This is correct. My reading was correct but SE thought it was too high for some reason.

    Apologies for the multiple posts. I wasnt sure which forum was the best place for this topic to sit.
  • Enfieldian
    Enfieldian Posts: 2,893 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    Do you have a bill with your reading on it, followed by one with SE's own figure by any chance?

    A similar thing happened to me when I moved but it was the other way around, Scottish Power sent an estimated final bill which I then had to dispute with my own meter reading.
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