so much for the digital age!

daisymaybuttons

On 3rd December had a v. frustrating call with a nice young man at First Utility. We swapped from them in August but they have kept taking payments so they now owe us 330 odd quid. When I asked how this happened he said they had two computer systems that didn't talk to each other! When I asked for my money back I was told it would take up to 15 days to credit my bank account! So much for the digital age!

macman

I'm afraid FU are notorious for billing issues and poor CS.
But why did you not cancel the DD back in August or whenever you received the final bill? Cancelling a DD can only be done by the account holder, not by the supplier. If you leave it open, there is always the possibility that the supplier will continue to draw on it, as has happened in this case.
How come you didn't notice until December?

Wywth

daisymaybuttons wrote: »

On 3rd December had a v. frustrating call with a nice young man at First Utility. We swapped from them in August but they have kept taking payments so they now owe us 330 odd quid. When I asked how this happened he said they had two computer systems that didn't talk to each other! When I asked for my money back I was told it would take up to 15 days to credit my bank account! So much for the digital age!

Why don't you just cancel your DD mandate if you already have the final bill?
(You can also ask for an immediate refund via your bank under the terms of the DD guarantee, if payments have been collected since the final bill)

If you've not yet had the final bill, I doubt you will get any money back from the supplier until they create it. It can take up to 12 months from date of switching to compile a final bill (actually it can take longer than that with some suppliers I know!) I suggest you submit a formal complaint to get a final bill if you don't already have one.

daisymaybuttons

Wasn't sure exactly when to cancel the direct debit as I hadn't actually received a final bill, or even notification of one. I cancelled it the other day when I had spoken to FU, and then got a letter from them a couple of days later saying they had been informed by my bank that I had cancelled the direct debit, and "from now on my monthly bills will show me the amount to be paid and the date the payment is due"!!! Still waiting for the refund

flexrider

Request final bill if it has not been provided they already have the money