SSE - £150 + VAT (to deliver letter)

spacey2012

The response from the Energy Ombudsman was:

The main issues of your complaint are about contractual and commercial issues which fall

4.5 If any payments are late we may charge you

(i) interest at the rate of 4% per annum above the

current Bank of England base rate and (ii) our

reasonable costs of trying to recover overdue

payments.

They have left themselves open here, the ombudsman in trying to tongue them has opened them up.

The contract stipulates "reasonable" this is an illegal term and the correct term is "actual".
The Law only provides provision to recover actual losses, a loss that is not actual is not reasonable.

If it costs them £75 to send one letter then what is the rate they claim as an expense against tax for sending the same letter.
It does not cost £75 for what is a computer generated letter from a pre-dated roll.

So what it is is a contractual penalty and illegal.
Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co Ltd v New Garage & Motor Co Ltd [1915]

I would write back that you are challenging the cost of £75 as a illegal penalty and not a correct estimate or actual cost of producing the letter.

philD_2

SwanJon

If this situation is allowed to continue then we'll find ourselves in a position whereby we visit a shop, don't buy anything and on the way out we get stopped. We're told that rent, rates, power and employee bills have to be paid and that the said company (shop) have to impose a charge for entering and looking around. The above has about the same legal precedence as SSE imposed fees.

I know it, you know, SSE know it but still this bull' continues. The court has the jurisdiction to impose fines, SSE doesn't!

You're simply a service provider - nothing more, but you act like the gestapo - SSe.

philD_2

My background was Electronic Engineering at Uni - just getting together some of the law guy/girls (some of which are now Barristers now) to assist here.

chanz4

spacey2012 wrote: »

They have left themselves open here, the ombudsman in trying to tongue them has opened them up.

The contract stipulates "reasonable" this is an illegal term and the correct term is "actual".
The Law only provides provision to recover actual losses, a loss that is not actual is not reasonable.

If it costs them £75 to send one letter then what is the rate they claim as an expense against tax for sending the same letter.
It does not cost £75 for what is a computer generated letter from a pre-dated roll.

So what it is is a contractual penalty and illegal.
Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co Ltd v New Garage & Motor Co Ltd [1915]

I would write back that you are challenging the cost of £75 as a illegal penalty and not a correct estimate or actual cost of producing the letter.

not the same for hand delivered notice of intents

SwanJon

philD wrote: »

SSE are a service provider nothing more. If a fee is applied to an account then the company needs to be able to justify the fee in question. SSE have provided little information regarding the way the fee is calculated - simply because they can't. When I've made a complaint they 'brush my questions off', provide little information and say that they are now assuming my complaint has been answered and the complaint is being closed.

SSE are a service providor and are charging you for a service, but you would like more information as to how that charge was made up? You feel that they haven't answered your request, while they feel they have.

philD wrote: »

SwanJon

If this situation is allowed to continue then we'll find ourselves in a position whereby we visit a shop, don't buy anything and on the way out we get stopped. We're told that rent, rates, power and employee bills have to be paid and that the said company (shop) have to impose a charge for entering and looking around. The above has about the same legal precedence as SSE imposed fees.

Reductio ad absurdum - first sign of a lost argument - especially when irrelevant. The costs you list would exist whether you walked in the shop or not. The costs for you not paying your bill wouldn't have existed if you paid your bill.

philD wrote: »

I know it, you know, SSE know it but still this bull' continues. The court has the jurisdiction to impose fines, SSE doesn't!

They are allowed to charge you for a service

philD wrote: »

You're simply a service provider - nothing more, but you act like the gestapo - SSe.

You seem a bit confused - I'm SwanJon, not SSE. The fringes of Godwin's law also suggest you've lost this one.

dicky_dunock

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22011717

LukeDennison

You can change energy suppliers when your balance is £500 or less so pay off the balance until your bill is less than 500 pounds then switch suppliers.

When SSE chases you up (DCA) inform the DCA that you dispute the charges but SSE have simply ignored you. You are not prepared to pay the original 200 pound charges and that the remaining money (£300) is to cover your time and costs.

Keep all documentation and if you are taken to court then attend and explain what has happened to the judge.

Let SSE do the work!

philD_2

Fire_Fox wrote: »

I addressed the charges in post 3.

Ombudsman should be called in eight weeks after you initially raised a formal complaint with SSE, if you have reached stalemate or had no response. Have you written to the Complaints Team yet?

Do you mean Watchdog? If so, then yes I've written to them.

philD_2

SwanJon wrote: »

SSE are a service providor and are charging you for a service, but you would like more information as to how that charge was made up? You feel that they haven't answered your request, while they feel they have.


Reductio ad absurdum - first sign of a lost argument - especially when irrelevant. The costs you list would exist whether you walked in the shop or not. The costs for you not paying your bill wouldn't have existed if you paid your bill.


They are allowed to charge you for a service

You seem a bit confused - I'm SwanJon, not SSE. The fringes of Godwin's law also suggest you've lost this one.

I guess similar characters work for SSE - I've reported an issue here, something which has caused me concern. You seem to make fun of this and are demeaning towards me.

philD_2

SwanJon wrote: »

SSE are a service providor and are charging you for a service, but you would like more information as to how that charge was made up?

Hey Mr SwanJon (CV 39.7 North East - British Gas)

Yes, I agree the charges were 'made up' - entirely fictisious - don't represent any actual real costs to SSE.