Back billing possible?

tearfulkarma

Ok, i'll try and keep this as brief as i can. Hopefully someone can give me a little advice.

I moved into my current flat at the beginning of August 2011.

I registered my gas supply with edf and began paying it.
I attempted to find out who the electricity supplier was and after phoning numerous suppliers and using online live help advisers, i still couldn't find out who the supplier was. Everyone just said it's not us. I figured i'd just forget about it and someone would eventually send a letter asking for money. This never happened.

Fast forward to now and i decided to try and sort it out again. I went through the same processes, phoning suppliers. I used edf's live chat assistant, who searched and again said it's not us. I then asked if she could search using the serial number on the meter, she did this and told me scottish power supplied my electric. I contacted scottish power who said they only provided for the ground floor flat.

Nearly done now, honestly.

I eventually spoke to a very helpful advisor on the phone because edf took £200 from my bank account without authorisation. (That's another story).

Anyway, she finally worked out that they had my electricity meter registered as flat 3, but there is also a pre paid meter for top floor flat (same property). My flat, number 2 or first floor, had never been registered as its own property for electricity.

Now, after all this, and i know your all still gripped, i would like to know if they are within their rights to ask me for the £614 which has accumulated between August 2011 and present.
I'm not arguing that it's not my bill, but as far as i can see, i have done everything i could to rectify it and start paying.
I saved the online chat from the advisor that told me, categorically, that edf do NOT supply my electricity. Would the billing code apply in this case?

chanz4

yes simple answer

tearfulkarma

chanz4 wrote: »

yes simple answer

How can they charge me, if i've done everything i can to sort it out in the meantime? Surely this is their mistake.

Cardew

As you probably are aware there is a billing code that is guidance to the industry; see:

http://www.energy-uk.org.uk/customers/energy-industry-codes/code-of-practice-for-accurate-bills.html

More detailed guidance is here:

http://www.energy-uk.org.uk/publication/finish/43-code-of-practice-for-accurate-bills/412-the-code-of-practice-for-accurate-bills-back-billing-for-domestic-customers.html

It all comes down to interpretation of the clause about you trying to determine your supplier or did you wilfully avoid payment before the recent phonecall to EDF.

They might not consider that 'you did everything you could' to determine the supplier until recently.

I suspect that you will 'win' your case, so will only be back-billed for 12 months from the date EDF discovered they supplied you.

MK55

Sounds like they had incorrect details on their metering side, i.e. pre-pay instead of credit or wrong addresses. I would raise a complaint asking for back billing code to be applied as because information was incorrect you have been unable to register. Can you send them proof that you tried to contact them? An itemised phone bill etc

dogshome

Yes - 12 months only Back Billing it is

The OP has made good efforts to trace the Elec supplier - Moved in, tried to register with EDF who denied they were the supplier.
Then later gave EDF his Meter Number, only for them to advise him Scot Power were the supplier, which SP denied

Now EDF are saying the OP's meter is theirs, but is mis-registered to Flat 3
(As an aside - I wonder who the occupants of Flat 3 are paying?)
Hopefully the OP still gas a record of the Moving-In readings so their consumption over the entire period can be calculated, together with a close estimate of use over the last 12 months

undaunted

I believe Chanz4 works in the industry and it could therefore be argued has a vested interest in answering as he has - "simple" perhaps but actually it isn't at all clear whether he is answering yes they have the right to bill you or yes the billing code applies

Whether all are or not I don't know but at least some of these utility collection agents are paid commissions / bonuses on money collected or ppm meters fitted.

You asked " i would like to know if they are within their rights to ask me for the £614 which has accumulated between August 2011 and present." My answer would be that yes they can ask you (thats not necessarily the same thing as being entitled to payment in full though)

You also asked "Would the billing code apply in this case?" My answer is again yes, quite possibly. There appears to be a line of argument here so it's now upto you to argue it with them.

http://www.energy-uk.org.uk/publication/finish/43/412.html

Wywth

tearfulkarma wrote: »

Ok, i'll try and keep this as brief as i can. Hopefully someone can give me a little advice.

I moved into my current flat at the beginning of August 2011.

I registered my gas supply with edf and began paying it.
I attempted to find out who the electricity supplier was and after phoning numerous suppliers and using online live help advisers, i still couldn't find out who the supplier was. Everyone just said it's not us. I figured i'd just forget about it and someone would eventually send a letter asking for money. This never happened.

Fast forward to now and i decided to try and sort it out again. I went through the same processes, phoning suppliers. I used edf's live chat assistant, who searched and again said it's not us. I then asked if she could search using the serial number on the meter, she did this and told me scottish power supplied my electric. I contacted scottish power who said they only provided for the ground floor flat.

Nearly done now, honestly.

I eventually spoke to a very helpful advisor on the phone because edf took £200 from my bank account without authorisation. (That's another story).

Anyway, she finally worked out that they had my electricity meter registered as flat 3, but there is also a pre paid meter for top floor flat (same property). My flat, number 2 or first floor, had never been registered as its own property for electricity.

Now, after all this, and i know your all still gripped, i would like to know if they are within their rights to ask me for the £614 which has accumulated between August 2011 and present.
I'm not arguing that it's not my bill, but as far as i can see, i have done everything i could to rectify it and start paying.
I saved the online chat from the advisor that told me, categorically, that edf do NOT supply my electricity. Would the billing code apply in this case?

tearfulkarma wrote: »

How can they charge me, if i've done everything i can to sort it out in the meantime? Surely this is their mistake.

Claims under the 12 month back billing code are assessed individually on their merit.

By your own admission you failed to register as the electricity account holder and decided to "just forget about it and someone would eventually send a letter asking for money"

Well they presumably have now, or will do so very soon.

You can ask - good luck and well done if you succeed; I'm not so sure you will.

MillicentBystander

It invariably seems to be EDF when we are talking about someone not being charged for years. They need to sort themselves out TBH.

undaunted

Couldn't really say whether you are right with invariably EDF or not but personally I think it's about time the lot of them were sorted out.

You can argue for or against "deemed contracts" initially according to your point of view but there must surely become a point when this is no longer acceptable - ie that some sort of monitoring is put in place , terms & conditions / alternatives notified & there is a firm requirement for an express contract (or discontinuance of supply / "deemed contract" within a fair & fixed timescale

Cardew

undaunted wrote: »

You can argue for or against "deemed contracts" initially according to your point of view but there must surely become a point when this is no longer acceptable -

Whilst everyone would agree that the accounting in firms needs to be sorted, I cannot see that 'deemed contracts' are the problem.

At least we can now move into a property and find the gas and electricity connected, which wasn't always possible before deemed contracts were introduced.

The biggest problem IMO with deemed contracts is there is a financial incentive for the customer to do absolutely nothing if they don't get billed. We have two threads currently running where the customer is likely to escape payment of several months gas/electricity. Had gas/electricity been disconnected when they moved in, I am sure their efforts to trace their supplier would have been more successful!

I am pretty certain some people don't pay for many years.