Massive elec bill going back 4 years

jonathanw

I have just received a back electricity bill going back 4 years for £2500.
I live in a one bedroom flat and have been paying about £45 a month which is probably too much anyway.

What can I do to fight this. Legally can they go back so far?

Powergen just read the meter and confimred that the bill is correct.

Please help!!!!

Thanks

Kimitatsu

Have you not had a bill or had your meter read in all that time? If the answer is no then Powergen cannot enforce it. If they have not read the meter nor given you a bill within 2 years then the amount must be written off by the company.

3011gillian

Hi, i can empathise, we've just been informed of a £600 bill, which we had no idea about. the meter readings were all correct and like you we have been overpaying (more than double our neighbours)for 3 years anyway.

we only received the statements per quarter which stated the amount we have paid and the amount to pay that quarter and that our payments would stay the same based upon our usage. there was no information about other money owed. we just assumed they would change our direct debit of we owed anymore/less than usual. when we got our letter stating we would now pay £242 that's when we called up and found out about the money, it could have gone on forever! the guy on the phone said that £242 per month was not enough to cross a threshold where it would flag up in their system- for two people in a flat!!!

i feel so sick i really don't know what to do. sorry i can't be of any advice! hope you manage to sort it out.

jonathanw

Kimitatsu wrote: »

Have you not had a bill or had your meter read in all that time? If the answer is no then Powergen cannot enforce it. If they have not read the meter nor given you a bill within 2 years then the amount must be written off by the company.

They have read the meter over the last 4yrs a couple of times.
I have though been paying the estimated bills every month that in my view were too expensive for a one bedroom flat. This lastest bill is off a recent reading which they say is so much because I was always paying estimated amounts. makes no sense. they also

thanks

Kimitatsu

From the Ofgem site

See: http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Markets/RetMkts/Compet/Documents1/11070-16305.pdf

but specifically:

Back-billing: energy suppliers should, by July 2006, stop seeking payment from
customers for any energy supplied where the supplier is at fault for not billing
the customer for two years. From July 2007, energy suppliers should stop
seeking payment for unbilled energy where a supplier has failed to bill for over
12 months and is at fault for not doing so, and
♦ Unfair contract terms: energy suppliers should, by July 2006, review the terms
and conditions in their supply contracts and change them where necessary.

If the bills have been estimated for that long then you have a case to argue that they should have read the meter within the last two years as it is their duty of care.

You can complain to the ombudsman if you get no joy!

jonathanw

Kimitatsu wrote: »

From the Ofgem site

See: http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Markets/RetMkts/Compet/Documents1/11070-16305.pdf

but specifically:

Back-billing: energy suppliers should, by July 2006, stop seeking payment from
customers for any energy supplied where the supplier is at fault for not billing
the customer for two years. From July 2007, energy suppliers should stop
seeking payment for unbilled energy where a supplier has failed to bill for over
12 months and is at fault for not doing so, and
♦ Unfair contract terms: energy suppliers should, by July 2006, review the terms
and conditions in their supply contracts and change them where necessary.

If the bills have been estimated for that long then you have a case to argue that they should have read the meter within the last two years as it is their duty of care.

You can complain to the ombudsman if you get no joy!

Thank you!

They have billed every month but they claim the bills were estimated and wrong. Does this count?

espresso

jonathanw wrote:

They have billed every month but they claim the bills were estimated and wrong. Does this count?

Sorry but I don't see why you think that the supplier has done anything wrong. If you have received estimated bills, what was to stop you from providing them with an actual reading?

:rolleyes:

jonathanw

espresso wrote: »

Sorry but I don't see why you think that the supplier has done anything wrong. If you have received estimated bills, what was to stop you from providing them with an actual reading?

:rolleyes:

You are correct. but the bill meter has been read a few times.
The main point, is, is that the amounts I have been paying in my view are way too much for a one bedroom flat.

espresso

jonathanw wrote: »

You are correct. but the bill meter has been read a few times.
The main point, is, is that the amounts I have been paying in my view are way too much for a one bedroom flat.

But you can work out the cost of your actual consumed units yourself. The DD amount is irrelevant to the cost of the energy that you have actually consumed over the time period. My DD payments have been calculated by myself, based on previous years usage, to ensure that I am paying the correct amount to cover my usage.

Crystaltipps_2

As I understand it:

You pay by Direct Debit - £45 per month. In the last 4 years a meter man has come on a number of occasions and successfully read the meter, but for some reason Powergen have ignored these readings and under estimated your account. They have finally got around to using the correct actual read, which has resulted in a balance of £2500.

Powergen should withdraw any billing from over 2 years ago to comply with the Billing Code (as they ignored the true information on the readings), but they will probably also increase your DD to cover usage and to clear the remaining debt over time.

I'm a bit confused when you say Powergen have billed every month, because they don't bill domestic customers monthly. Taking a DD payment is not the same as billing.

£45 for the electric for a one bed flat if you also heat with it does not sound too bad at all. If you have a problem with the £2500 bill you might want to check that the reading that Powergen opened your account with is right.

Cardew

Seems to me that the OP is confusing a Direct Debit payment with a bill payment.

The main point, is, is that the amounts I have been paying in my view are way too much for a one bedroom flat.

If all electric, £45 would not cover most properties; especially if the DD has remained at £45 for 4 years.