Massive elec bill going back 4 years

stewie_griffin

Crystaltipps wrote: »

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.

As long as they've attempted to read the meter and made it clear on the bills that they are estimated then it is not a breach of the billing code.

Kimitatsu

But if the meter has been read (and you can check with Siemens who do all the readings) and the company has declined to use that reading then the onus is on the company, not the consumer. The OP has pointed out that the meter has been read several times in that 4 years.

4 years is too long for an estimated bill and so the company as I understand it can only legally bill you for 2 of those years. As of July 2007, if they do not give you a metered bill within 12 months, then again they cannot backdate your bill.

If nothing else it is worth arguing the point and taking it to the ombudsman. £45 for a one bedroom flat though does seem excessive. My electricity bill is £80 a month for a large house - what do you use your electricity for? Heating as well as lighting?

electric_ant

Hi
I posted a thread re receiving a bill for £387 as Powergen (them again) failed to bill me for 16 months. The original electricity bill was based on an estimated reading (estimated at March 2006) but I had no gas statement included at all. When Irang in with the actual reading I was shocked to find out that I owe nearly £400.

I've just had a massive row with a guy in the complaints department about it who didn't seem to appreciate that I've been put in this position though no fault of my own. He said that my meter has been read during this time but not only did this not trigger any bills but the bill I have now is based on a number of estimated reading (one for each price hike). He said these had to be estiatmed because the reading weren't taken on the days the prices changed. I've asked Powergen to send me the readings they took as I want to compare them to the estimated readings used to calculate my bill. I asked the guy at Powergen to send me information on how they calculate the estimated readings and he refused saying that the computer did it based on previous consumption and 'other factors'. I asked if he could send a description of how the computer did the calculation and the factors taken into consideration and again he refused saying that he had told me verbally and he wasn't obligued to give me any more information.

I thing there are two common issues here that's affected jonathanw, 3011gillian and me: one the failure to bill properly leads you to running up a massive debt which ties you into the company as another person on the forum pointed out to me. Secondly the use of estimated readings and delaying bills obscures your actual consumption and price increases. We don't all have the time or the information to work out what our DDs should be so assume what the company sets is enough to cover the bills. We could keep track of our consumption by reading the meters regularly but then it is a bit of a leap from that to the actual amount we owe given all the tariffs and price increases.

I'm fuming and intend to persue my complaint further. I have to write to the company next and then move on to reporting it to energy watch. I doubt I will get any joy from it but will try. As the guy from Powergen just said to me on the phone, I owe the money and will have to pay it, what do I expect Powergen to do about it. The ofgem info gives me a bit of ammo but not sure it helps as my bill was for last 16 months. Only thing is I had to contact them to get the bill. I'm kicking myself because if I'd left it to after July 2007 I might have been able to use the ofgen directive to get them to drop it.

Hope you guys get some joy.

Crystaltipps_2

stewie_griffin wrote: »

As long as they've attempted to read the meter and made it clear on the bills that they are estimated then it is not a breach of the billing code.

Sorry - I didn't make myself very clear - because the OP pays by DD, Powergen will look at from the payment adequacy side - have they done a fair review in the last 2 years? Because they have not used the best info available - eg the reads, and have not upped the DD, the OP is now in debt.

The policy in this case is to withdraw any debt over 2 years old (as the arguement is that they are party responsible). As the bills were estimated, they will look at true consumption (using the reads this time) and work out what debt, if the bills had been sent to real usage, is older than 2 years. This will then be withdrawn.

I can't totally guarantee this as I can't see all the detail / communications that have happened, but I'm fairly sure this will happen if you ask to speak to the Payment Adequacy team.

Hope this makes more sense - if people want more clarification, I'll dig out the policy at work tomorrow (I work at Powergen). I must stress this is Powergen's interpretation of the Billing Code, and not necessarily what other companies do.

anniecave

jonathanw - is the £2500 the total bill for the 4 year period (so the £45/month is deducted from it so you hardly owe anything) or do you owe £2500 in addition to the 4 years at £45 p/m?
I would say it depends on whether you also have gas as well as to whether the £45/month is reasonable. Also what is your heating and hot water - elec or gas?
How has the bill changed? Has the opening reading on the revised bill changed? Had it not billed before to the correct current reading? Are the correct tariffs and price increases included in the bill?

RadoJo

Electric Ant - do you mean you hadn't paid anything for 16 months for your electricity?

jonathanw

Kimitatsu wrote: »

But if the meter has been read (and you can check with Siemens who do all the readings) and the company has declined to use that reading then the onus is on the company, not the consumer. The OP has pointed out that the meter has been read several times in that 4 years.

4 years is too long for an estimated bill and so the company as I understand it can only legally bill you for 2 of those years. As of July 2007, if they do not give you a metered bill within 12 months, then again they cannot backdate your bill.

If nothing else it is worth arguing the point and taking it to the ombudsman. £45 for a one bedroom flat though does seem excessive. My electricity bill is £80 a month for a large house - what do you use your electricity for? Heating as well as lighting?

Thank you for all your posts.

I got some idiot on the phone who let the cat out of the bag.
He told me that Powergen have not used the readings that were taken over the last 4 years. Went through all the bills and saw that they have read the meter 16 times!!!! but did not use the readings. They were using estimated readings. They said they will call me back in 1 one and will probably write off the whole bill. :eek:

jonathanw

Powergen just called.

They now say because I called on 8 sep 05 to give a reading on the phone this cancels the 2year rule!. But they still continued to sen dme wrong bills.
I told them this i total nonsense. After 30mins I gave up. They will discuss internally and call me back. watch this space aaaaaaarrrrrrggggggggggghhh!

jonathanw

Crystaltipps wrote: »

Sorry - I didn't make myself very clear - because the OP pays by DD, Powergen will look at from the payment adequacy side - have they done a fair review in the last 2 years? Because they have not used the best info available - eg the reads, and have not upped the DD, the OP is now in debt.

The policy in this case is to withdraw any debt over 2 years old (as the arguement is that they are party responsible). As the bills were estimated, they will look at true consumption (using the reads this time) and work out what debt, if the bills had been sent to real usage, is older than 2 years. This will then be withdrawn.

I can't totally guarantee this as I can't see all the detail / communications that have happened, but I'm fairly sure this will happen if you ask to speak to the Payment Adequacy team.

Hope this makes more sense - if people want more clarification, I'll dig out the policy at work tomorrow (I work at Powergen). I must stress this is Powergen's interpretation of the Billing Code, and not necessarily what other companies do.

so if the meter was read 16 times and the did not use the readings this is their fault??

Why beacuse I called in once in 8 sep 05 (so they say) does this break the 2 year rule? They still were sending wrong bills.

Crystaltipps_2

I can't see how you calling in in Sept 05 makes any difference.

Having checked Powergen's policy - the bit that affects you is:

D. we have assessed the payment within the last 24 months based on actual or a reasonable estimate of the customer’s energy consumption or we have sent a letter to the customer requesting a factual reading to enable us to reassess the payments

As far as I can tell, you were not assessed on a reasonable estimate, despite them having readings.

Their policy is definitely to withdraw any debt that would be over 2 years old, which should reduce your balance considerably. Again - make sure you are talking to the Direct Debit Adequacy team (the general call centre don't get involved in this) and ask to speak to a manager.