Totally confused...

LL30

I'm afraid I'm being stupid again. I moved out of a property in June. The gas and elec were on those awful prepay thingies. There was about £20 left on the elec and £6 left on the gas when I left. I rang up the day before I moved and told them, and also queried why they were still sending me letters about me not using the correct cards for the meters (long story, they never got to the bottom of it but the cards always topped up fine and I had no problems).

Anyway, they've now sent me a bill for my prepay elec of £15. Totally confused, I wasn't aware you can get bills for prepay? And I was in credit when I moved as I was leaving the property before my official handover date so thought I'd best leave some on just in case... (not sure what admittedly!). But the letter says that it's just for my information and I need not take any further action...but then there's a pay slip? I've spoken to them about it but the woman told me she wasn't on the right system and they'd email me.

Any thoughts? I'll happily pay the £15 but I can't quite work out how I owe it? And no, I didn't take meter readings when I left (lesson learned) as I didn't think it'd be an issue due to the prepay business and the bill is based on an estimate...

Wywth

LL30 wrote: »

I'm afraid I'm being stupid again. I moved out of a property in June. The gas and elec were on those awful prepay thingies. There was about £20 left on the elec and £6 left on the gas when I left. I rang up the day before I moved and told them, and also queried why they were still sending me letters about me not using the correct cards for the meters (long story, they never got to the bottom of it but the cards always topped up fine and I had no problems).

Anyway, they've now sent me a bill for my prepay elec of £15. Totally confused, I wasn't aware you can get bills for prepay? And I was in credit when I moved as I was leaving the property before my official handover date so thought I'd best leave some on just in case... (not sure what admittedly!). But the letter says that it's just for my information and I need not take any further action...but then there's a pay slip? I've spoken to them about it but the woman told me she wasn't on the right system and they'd email me.

Any thoughts? I'll happily pay the £15 but I can't quite work out how I owe it? And no, I didn't take meter readings when I left (lesson learned) as I didn't think it'd be an issue due to the prepay business and the bill is based on an estimate...

You are entitled to a full explanation from the supplier for any amount they demand. So it the 'bill' doesn't explain, demand a bill that does.

If you've used someone else's card, you've credited that other person's account.

LL30

No, I definitely used my cards and they always worked fine - did what they said on the tin anyhow. The elec company said that it wasn't registering with them when I topped up, but the gas and elec meters always topped up without problem so I'm not sure what was going on.

I'll bug them again tomorrow, I'm not fussed over £15 but I'd really like to understand how I owe it them.

Thanks for your help!

[Deleted User]

Hi,

it may be that someone moved in to flat after you, used up the credit and the emergency credit first and then provided entry readings to supplier,so you are now getting billed.

You say 'But the letter says that it's just for my information and I need not take any further action.', sounds like they still think you are the user.

Did you take a note of readings when you moved out?

Contact supplier asap.

lstar337

LL30 wrote: »

No, I definitely used my cards and they always worked fine - did what they said on the tin anyhow. The elec company said that it wasn't registering with them when I topped up, but the gas and elec meters always topped up without problem so I'm not sure what was going on.

It's where the money goes that counts!

The meter will always top-up, even if you use somebody else's card, but the money won't go to your supplier.

This is why you should always make sure you are using the right card.

Joyful

Was the card you used one that the company sent to you when your tenancy started?

LL30

Yes, they even sent me new cards/keys out several times because they insisted that I wasn't using the right ones. The same thing happened every time

Anyway, I spoke to them today. They've said that the letter was purely for my information and not a bill. I told them it said 'bill' on it, looked like a bill and had a paying in slip on it, so how was it not a bill? Their response was that 'they all look like that'. I've told them it's misleading and asked them to pass this on - doubt they will but there we go.

So, it's all sorted. I hope! Glad I'm not on prepay now, it was obviously far too confusing for me!