Old supplier energy bill from out of the blue

clueless_1

Hi there,

Last week I got a call from a debt recovery agency saying I owed my old energy supplier, Spark Energy, £195.

I was pretty shocked, we moved out of our rented flat in April and had settled the final bill with Spark then.

When we moved into the flat 18 months prior Spark asked us to set up a direct debit of £60 a month. In January we were told we were in credit and the payment dropped to £30. I think the final bill was £10.

Spoke to Spark on Saturday and they say they made a mistake calculating the bill. Apparently the bill continued over several screens and some items had been missed. I got the impression quite a few customers have had similar problems.

The guy on the phone looked at the amount outstanding and now it was £240. I asked to be sent the final bill and any evidence of what has happened along with a description of the problem that caused this.

Today the final bill arrived and it is for £296 but no explanation of how this happened. A 20% discount has been offered.

I suppose my question is am I really liable for this? If I buy something in a shop and it is priced incorrectly, I cant be chased for the correct price, right?

The bill has changed three times over the last 7 days. How am I supposed to trust this!?

Final question, Is Spark supposed to be suggesting the best tariff for me? If they cant read the bill properly or have problems with there computer systems, how are they able to calculate the best tariff?

Does anybody have any advice?, A £300 energy bill is the last thing we need right now.

Thanks

ValHaller

Did you take closing readings? The bill you are supposed to pay is the one which agrees with your closing readings.

clueless_1

The readings they have on this latest bill match the last charges.

macman

Yes, they can rebill you up to 6 years later. if the readings and calculations are correct, then you have to pay.
As you say, Spark are fairly notorious for this kind of thing.

ValHaller

clueless_1 wrote: »

The readings they have on this latest bill match the last charges.

But do they match your closing meter reading?

clueless_1

Thanks folks.

The bill covers the entire 18 month period with entire energy consumed minus total direct debits.

However, I have no idea what the closing meter reading was as this was 6 months ago.

According to what is on the bill it looks accurate. I have asked the letting agent to provide the readings from check out.

MillicentBystander

This is why it's always advisable to get photographic evidence of any meter reads. Mobiles are brilliant for this sort of thing.