Back Billing (supplier not governed by ofgem??)

jaziniho

I recently received a back-bill request from my energy supplier for a significant period of time.

On ringing them up for discussion, I enquired as to why they were requesting an amount for a back bill of greater than 12 months, as by ofgem's directive back bills, if certain specific requirements have been met, back billing should be at a maximum limit of 12 months.

The energy supplier, ener-g (switch2) informed me that because they are not an energy provider, they are not governed by ofgem and energy regulations and directives regarding back billing.


Is anyone able to shed some light on this?
I clearly have a bill for energy supply such as electricity from this company, but their claim is that because they act as an intermediatary, they are not governed by ofgem.

Is this a reasonable claim for them to make?

This is the relevant firm can be found at energ-group.com



Obviously there's a second point of whether I meet requirements for back billing directive... but I want to try and confirm whether what this energy company states regarding not being governed by ofgem and their directives makes sense.

OhReally_2

jaziniho wrote: »

I recently received a back-bill request from my energy supplier for a significant period of time.

On ringing them up for discussion, I enquired as to why they were requesting an amount for a back bill of greater than 12 months, as by ofgem's directive back bills, if certain specific requirements have been met, back billing should be at a maximum limit of 12 months.

The energy supplier, ener-g (switch2) informed me that because they are not an energy provider, they are not governed by ofgem and energy regulations and directives regarding back billing.


Is anyone able to shed some light on this?
I clearly have a bill for energy supply such as electricity from this company, but their claim is that because they act as an intermediatary, they are not governed by ofgem.

Is this a reasonable claim for them to make?

This is the relevant firm can be found at energ-group.com



Obviously there's a second point of whether I meet requirements for back billing directive... but I want to try and confirm whether what this energy company states regarding not being governed by ofgem and their directives makes sense.

If the company is not the energy provider, ask them who is.

All energy providers are governed by Ofgem who issue them with their supply licences.

Their is no back billing directive, let alone one issued by Ofgem.

There is a voluntary code some suppliers have decided to abide by.
There is no requirement for a supplier to agree to such a voluntary code ... in fact only 5 out of the big 6 actually agree to abide by it.

undaunted

Under what circumstances are they seeking to back bill & you to object?

Also is this a business or domestic supply (they are usually busines s brokers from a quick look at their website)?

If it's a domestic supply & comes about as it's arranged through a Council or Housing Association or something then perhaps it may be worth contacting that body for comment / assistance / intervention?

The Energy retail association back billing code, which is for domestic supply customers can be found 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

If a "micro business" - covering a few more suppliers but extending the back billing time to 3 (elec.) - 4-5 years (gas) (though with members committed to reducing this to 1 year by the end of 2014 in cases of supplier error) - see http://www.energy-uk.org.uk/publication/finish/154/966.html and https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/press-releases/ofgem-welcomes-fresh-commitments-energy-suppliers-cut-back-billing-britain%E2%80%99s-smallest-firms

Cardew

Welcome to the forum.


I believe energy-group supply to commercial rather than residential customers.


The provisions of the 'billing - code' only apply to residential customers.


Also, as said above, it is a voluntary code, albeit even those companies who have not signed up to the code have similar provisions.

OhReally_2

Cardew wrote: »

...
I believe energy-group supply to commercial rather than residential customers....

I believe they also serve some residential customers
e.g. where they have their communal heating system installed

jaziniho

Thanks for the initial responses.

Just to start with,yes this is a residential property -- a large tower block that has communal boiler etc. The landlords are a large organisation with many thousands of properties under their control.

I have now had a (recorded) phone conversation with the energy supplier.

This is what they agreed agreed on:

In August 2011, they decided to close my account and cease sending bills to myself as the account was in arrears. At this time they instead started sending bills to the landlords.

I have received no bill, no notification of outstanding debt, and no request for updated or reconfirmed payment details since that time. During that period I contacted the energy supplier a number of times, informing them that I had not received a bill and was told that there was no outstanding balance on the account.

Additionally, they stated their contract for supplying energy is with the landlords, and that their is no contract in place between myself and the energy supplier.

Lastly, they stated that the supply would be cut if payment was not made within 14days.

-- Given that is not possible to switch energy suppliers in this property, only giving 14days notice of potential disconnection seems a little strong. Not sure if that could be considered a fair and reasonable term and condition in a tenancy agreement, but that is really a side issue.

jaziniho

Just to clear up a few additional points:

The account was originally created successfully on moving in, and payments were made for in the region of 1 year. The utility company had correct contact details in terms of name, address, email etc as none of these have changed in that time. Traditional paper billing was being used up until they stopped arriving.

And yes, directive was perhaps a poor choice of words. I was really referring to these quotes, taken from an energy-uk/ofgem/consumer focus document:

(I can't post a link as I'm a new user, but you can find the doc on google by searching "Back-billing: A guide for domestic energy consumers")

"Ofgem directed all domestic energy suppliers to
stop back-billing customers for energy used more
than 12 months ago, if the supplier was at fault for
not having sent a bill to the customer’"

"Whilst the Energy UK Code does not apply to all
suppliers, the back-billing principle applies to all
suppliers"