Supplier refusing to return credit as I'm transferr

Tightas

Hi. I wonder if anyone can assist me? I'm transferring energy supplier. The gas has transferred and I've received a credit back from my previous supplier. Both my old supplier and new supplier say that my transfer of electricity has gone through. The old supplier however are refusing to give me the £130+ I am in credit as they haven't yet had meter readings from the new supplier. They have up to date meter readings that i supplied a couple of weeks ago but won't accept these.

Can they do this? They've told me that it can take 2 months and so they can potentially hang onto my money for this time.

It seems unfair to me. If I wasn't in credit, they wouldn't be able to hang onto my money.

Earlier in the year I was in credit, submitted meter readings and they gave me back my money. The only difference this time is that I've transferred and it seems they are punishing me for doing so.

Surely I should be able to get at least some of the money back now pending the final bill?

Please can anyone tell me if they can do this?

System

The simple answer is 'no'. The fact that you have given your old supplier meter readings is irrelevant as they are a 'passenger' in the switching process. If the switch for electricity has been delayed then the meter readings will be 'industry estimated' to take into account any delay. Once the readings have been agreed, then this triggers a final bill and a repayment. The important thing for you to check is that your opening and closing readings are the same. My guess is that your old supplier is disputing the electricity reading that it has been given, and it has raised a dispute. The dispute goes to a third party for resolution and,sadly, can take weeks not days. Smart Meters will remove this frustrating complication.

lvf

As mentioned before, the answer is no. Any new supplier has a responsibility to pass on the opening reads to the old supplier to close your account. The reads go through a third party validation, hence the delay in them leaving your new supplier to go to the old one. Believe it or not, this process is actually set up to protect the customer. It ensures that you cannot be billed twice for the same readings on your meter.

About the credit, this is held until the account is closed, as when the supply changes over, your account is essentially 'frozen' until the final reads have been processed, but your refund if any is sent automatically to you.

As you say about not being in credit, if you were not, you would be gone for anything up to 2 months thinking you had finished with them and then BANG final bill. So them holding the credit now is to ensure there is no final bill unexpectedly down the line. Obviously that's not the main reason, the main reason is obviously that they want paid for the gas/elec use up until your end date, but in the long run it does actually help.

chanz4

how do they know you read it correct?