first bill took 9 months to get, all at Standard rate. Can I challenge their amount?

BunnyMags

I moved home in April 2014 and advised the incumbent suppliers SSE of my initial meter readings on the first day.

I didn't chase them for a bill because I have been poorly organised.

In November I realised we haven't been billed for gas or electric so called SSE with latest readings. They said they'd sort a new bill.

Chased again in December for the bill, asking if we could be retrospectively put on the best tariffs, as they accepted they'd had a technical problem with our account that stopped a bill being produced. They said they'd look into it.

Got a bill in January 2015 for £1053. They now say I have to put up with the bill for the full period on the standard tariff.

Can I challenge their decision? My current income means I can't pay this amount in full, so am stuck paying them in installments. This probably means I'm stuck with them until the debt is repaid (or not?)

I'm not trying to avoid paying for the energy I have used already, and accept I should have chased them in May, but feel they are refusing to accept their part of the problem, which costs me and costs them nothing.
Any advice welcome.
BunnyMags

CashStrapped

When you opened an account with SSE (when you first moved in) did you not check what the initial tariff was set at? It is your responsibility to check and ensure you are on a suitable tariff at the time.

Were you planning to pay by DD or where you paying only when a bill was raised? If the former, why was a DD not set-up?

Unfortunately, it is your responsibility to check and deal with it at the time, not 10 months later.

You seem to have been aware that you were going to be billed at some point. Should you not have been putting money aside ready for when a bill was raised?

Regardless of a when a bill was finally raised, you knew it was going to happen at some point.

If you were on a prepayment meter, you would have had no choice but to pay for what you used at the tariff it was set at.

Many people have been on standard tariffs for a long period before realising they could have been on a cheaper one. I am sure they would all love to claim a back dated switch!

JJ_Egan

OP could have changed to a cheaper tariff at any time after the initial contact .

Personally i would write a nice letter in ink to the supplier in an attempt to get backdated to a cheaper tariff .

BunnyMags

JJ_Egan wrote: »

OP could have changed to a cheaper tariff at any time after the initial contact .

Sorry, not feeling very bright today. Who is the "OP", me or SSE?

BunnyMags

BunnyMags wrote: »

Sorry, not feeling very bright today. Who is the "OP", me or SSE?

Ah, Original Poster, perhaps?

JJ_Egan

BunnyMags wrote: »

Ah, Original Poster, perhaps?

Or the original post .

Cornucopia

Yes - it means Original Poster (or sometime Post, depending on the context).

You can certainly ask for the tariff to be backdated. It sounds better if you have a specific tariff in mind.

You can also check how the bill relates to your actual meter readings. ie. is the bill accurate?

You can certainly pay by instalments. They can refuse your transfer to another supplier whilst you owe them money.

Have you got your account on to a better SSE tariff - that's certainly something that you could do.