Advise on conflicting bills from LoCo 2 Energy

Kinny33

So this is basically a bit long winded but I need to know whether I have a case to argue. When I moved into this property my agency informed me that EON looked after my property for energy and they would contact me shortly. Well they didn't so I contacted them to find that they do not supply my property, Lo Co2 Energy does. Never heard of them ever.......so I decided there and then to move to switch to EON. So EON gave me telephone numbers to Lo Co2 Energy so I could contact them and arrange the move.

Had 2 closing account balance statements from Lo CO2 Energy turn up on my doorstep when I was holiday a week apart (looking at dates) one saying that I owe them £270.24 (the first letter) and one saying £563.11 . This is for a 3 1/2 month period. On the second letter it states that the balance brought forward is £270.24 from previous period and then electricity I have used this statement period £292.87 totaling £563.11. This is for the same period from what I can gather. SO as you can imagine I was really confused, perplexed and finding it completely unrealistic that I could have used that much energy, I called them and asked why had I had 2 contradicting bills for 2 completely different amounts and I also noticed that the statement period was incorrect as the switch date to EON was incorrect. They acknowledged the incorrect switch date and said they would recalculate the bill for me. So there I was thinking that I would get the bill for £270.24 which is far more realistic for energy but no I do not I get the final bill closing balance for £563.11.

Now I am taking this further as I think this messing about is completely unprofessional and I have a very low opinion of this company. Looking at the consumption on both letters it looks like they had initially estimated the usage and sent me this letter and it wasn't until I gave the last meter reading to them they have calculated the end usage based on the numbers I gave them. I however did not give them meter readings when I moved into the property as I did not know they were the supplier. So where did these readings come from?? Also other question is as a supplier of energy do you have an obligation to contact a new occupier and inform them that you supply their new property. This did not happen. I did not receive acknowledgement from anyone. What would have happened if I hadn't chased this down. Would Lo Co2 Energy let the occupier run a bill and then slap them with it somewhere down the line. It was not my choice or decision to have this company supplying me with energy. If I had been made aware of this I certainly would not have allowed a bill to rack up this high and I am almost certain that I would have switched to a more reputable Company, one which I certainly would have heard of. So does this give me a case to argue by final closing account balance. Or am I just wasting my time and pay the £500 odd quid. Could someone help?

footyguy

Kinny33 wrote: »

So this is basically a bit long winded but I need to know whether I have a case to argue. When I moved into this property my agency informed me that EON looked after my property for energy and they would contact me shortly. Well they didn't so I contacted them to find that they do not supply my property, Lo Co2 Energy does. Never heard of them ever.......so I decided there and then to move to switch to EON. So EON gave me telephone numbers to Lo Co2 Energy so I could contact them and arrange the move.

Had 2 closing account balance statements from Lo CO2 Energy turn up on my doorstep when I was holiday a week apart (looking at dates) one saying that I owe them £270.24 (the first letter) and one saying £563.11 . This is for a 3 1/2 month period. On the second letter it states that the balance brought forward is £270.24 from previous period and then electricity I have used this statement period £292.87 totaling £563.11. This is for the same period from what I can gather. SO as you can imagine I was really confused, perplexed and finding it completely unrealistic that I could have used that much energy, I called them and asked why had I had 2 contradicting bills for 2 completely different amounts and I also noticed that the statement period was incorrect as the switch date to EON was incorrect. They acknowledged the incorrect switch date and said they would recalculate the bill for me. So there I was thinking that I would get the bill for £270.24 which is far more realistic for energy but no I do not I get the final bill closing balance for £563.11.

Now I am taking this further as I think this messing about is completely unprofessional and I have a very low opinion of this company. Looking at the consumption on both letters it looks like they had initially estimated the usage and sent me this letter and it wasn't until I gave the last meter reading to them they have calculated the end usage based on the numbers I gave them. I however did not give them meter readings when I moved into the property as I did not know they were the supplier. So where did these readings come from?? Also other question is as a supplier of energy do you have an obligation to contact a new occupier and inform them that you supply their new property. This did not happen. I did not receive acknowledgement from anyone. What would have happened if I hadn't chased this down. Would Lo Co2 Energy let the occupier run a bill and then slap them with it somewhere down the line. It was not my choice or decision to have this company supplying me with energy. If I had been made aware of this I certainly would not have allowed a bill to rack up this high and I am almost certain that I would have switched to a more reputable Company, one which I certainly would have heard of. So does this give me a case to argue by final closing account balance. Or am I just wasting my time and pay the £500 odd quid. Could someone help?

Long question, but quick answer.

It is your responsibility to contact the supplier when you become responsible for the property and give meter readings to allow them to set up a new account.

You must pay for all the energy you consume as recorded by the meter for the period they are the supplier in line with their tariff.

If you are being charged for a period or usage before you were responsible for the property, you may be able to sort this out at this late stage if you can provide suitabvle evidence.
e.g. a tenancy agreement will prove when you became responsible for the supply, and hopefully an ingoing inventory report with stated and agreed meter readings at that date should be good enough to use as a start reading.

Kinny33

I contacted the supplier I was informed was looking after the property by the agency. It wasn't until I contacted EON then I found out that it wasn't EON that was looking after the property it was Lo Co 2 Energy. When I spoke to my agent about this he was convinced himself that it was EON who were looking after the property and could not explain why or how it wasn't. I guess I will wait to see how they respond to my letter and go from there. Thanks for responding so quickly.

LyndaS

Kinny33 wrote: »

I contacted the supplier I was informed was looking after the property by the agency. It wasn't until I contacted EON then I found out that it wasn't EON that was looking after the property it was Lo Co 2 Energy. When I spoke to my agent about this he was convinced himself that it was EON who were looking after the property and could not explain why or how it wasn't. I guess I will wait to see how they respond to my letter and go from there. Thanks for responding so quickly.

I would seem to me that your complaint, if any, should be addressed to the Estate Agent rather than the energy supplier as it was the Estate Agent that gave you incorrect information.

Don't forget Estate Agents and politicians are well known and disliked for essentially the same reason - lies.

However, whilst I am sure the Estate Agent was on this occasion only trying to be helpful, you must remember that the Estate Agent does not work for you - it is the landlord they work for. Also, with every Estate Agent I have ever dealt with, their details specifically state that you must verify for yourself the accuracy of anything they inform you of.

Nada666

What 'agency'? It is none of an agency's business who a householder (including a tenant) chooses for their supply. They may provide info on who they think is on the books but there is no guarantee it is up to date.

If you delayed contacting Eon then there is likely a trivial difference in prices. If you contacted them straight away then you were straight away informed of the correct supplier - don't see what the problem is.

As (I assume) you took readings when you entered the property it is a simple matter to assess what the correct bill before switch should be.

Nada666

(Note that, as far as I can see, and in my region, LoCO2's standard tariff is cheaper than E-on's standard tariff. So you may have profited* from this, not lost from it.)

*once correct readings and corrected bills percolate through