Edf just realised I owe them money

Pete76uk

I tried to switch gas and electric (both Edf) to ovo but got back a reply saying I owed £400 for the cost of a prepay meter in 2012 and an apology saying it was their mistake they hadn't billed me and they knocked £50 off the amount and will take £5 a week off the electric pre payment meter .

Do I need to pay this as we didn't even know we owed it ? And to ask for it back 3 years later is a joke .

I followed Martin Lewis guide down to the letter but wish I never bothered as instead of saving I'm now £350 in debt ,,please help

footyguy

Pete76uk wrote: »

I tried to switch gas and electric (both Edf) to ovo but got back a reply saying I owed £400 for the cost of a prepay meter in 2012 and an apology saying it was their mistake they hadn't billed me and they knocked £50 off the amount and will take £5 a week off the electric pre payment meter .

Do I need to pay this as we didn't even know we owed it ? And to ask for it back 3 years later is a joke .

I followed Martin Lewis guide down to the letter but wish I never bothered as instead of saving I'm now £350 in debt ,,please help

Hello, and welcome to MSE :wave:

I'm sorry, I am a little confused by your post.

Am I correct in assuming you have a credit gas meter (one where you receive a bill) and a pre-payment electric meter?

Despite you only now becoming aware of the alleged debt, do you agree you owe it?
If not, why not?

Of course, you are not expected to pay debts that you dispute you owe, and it may ultimately take a court judge to resolve the matter, but initially I would suggest you follow the supplier's complaint procedure if you do dispute the alleged debt.

If you do agree you owe the money, why do you think you shouldn't have to pay it???

In regards the switch, as I understand it the debt (which you may or may not agree with) has now been loaded to your electricity pre-payment account (less the £50 goodwill gesture the supplier granted you)

In this situation, I cannot see any reason the switch you requested to Ovo cannot now go ahead. Have you asked Ovo to try again?

By switching, you will obtain the saving you had hoped.
The debt is a different matter, the resolution of which will depend on the details I am unclear about above.

Edit: All sorted?
I realise sometimes just writing out your issues can help you to 'see the wood for the trees'.
But if you did find my response helpful, at least a click of the thanks button would have been nice.
Otherwise if you still require assistance, do pop back when you have more time

marleyboy

They can chase you for the debt for upto 6 Years, so yes they can ask for it, yes you will have to pay it and yes you should have to pay it.

Pete76uk

sorry for the confusion ,Both are pre paid meters and when we got them fitted in 2012 we were told the cost of the meters comes off a little every time we top up so to now be told that they did not deduct anything at all is a kick in the teeth .Plus the are going to take £5 a week off the £10 I put on every week .

We have switched the gas meter to ovo no problem but ovo will not take on the debt so know we are stuck with 2 different suppliers and £5 a week worse off for years .

They admitted the fault was theres but tbh I cant remember last month never mind 3 years ago so does this sound suspect and should we still have to pay as it was their mistake ?

spiro

Pete76uk wrote: »

sorry for the confusion ,Both are pre paid meters and when we got them fitted in 2012 we were told the cost of the meters comes off a little every time we top up so to now be told that they did not deduct anything at all is a kick in the teeth .Plus the are going to take £5 a week off the £10 I put on every week .

We have switched the gas meter to ovo no problem but ovo will not take on the debt so know we are stuck with 2 different suppliers and £5 a week worse off for years .

They admitted the fault was theres but tbh I cant remember last month never mind 3 years ago so does this sound suspect and should we still have to pay as it was their mistake ?

Reading this do you mean you had a ppm in 2012 to repay a debt? If that is the case it sounds like the debt did not get onto the meter. Did you never check this? Did you not realise you were paying too little Sorry but this sounds a 50/50 issue, neither of you noticed.

[Deleted User]

Why do you say you are being charged for the "cost " of the meters?. As far as I am aware the fitting of prepay meters for either debt on a credit meter or personal choice , is free..no charges. If you had debt on a credit meter and they fitted prepays , that debt is loaded on to screen "S" (electric ) or 26 (gas ) prepays. Other costs which are loaded as debt, are cost of a warrant and locksmith for people who won t allow access, this is approx £250. Previous tampering or bypassing is also loaded as debt , for damage to the meters, approx £250 for prepay meters and less for credit meters. Previous standing charge debts can also be loaded on the prepays. If you have debt on a prepay it is not the cost of the meters which has accrued the £400 but your own actions.

footyguy

Pete76uk wrote: »

...We have switched the gas meter to ovo no problem but ovo will not take on the debt so know we are stuck with 2 different suppliers and £5 a week worse off for years.

As I said, I cannot see any reason the switch cannot go ahead.
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/energy-supply/problems-switching-energy-suppliers/you-can-t-switch-energy-supplier-because-of-a-debt/

Pete76uk wrote: »

...
They admitted the fault was theres but tbh I cant remember last month never mind 3 years ago so does this sound suspect and should we still have to pay as it was their mistake ?

That would have depended on the outcome of the dispute you raised 3 years ago, the outcome you say you no longer can recall. (and so presumably have kept no records)
But you did have a prepayment meter installed at that time.

What I don't follow is that you have obviously complained recently about this debt, and hence the £50 goodwill gesture they have recently provided (because they failed to collect it via the meter). If you didn't think you owed the money you would have said so, and the supplier would have then explained to you why you still do.

As pointed out in post#3, a creditor usually has 6 years (5 in Scotland) to pursue a debt.

Pete76uk

Thanks for all your help ,Ive just taken over the running of my mothers bills due to her poor health and now its come to light that the debt was actually from when she had a normal electric meter in and ran up a debt so I think its fair to say it needs to be paid .

Great responses though and what a great forum .

Much appreciated

Peter