Spark Energy Key Meter Charge

PensionKid

Hi All,

Just getting involved in this while Spark continue to cause distress to my girlfriend.

Quick question ... Spark are trying to charge her for an electricity bill which totals nearly £350 for the year, but the flat she rented always used a pre-payment key.

How can she possibly have an outstanding electricity debt whilst using this key (pay as you go) method?

Can someone enlighten me before we go ballistic at Spark (again)!

regards

PK

molerat

Did she get her own key or did she continue to use the key that the previous tenant left therefore topping up their account instead of paying for her own use ?

PensionKid

Hi Molerat,

I honestly would not know. I assume that she may have used the one that was left in the meter (with a few quid left on it).

Why would that make a difference?

Thanks for your help,

PK

lstar337

Yeah, looks like she took on the last tenants debt.

If you do not notify the supplier when you move in, they will not clear any previous debt off the meter and issue a new key.

Good luck getting Spark to resolve any of this, they are awful at everything!

PensionKid

Hmm, ok, still not sure though. I say this because on her bill it states electricity usage in kwh (eg 26p per kwh) but you pay for this at the local store, load the key up and then plug it back into the meter where it is read. Why does her bill show charges for electricity up to nearly £350 quid for the time that she was there? ie the time that she was loading the key at the local store?

Many thanks,

PK

Bang on with the last sentence Istar !

lstar337

PensionKid wrote: »

Hmm, ok, still not sure though. I say this because on her bill it states electricity usage in kwh (eg 26p per kwh) but you pay for this at the local store, load the key up and then plug it back into the meter where it is read. Why does her bill show charges for electricity up to nearly £350 quid for the time that she was there? ie the time that she was loading the key at the local store?

Many thanks,

PK

Bang on with the last sentence Istar !

We used to get statements from EDF showing charges issued for a PPM, but at the end of the year they would be followed up by a big credit to balance it out.

I'm not sure if that is what you are seeing though.

I think more information is needed to move forward.

Can you post a picture of the bill in the thread so that somebody can take a look? Remove all personal info though.

Nada666

If it is the previous occupier's debt then not only is there the £350 balance - there is also all the weekly repayments that would have been taken off that your friend is owed. That cash'll be even harder to unlock than the acknowledgement the remaining balance is not hers.

[Deleted User]

Have a look on screen "S " on the prepay..this is the total debt remaining , screen "T " shows the weekly debt repayment.. Standing charge debt is on screen "A " . The debt screens S and T can only be seen with key inserted Spark have very low credit meter tariffs but fairly high prepay rates, like all the others.Getting the money back off a dreadful supplier like Spark will be a battle, best of luck.

macman

Why did she not register for an account when she occupied the property? This is the procedure with both credit meters and PPM's.

Former Spark Representative

Hi PensionKid


I'm really sorry to hear about this.


If a customer pays by pre-payment meter, the only statement they should get is their Annual Statement, which is to demonstrate usage/payments and is not a bill that needs to be paid.


There are a couple of scenarios which could have resulted in a bill being sent, and I'd really like to have a look into what's happened, to get things sorted out.


If there was debt on the meter from a previous tenant, we wouldn't send a bill to the new tenant.


lstar337's advice is correct, if your girlfriend did not register for an account we wouldn't have known to send a new key out, and this means that the previous tenant's debt might be on the meter because a new key was not used to top up the meter at the start of the new tenancy.


The information given by sacsquacco regarding which screens to check on the meter would be very useful to know, so if you're able, let us know what the meter shows so that we can make sure there's no debt on there and so we can remove it if that's an issue.


You can contact me using the details on my profile, and I'd just need a note of the supply address, and confirmation of the account holder's name. If you're not an authorised person on your girlfriend's account you'd need to ask her to contact me directly either so I can resolve things with her or so that she can confirm that she's happy for you to deal with the issue on her behalf.


Hope to hear from you soon.


Kind regards


Jenny

footyguy

PensionKid wrote: »

Hi All,

Just getting involved in this while Spark continue to cause distress to my girlfriend.

Quick question ... Spark are trying to charge her for an electricity bill which totals nearly £350 for the year, but the flat she rented always used a pre-payment key.

How can she possibly have an outstanding electricity debt whilst using this key (pay as you go) method?

Can someone enlighten me before we go ballistic at Spark (again)!

regards

PK

Could you post a copy of the bill sent to your girlfriend here please? (First remove any personally identifiable information)

It does seem odd, but a sight of the alleged bill will hopefully help us to assist you and your girlfriend further.