Where do I stand RE energy company mistake?

sth202

I switched energy company about a year ago to one of the bigger companies who supposedly would be cheaper. I started off paying £40 per month Direct Debit. After a couple of months they decided this was not enough and increased the payments to £100 per month without my consent. This made them far more expensive than my previous supplier but I let it go thinking that it would go down again.

I recently received a letter from them saying my account was approx £200 in credit & they would be refunding it.

The following day, I received a letter from them saying that they have had my day & night readings round the wrong way so would be increasing my DD so I could pay off the difference. I object to this. They have had meter readers take readings and I have always supplied readings the right way around. Am I able to refuse to pay the difference as this was their mistake? Or should I just pay up and switch company? As an aside, I went to provide my readings today only to discover that apparently a meter reader read them last week (though a solid door as nobody was home!) Now I am unable to enter the correct readings as they are lower than the "actual" readings taken by the meter reader

I hope this makes sense, and any advice would be appreciated. I will fight this if there's a chance I will win!

Thank you

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

They company will probably give you some money off as a good will gesture. But legally, there is nothing to fight - they are perfectly entitled to correct a billing mistake, and you are obliged to pay (providing the bill is now accurate!)

D_M_E

How can a meter reader read a meter they cannot see? Was there a burglar in the property when the meter reader visited?

Most likely they have allocated someone else's readings to your account.

Does the meter serial number on the bill match the one on the meter?

You need to complain in writing by letter and/or email about this and include if possible a photo of the meter which shows the meter serial number and the actual reading.

Cardew

On the general question of companies making a mistake, as stated in post#2 they are allowed to correct mistakes - that applies to all companies, not just energy suppliers.


In the same way, you can correct any mistake you have made. e.g. if you sent in meter readings that were far too high.

molerat

My daughter had a bill with an estimate for gas and an actual for electricity as the meter reader could not access the property - but - the gas meter is outside and the electric inside :rotfl:

footyguy

sth202 wrote: »

I switched energy company about a year ago to one of the bigger companies who supposedly would be cheaper. I started off paying £40 per month Direct Debit. After a couple of months they decided this was not enough and increased the payments to £100 per month without my consent. This made them far more expensive than my previous supplier but I let it go thinking that it would go down again.

I recently received a letter from them saying my account was approx £200 in credit & they would be refunding it.

The following day, I received a letter from them saying that they have had my day & night readings round the wrong way so would be increasing my DD so I could pay off the difference. I object to this. They have had meter readers take readings and I have always supplied readings the right way around. Am I able to refuse to pay the difference as this was their mistake? Or should I just pay up and switch company? As an aside, I went to provide my readings today only to discover that apparently a meter reader read them last week (though a solid door as nobody was home!) Now I am unable to enter the correct readings as they are lower than the "actual" readings taken by the meter reader

I hope this makes sense, and any advice would be appreciated. I will fight this if there's a chance I will win!

Thank you

The initial assessment of your monthly payment would have been based on the quality and accuracy of the information you originally supplied.

Google GIGO for more info

Having elected a certain supplier & tariff, it would appear you elected to take a tariff that required you to pay monthly by direct debit.
The mandate you agreed to would allow the supplier to take variable amounts shown (although you should have been given appropriate advance notice of such variation)
Therefore, unless you did not receive proper advance notice, I put it to you that you did give prior consent for such variation.

In the event you did not receive proper advance notice, you would be fully covered by the terms of the DD Guarantee, all claims against which should be made direct to your bank.

None of us like paying for what we use, but the fact of life is we have to, else where would we all be???

If a meter reader read your meter last week, and you believe the meter today is actually showing a lower reading than the meter reader recorded last week, are you sure you have taken your readings correctly?

Double check, and if you are certain, call your supplier to discuss

Bigphil1474

OP, you also need to understand that the amount you pay monthly doesn't always reflect the cost of the energy. One supplier might say pay £50 a month, another £40, but it is the unit cost of the energy that's important. As DME says, check that the serial number on the bill matches your meter - in case they've read the neighbours by mistake. Check your reading again - if it's still lower than the meter reader reckoned it was, speak to your energy supplier as they may have a duff meter reading contractor, particularly as you say they can't access the meter anyway - not a smart meter?


Check all your paperwork from the last year with this company and try and work out yourself what you should have paid based on the start reading and the current reading. If you paid £40 per month for the first couple of months then £100 for the last 10 months, then you've paid £1,080 for 12 months which isn't particularly high. Also see if you can think if your consumption has gone up - it might be more expensive (per month) than your old supplier because you've used more energy.