Problem with Gas and Electric Account

thomasallan2000

Hi, I was wondering if I could briefly get the advice of forum users

Our joint fuel company began providing for us in oct 2014. In January 2015 we set up on Direct Debits for bot gas and electricity. By April 2015 we had already accrued debt on the acccount for both of -£500. I phoned and ask how could this have happened; my wife and I worried about how much energy we were using. We got a letter in May with advice how to save energy, but nothig else was done.

When our next quarter bills came in July the debt had grown a bit and I felt we'd done very little to be in this position so I made a complaint. After they initially tried to fob me off the senior customer services staff member accepted in an email they missed a billing cycle in January 2015 which had contributed to the problem, and obviously the DDs had been set too low. She offered apologies and a £30 'goodwill gesture' and 12 month repayment plan. In the meantime we changed our supplier for both gas and electricity. I reluctantly accepted their offer for now.

Then, in January 2016 a sum of £280 was removed from my bank account without a phone call, authorisation, letter, nothing. I rang and made a further complaint mid January, reclaimed the money and received more apologies.

By this time I am getting v annoyed about how we are being treated,and wonder whether we should pay this back at all due to so much mismanagement, so I refer to the ombudsman who initially accept the case, but on speaking to the company ombudsman decide to close as it hasn't been 12 weeks since my second complaint (mid Jan). I go back to the company who have offered more apologies and another £30 goodwill gesture and a further 12 month repayment plan. They cannot waive the balance as 'it is an accurate reflection of actual gas and electricity used, and no financial loss incurred'. They offer this as a 'full and final resolution' but I can refuse and re-refer to the ombudsman on 14th March if I like for full investigation, which I think I will do.

Decision time then.

Can I have people's opinions and thoughts first? What can I reasonably expect here. The debt still stands at some £300ish after I repayed some so far.

Thank you

JJ_Egan

They say you owe around £300 for energy actually used .Then in my view you should pay it .

Robin9

Do you agree you owe £300 ?

If so pay it.

matelodave

Do you check your bills against meter readings to ensure that your bills are correct and your direct debits are actually covering your consumption. Do you make sure that you send up to date meter readings to the supplier and make sure that any estimated bills are corrected immediately. Most suppliers allow you to check your account on line, so it's not ever so hard.

If you've used the energy then you've got to pay.

If you stay on top of it you don't get big arrears or credits - it's down to you.

System

Hi. One of the common themes on this forum is 'I paid what I was asked to pay and now they are asking me for more'. Sadly, what many consumers fail to release is that DD monthly payments are nothing more than payments (credits) on account. Billing is based on the chosen tariff and usage. I provide my two suppliers with monthly actual meter readings and, as a result, my bills are always accurate.

I am not sure why you now believe that your old supplier should waive the balance of your account? From what I read, they have treated you very fairly and it would be unreasonable of them to ask others to pay your bill. You could continue to fight but my guess is that there will be consequences: the Ombudsman is likely to side with the supplier.

undaunted

I presume from paragraph 2 that you were neither able to save any significant energy usage nor asked to pay any more each month toward the debt. This in itself should have warned you that the following quarters debt would not be likely to have fallen (at best!)


You have little, if any, chance of the Ombudsman telling them they should write off this debt in my opinion. Whether they would award more than £30 for any inconvenience / errors is a matter of opinion but I suspect it wouldn't be a lot more. If they said £50 for example would you consider that worth the effort of writing your complaint? If not you will just have to pay it off as suggested I'm afraid

thomasallan2000

Thanks for all your replies. I get the 'self-management' aspect of this in terms of monthly meter readings, etc, but the company failed to bill or communicate effectively, recognised in their response to the first complaint. I understand the difference between monthly DD and actual usage. Perhaps there was an aspect of chaotic 2015 meaning I wasn't able to stay on top of this as I'd wanted, but the company still need to bill regularly. We began with them in Oct 2014, and hadn't received any notification on the account at all until April 2015 - long time!

The second complaint is bound cause problems: anyone who has had money removed from their account without notifiation or agreement is going to get a bit upset, especially if you are pushing up against your overdraft each month

Anyways, I agree with the main advice here and have accepted the resolution they offer. Without advice it is hard to know what to expect or to put things into perspective (e.g. what others expectations would be, or compare to other people experiences)

Time to pay off the remaining debt and move on.

Thanks all

keith1950

You appear to say you joined them in October but didn't set up direct debits until January. Three months in winter would probably be at least £500 so there's £500 debt to start with! xx

Bigphil1474

If it's any consolation, you should clear most of that debt over the summer when your actual usage should drop significantly.