Process for outstanding balance

Wilsden5

Does anyone know if there is a process energy companies are obliged to carry out when there is an outstanding balance on an account?
I closed an account with First Utility 8th May 2014 when I moved house, I rang them and gave final readings and was not given a closing balance. In June 2014 I was sent a statement by email with my new address and dates after i had moved out. This was not marked as a final bill and did not state clearly that any money was owed. About a month after I moved house I switched back to First Utility and got a new online account with no mention of the debt. I have been able to log in to my old account which shows no sign of being overdue either.
In June/July this year I received THREE text messages on my mobile saying my account was overdue. As I pay by DD I sent an email to customer services saying please can you stop sending these messages and got back an automated response about changing my contact details on my account.
On Tuesday. 9th August I got a Kettering no the post from inch debt management saying I owe First Utility £336.15 and they can put a default on my credit file (my credit is VERY GOOD)
I phoned First Utility and argued with them and got very upset as he just kept repeating 'we issued a final bill' then I sent a complaint by email to which they sent a generic response so I asked for it to be escalated due to the way this has been handled and for some of the debt to be wiped as a goodwill gesture, they have just sent another pretty beige response but with an apology for the inconvenience; you're not kidding!!
Does anyone know if they can do this? They say as well ask the ' Final bill' emailed in June 2014 they also wrote to me in June this year and have escalated it as I did not respond (did not receive any such letter)
Is there be a process they should have followed?
I have no problem paying money I owe but I am seriously unhappy that this has only been brought to my attention after two years. They basically made no effort to contact me for over two years and are now threatening my credit file!
They offered no explanation how it got to this stage without my knowledge, they just say they've looked thoroughly and it is correc.
I really want to take this as far as I can but they are ignoring so many points in my complaint I am finding it hard to respond without just sounding like a narky mare who doesn't want to pay her debts, which I'm not, they should have told me about this when I closed the original account surely!!

Wolf3

As far as I remember Final Balances or Debts can be pursued for up to 6 years, as long as the individual has been notified about them. So legally, the bill is correct if you have received a final balance statement

I believe at least the big 6 Energy Companies are mandated to allow the payments be spread out over the same period you weren't notified or the time period the debt has built up. Not sure if this will occur with First Utility.

You have done the right thing in raising an official complaint and if your still not happy with the outcome or response from First Utility, you can take your complaint to the ombudsman after 8 weeks.

spiro

You have to be very clear about terminology. A statement you will normally receive say every 3 months when you pay be DD, this is purely a statement of account and not a demand for payment. A bill is what you get if you pay quarterly by cash/cheque or when you leave a supplier, this is a demand for payment and will become a debt if not paid with 28 days.

Wilsden5

spiro wrote: »

You have to be very clear about terminology. A statement you will normally receive say every 3 months when you pay be DD, this is purely a statement of account and not a demand for payment. A bill is what you get if you pay quarterly by cash/cheque or when you leave a supplier, this is a demand for payment and will become a debt if not paid with 28 days.

In that case what they sent me was definitely a statement of account; it says at the bottom of the first page 'This statement is for information only. As you are a on fixed monthly payment plan your balance will be carried forward to you next statement and your agreed monthly payment of £155.20 will be collected by Direct Debit on or soon after 12 July 2014'

This statement is dated 10 June 2014, I moved out of the property on 9th May 2014; is it down to me to realise they should be requesting settlement of this account even though they didn't mention any outstanding balance on this document or when I gave my final readings over the phone?
I stand by the fact that if they had made me aware of this at the time I would have made sure it was settled before I moved house!

I will try to scan the whole document and get it on here to make it clearer