Request for more money after refund on final bill has been paid

Jacquio_2

My daughter is a student and gave a final reading for gas and electricity back in June.on moving out. On this reading the company gave a refund on the account. They have now sent her another bill 4 months later stating that she now owes them money even though they refunded her on her final reading. Can they do this?

spiro

Yes if someone disputes the reading used. Did she think to photograph the meter readings?

Jacquio_2

The reading is as she gave to them. When she gave the reading they said they owed her money which would take the 28 days to finalise. They refunded her the money and they are now saying they made a mistake

dogshome

Can they do this?
I'm afraid the answer is yes they can, in fact they have up to 6 years to rectify accounting errors.
However some suppliers accounting systems cannot be relied on, which one one was she with ?

Just how much extra cash is being asked for ? - Challangeing the bill now she has left the flat will be difficult and time consuming.

She will need every bill that was issued during her tenancy, but as its unlikely she still has them, it needs a WRITTEN request to get copies from the supplier.
Then when they are obtained, each bill must be examined down to the finest detail - If you or she are not 'Utility Bill Savvy', then best to make an appointment with the Citizens Advice Bureau

brewerdave

Was the date that the meter readings were given on, the actual end date of the tenancy? If not,then she might be responsible for standing charges to the end date as the landlord may have supplied the tenancy end date.
OR the landlord might be trying to get away with passing on costs between your daughter's tenancy and the start of a new tenancy!!!

Cardew

If the revised bill is correct, then they can demand payment.

However, as indicated above, you need to determine if this new bill is using the same final meter readings as your daughter gave to the electricity company.

Jacquio_2

The final metre reading was the one that she gave. They are saying that the previous tenants have only just given their final reading from October of last year. The co. Is Spark Energy. The so called final bill arrived in the post today and they have already been threatenening debt collectors via text and messenger.

Cardew

I would take it up with the letting agent. They should have taken the previous tenant's final meter readings which would be your daughter's start readings.

Also submit a formal complaint to Spark and take it to the Ombudsman. Presumably Spark estimated your daughters start reading and a year later have accepted the old tenant's meter reading.

System

Spark Energy use letting agents to gain customers by switching their tenants sometimes without permission. The letting agents may also be submitting readings weeks afterwards when new tenants join.There could well have been electricity being used in that period, therefore I would request the date of the new end reading to be released by Spark.
Another strong possibility, and this is much more likely to happen with flats on eco 7 is that an incorrect day/night reading has been submitted by either outgoing tenant or letting agent. Transposed day/night reads would really mess up the final bill. Also electric dial meters are difficult to read sometimes as are some digital meters in awkward places.

Former Spark Representative

Hi Jacquio


Sorry to hear about this.


Your situation sounds really similar to one I've just handled, so it'd be good if you could message me, just so I can check whether this is the same one or if it's a different situation.


You can get in touch with me using the contact details on my profile.


Kind regards


Jenny
Customer Relations Manager