MSE News: GB Energy goes bust, 160,000 customers affected

sheff6107

Suzie4 wrote: »

I arranged to transfer my energy to another supplier the day gefore GB went bust. I tried to pay £18 which I owed on my account but when I phoned there was just an automated message informing me GB are no longer trading. My energy switch has been prevented due to money I owe but apparently I cannot pay this to Co op energy. Do they have the right to prevent me switching providers when No-one will accept payment of what I owe?

More likely your new supplier turned you down because of the confusion at the time. I heard that EOn did that with one customer.

I'd just trying switching again, maybe to a different supplier.

sd99

Has anyone been billed since coop took over? I switched over on 3rd Sept, and had a meter reading request on 26th Nov, which I duly entered once the website was back up. I had expected to receive my first (assumed quarterly) bill by now, but so far, nothing...

Robin9

sd99 wrote: »

Has anyone been billed since coop took over? I switched over on 3rd Sept, and had a meter reading request on 26th Nov, which I duly entered once the website was back up. I had expected to receive my first (assumed quarterly) bill by now, but so far, nothing...

I've never had a bill from GbE since I swoped to them in August.

uptdale

Looks like they are doing the bills this week. I've just had a bill made up to 19 November, and also a replacement bill for the previous period because their estimated readings had got so out of kilter (for various reasons I was not able to provide actual readings for a couple of months). So I now have a more accurate figure for my credit balance.

I am one of those who cancelled my DD to avoid increasing the debt due from a company which had ceased trading. Yesterday the Coop tried to collect a DD payment, which my bank reversed. I still do not know how that can happen - my DD instruction was to authorise GB Energy Supply Ltd to collect DD payments and no-one else, so it seems to me my bank should have reversed the DD whether or not I had cancelled. Presumably the Coop will be in touch to set up a new DD mandate, and when they do it will need to be in a lower amount based on a more accurate annual usage estimate. GB's DD amounts seem to have been too high.

It's still not clear what has happened to GB Energy Supply Ltd (the company, not its business). Still no record at Companies House of a liquidator or receiver.

Flt._Lt._Biggles

sd99 wrote: »

Has anyone been billed since coop took over? I switched over on 3rd Sept, and had a meter reading request on 26th Nov, which I duly entered once the website was back up. I had expected to receive my first (assumed quarterly) bill by now, but so far, nothing...

Robin9 wrote: »

I've never had a bill from GbE since I swoped to them in August.

It indicates on their website that if you pay monthly by direct debit, they will provide a statement annually.

sd99

Flt._Lt._Biggles wrote: »

It indicates on their website that if you pay monthly by direct debit, they will provide a statement annually.

Really? The email request stated "Please provide your meter readings ... If we don't receive your readings, your bill will be estimated...", which would be daft if they're not going to bill me until September 2017.

Perhaps they mean an annual statement of usage rather than a regular bill? It would make sense as their webpage link is /account/bills-and-statements

MCGONIS

I have just came off the phone to them. Both supplies of mine moved just before they stopped trading. I am owed £60 for my gas and he arranged the refund today. I owe them on the electric but he said he can't finalise that account as they are not allowed to produce bills yet. (this may only apply to closed accounts) My mums direct debit went out yesterday marked co-operative energy.

Mikeyorks

Flt._Lt._Biggles wrote: »

It indicates on their website that if you pay monthly by direct debit, they will provide a statement annually.

That's an annual Statement - not a 'Bill'.

slpj

A week or so ago, I mentioned that I'd never been informed by GB that they had increased prices, and that I'd never been been asked for a meter reading, and that I'd never been sent any emails or letters at all, since joining them at the end of July. I spoke with customer services at GB, and was told they had posted a letter to me, advising me of the tariff increase. I said it did not arrive, and so I wasn't prepared to accept the increase.

Someone else said they were in a similar position, but that because GB said they'd sent me a price increase notification by post, that I had no case against them, -- or words to that effect.

I complained to GB in writing, stating that they had not given me notice of a tariff increase, had not asked me for a meter reading to ensure that the new price would be applied at the correct reading, and had therefore denied me the opportunity to either switch to a cheaper tariff, or to switch supplier.

Today, I received an email reply from them. In their reply they state.---
"After investigating your account for you, we can see that a letter informing you of the price increase was sent to you via postal delivery on the 27th October, we can confirm that this letter was sent to the following address: " -- also -- "

---

we can confirm that as your account is currently set to 'postal delivery' only, a meter reading request email was not sent to you. --- "

Additionally, their reply said ---- " --- we have also attached a copy of this letter to this email for your viewing, please review this carefully. -- "

The attachment is titled. Your Direct Debit Review. It says, :---
We are writing to let you know that that we need to change the amount you pay each
month for your energy. This is because this amount is currently too much or too little based on
your forecast energy consumption.

I did not recieve this letter. But so what if I had? All suppliers vary the DD, dependant on your consumption. So whilst claiming on the phone and in an email reply, that they gave me notice of the tariff increase, they have in fact now admitted, that they did not inform me of a price increase. It clearly says a DD increase due to my changed energy consumption, which can only have been based on their own estimate of my useage, because they have not had any meter readings from me since I joined them. It makes no mention at all of a tariff increase. So when they told me on the phone, that a letter informing me of the tariff increase had been sent to me, they were not telling the truth.

No wonder they went belly up, they are(were) useless, and possibly dishonest to boot..

I am in the middle of switching to First Utility. I started the process on the 2nd December, -- after I cancelled the DD to GB.

At the old tariff, I was in credit to GB at the time they went belly up. But by the time I switch, about the 21st Dec, I may owe GB money. Can GB prevent me switching if I continue to dispute their right to charge me on the increased tariff, that they failed to give me notice about?

footyguy

Mikeyorks wrote: »

That's an annual Statement - not a 'Bill'.

If you are paying monthly by Direct Debit, I would not expect the supplier to issue any bills (save for a final bill when you switch supplier)

All my suppliers (where I pay that way) issue statements.