Extraenergy Saga

Viccee

Beat this if you can. Six weeks after transferring to another energy supplier (25th Sep) I requested a final statement and refund from Extraenergy (28th Oct) and was told that their IT system was not able to generate the statement at that time. When the statement finally appeared on 18th Nov it was, naturally enough, incorrect. The final calculation for the gas consumed suddenly changed from metered units (cu'ft) to Kwh. All previous meter readings on statements having been given and calculated from gas volume. After contacting them again the corrected figure was agreed and I was assured that an amended statement would be prepared and the agreed final credit balance would then appear in my bank account but not until the end of November.
I waited until 28th Nov for the statement to appear before contacting them again for an update only to be told that there would be a further delay because the statement was now the subject of a technical investigation. At that point the customer service agent (Oh the irony) suggested I submit a verbal complaint. On the 30th Nov I received an acknowledging email from the complaints team containing the usual platitudes together with a warning that the complaint process may take 8 weeks to resolve.
Meanwhile the startling revelation that it isn't necessary for me to begin banging my head against a brick wall in order to discover that it's nice when I stop failed to reach me in time.
It's certainly true that switching to a new energy supplier is relatively easy. Getting away from the old one can be another matter entirely.
It's a further irony that the supplier I changed to (Yes you've guessed it), GB Energy subsequently ceased trading in the meantime. Remarkably it has taken The Co-operative Energy barely a couple of days to accommodate 160000 GB Energy customers on their existing T&C without fuss and drama.

System

I cannot comment on your supplier's customer service but I am confused about your volume/kWh comment.

All usage calculations convert cubic metres/cubic feet of gas (i.e.; metered units ) into kWhs. You also pay for gas used in pence per kWh. Why - because the calorific value of gas changes. I have never known any supplier change 'x' per cubic metre.

The calculation goes: meter units x 1.02264 x 39.2 (the calorific value shown on your bill /3.6

There is nothing sinister going on here.

Viccee

Thanks for the reply. I'm familiar with the conversion calculation so I understand how things work to the point that my Energy tracking spreadsheet produces a more reliable bill than their accounting system. The problem arises from their conversion of the meter reading. Coincidentally I had the same problem when changing from EDF to OVO a couple of years ago. For reasons unknown Ovo changed the EDF meter reading and when I pointed out the difference they replied it was within their tolerance and would not be refunded. This tolerance finally resulted in a £50 refund from EDF due to the variation having been interpreted by Ovo as a few Kwh rather than metered units and therefore not worth pursuing with EDF.
The error on this statement corresponds to a very low number of metered units having been converted to Kwh and that figure having been converted again with same formula.

System

Ok - I think that I am with you. On switch, all meter readings are passed to an independent third-party (the data collectors) for verification based on past usage. They will then send an adjusted meter reading back to the gaining and losing suppliers. I know that it annoys people that their readings are not just taken on trust but the truth is the people lie if they can see financial gain. Provided the adjusted reading is with limits then the suppliers have to accept it. The cost difference to you is minimal.