Help - First Utility overcharging dispute

tillytuc

Urgent advice needed. 6 months ago I received an invoice from First Utility for double what I was expecting. I went back through and checked all my invoices and found they were invoicing me incorrectly. I only have electric and have economy 7 so have what's know as complex meters. First Utility have admitted they cannot do my bill. I have submitted meter readings every month and they have incorrectly billed me every month I have begged them for an accurate invoice. They stopped my direct debit but then proceeded to get debt collectors onto me. My deal ran out with them at the end of December and despite requesting a switch to a supplier who can deal with my meters they refuse to release me so now I am being billed at a single rate which means my bills are now double what they could be. I have been in touch with the ombudsman but do not agree with the proposal they wish to put forward as there is nothing insisting that they should release me to another company and that I should be on the cheapest single rate tariff which as mentioned above means my bills are now double. I have a disabled son but to cut costs I am now having to consider turning off my heating and reducing our electricity consumption by half to enable us to afford things going forward. Please can anyone help or advise?

System

tillytuc wrote: »

Urgent advice needed. 6 months ago I received an invoice from First Utility for double what I was expecting. I went back through and checked all my invoices and found they were invoicing me incorrectly. I only have electric and have economy 7 so have what's know as complex meters. First Utility have admitted they cannot do my bill. I have submitted meter readings every month and they have incorrectly billed me every month I have begged them for an accurate invoice. They stopped my direct debit but then proceeded to get debt collectors onto me. My deal ran out with them at the end of December and despite requesting a switch to a supplier who can deal with my meters they refuse to release me so now I am being billed at a single rate which means my bills are now double what they could be. I have been in touch with the ombudsman but do not agree with the proposal they wish to put forward as there is nothing insisting that they should release me to another company and that I should be on the cheapest single rate tariff which as mentioned above means my bills are now double. I have a disabled son but to cut costs I am now having to consider turning off my heating and reducing our electricity consumption by half to enable us to afford things going forward. Please can anyone help or advise?

Hi - welcome to the forum. A quick question: have you followed the supplier's formal complaints procedure and then escalated the complaint to The Energy Ombudsman?

I ask because if you have then The Energy Ombudsman's decision is final. If you reject the decision then neither The Energy Ombudsman nor the supplier will look at your complaint again. Moreover, the supplier does not have to implement The Energy Ombudsman's ruling.

If you haven't followed the formal complaints procedure, then now is the time to do so in writing. Spell out in detail the nature of your complaint and the remedy that you are seeking. After 8 weeks, you can then refer the matter to The Energy Ombudsman but note what I said above about final decisions.

PS I should have added that there is nothing to stop to switching to a cheaper fixed tariff with your present supplier.

tillytuc

Thank you for your response.


I followed the complaints procedure and then went to the Ombudsman. First Utility can't switch me to an economy 7 tariff because they cannot cope with how my meters are set up. They are what's known as complex meters and First utility cannot do my bill which is why they have now stuck me on a single rate tariff which means that for my heating I am now paying 16p plus per kw instead of the original 7p per kw which makes a massive difference. They are refusing to let me leave to go to a company that can deal with my meters who I had secured a rate of 6p per kw. The difference between First utility's bill this month and the other supplier works out at £277 so you see First Utility's bill is nearly double.

dogshome

How is it that you are with FU, were they the supplier you inherited with house or did you Switch to them ?

I ask because FU do accept customers with ECO7 meters, but what they can't do is accept ECO10 and other like meters, (These give cheap power at other times of the day, as well as overnight ), and there only a few suppliers who do - It's these ECO10 meters that are referred to as 'Complex' - As FU can't read your meter, are you sure yours is an ECO7, and not one of these

If you do have an ECO10 type meter and Switched to FU, they should have refused to accept you as they would have been made aware of the meter type when they contacted the mandatory Data Base for meters in your area.

If you have an ECO10 you inherited with the house along with FU as the supplier, the mind boggles as FU already had a known problem with the meter that they just passed on to you, instead of resolving it

You can check which type of meter is registered at your house by googling "Who supplies my Electricity" This will give you the phone number of the Regional Data Base for your area.

tillytuc

Thank you for your reply. Sadly we switched to them. We have two meters for one property. The old meter definitely shows that it is economy 7 and this kicks into action at night and off again in the morning when the newer styled meter kicks into action. Apparently most economy 7 meters are one meter with two readings ours has two meters each with a reading each. EDF were our suppliers and are prepared to take us on again on an Economy 7 tariff. First Utility say they cannot do our invoices but at the same time won't release us to someone who will! I initially tried switching to SSE but they said they could not cope with our meters so would not take us on. I will have a look for myself on the database you suggested. Thanks.

System

If The Energy Ombudsman has ruled then its decision is final. The reason why FU will not let you switch is because you owe them money. The best you can hope for is some form of deal with FU to pay back the amount owed. You have the right to switch to FU's cheapest single tariff whilst you get matters back under control.

FWiW, most suppliers will stop a switch if it is owed a lot of money. Is there no way that you could settle this debt, and move on?

tillytuc

That's all I want to do, that's all I wanted to do throughout all this but every bill they send me is wrong. At the end of December they say I owed they nearly £1800 whereas what I actually owe them is closer to £1000. Like I said they cannot deal with my meters and have been unable to produce an invoice for me that is a true reflection of what I actually owe. That is the one point the ombudsman and I actually agree on.

dogshome

OK - It is an ECO7 set-up.
When ECO7 meterage was first offered way back in the 70's, it came with 2 meters, a Black one for Day consumption and White one for Night.
I can't see what FU's problem is as they still get Day/Night readings, but I'm no techno.

However, you opted to Switch to FU and they would have known about the meter set-up as soon as they contacted the Data Base - They have to do this.

So why did they not reject your applicationwhen they knew they couldn'thandle these meters.
Never mind the incorrect billing, your real beef is the fact they accepted you in the first place and then sent out bills that they knew did not match the meter readings.

WRITE a letter headed Complaint, basing it on the question as to why they accepted you as a customer with a meter set-up they could not handle, and why have they continued to invoice you with bills that they know are incorrect.

Diary the date you send it, and 56 days later if FU haven't sorted it out, go directly to the Ombudsman

System

dogshome wrote: »

OK - It is an ECO7 set-up.
When ECO7 meterage was first offered way back in the 70's, it came with 2 meters, a Black one for Day consumption and White one for Night.
I can't see what FU's problem is as they still get Day/Night readings, but I'm no techno.

However, you opted to Switch to FU and they would have known about the meter set-up as soon as they contacted the Data Base - They have to do this.

So why did they not reject your applicationwhen they knew they couldn'thandle these meters.
Never mind the incorrect billing, your real beef is the fact they accepted you in the first place and then sent out bills that they knew did not match the meter readings.

WRITE a letter headed Complaint, basing it on the question as to why they accepted you as a customer with a meter set-up they could not handle, and why have they continued to invoice you with bills that they know are incorrect.

Diary the date you send it, and 56 days later if FU haven't sorted it out, go directly to the Ombudsman

I think the OP has said that The Energy Ombudsman has already been involved in this sad saga. If that is the case, The Ombudsman will not return to the complaint. The complainant will have been given the opportunity to furnish more information prior to the Final Decision.

footyguy

tillytuc wrote: »

Urgent advice needed. 6 months ago I received an invoice from First Utility for double what I was expecting. I went back through and checked all my invoices and found they were invoicing me incorrectly. I only have electric and have economy 7 so have what's know as complex meters. First Utility have admitted they cannot do my bill. I have submitted meter readings every month and they have incorrectly billed me every month I have begged them for an accurate invoice. They stopped my direct debit but then proceeded to get debt collectors onto me. My deal ran out with them at the end of December and despite requesting a switch to a supplier who can deal with my meters they refuse to release me so now I am being billed at a single rate which means my bills are now double what they could be. I have been in touch with the ombudsman but do not agree with the proposal they wish to put forward as there is nothing insisting that they should release me to another company and that I should be on the cheapest single rate tariff which as mentioned above means my bills are now double. I have a disabled son but to cut costs I am now having to consider turning off my heating and reducing our electricity consumption by half to enable us to afford things going forward. Please can anyone help or advise?

E7 meteres are not gererally referred to as complex meters.

Complex meters are usually those which supply legacy tariffs.

I fear you have broken my golden rule regarding those, which is not to attempt to switching supplier with that type of metering in place as it invariably ends in tears.

(Only the legacy supplier is obligated to support those existing customers who are on a legacy tariff ... which means they are not obligated to accept you back once you switch away)

Thanks for for confirming yet again my golden rule.

Sorry, I can't help you further. I see later you stste you have already been to the ombudsman service and presumably got no joy there either (there is nothing the ombudsman service can do in these situations sorry)

All I can suggest is that you now get an independent expert who understand these issues to review your current wiring and appliances, with a report on what you would need to have changed if you went for a universal single rate or E7 meter. That will cost you money, as will a change of meter.

Good luck!

footyguy

dogshome wrote: »

OK - It is an ECO7 set-up....

I don't believe it is. The OP said they have 2 meters
This has all the hall marks of a legacy metering arrangement (as supported by the claim it is complex meters)