Money Moral Dilemma: Should I tell my gas and electricity supplier I'm underpaying?

donny_jim

I think acerben is right, they can only go back 12 months as you have reported it too them, but have you proof of this, I'd leave things as they are, making sure I could pay 12 months. If they are that incompetent, let them keep providing you for free. Just check if the 12 month rule is correct.

Krzysj

The answer to this is no. If you've made them aware of it (and can prove it if required) then it's the suppliers problem. They have a code of practise which isn't widely known called Billing Code which means if they mess up they can't charge you more than 12 months worth of energy use.

Personally I'd save what I would spend on gas in a savings account for when the big bill comes, but not pay more that 12 months usage as you have made them aware.

ShinySnail

Maybe consider what you should be paying and put it into a savings account each month, that way if you do get a big bill the money is there to cover it.
Perhaps consider changing suppliers (once you have a tidy sum built up)
After you do your F&F settlement you will know for sure where you stand and if you can spend that money or not

[Deleted User]

I havent had my metre read for 9 yrs. Its like we are invisible to them, we have had a catalog of problems and now I've given up. We have had no paper bills from the day dot and use estimated readings on line.

It was a new supply to a property which was delayed for 4 days whilst they finished another job,

The meter box is outside and no-one knew who had the key to access it, apparently they are supplied by the contractor who the electric company asked to do the work.

The key seemed to be a different fit to the standard one so couldnt be bought or supplied. Various engineers were asked to call us / visit and no-one did. We offered to ' gemmy' the door open but were told no as that would be criminal damage.

We rang to register the lady who lives there disabled so not only was the key a problem but she couldnt get to the box to read the meter, but as we couldn't access it this wasnt the main problem.

Various ' we missed you' metre reader cards were put through the front gate and everytime they were given it gave a mobile phone number to either a voicemail to which noone responded or a dead line. If they were aware she was disabledwhy didnt they come in or knock.

Then one year some sort of box up a pole caught fire and we had to call the emergency electricians who were diverted from another local job to sort it. Whatever happened there blew our electric and we lost an old tv and kettle, lights etc. The guys doing the work said it would take a full day to get sorted and they'd be in touch, they weren't. We just replaced a few items we lost, they werent high value and an electrician from my dads work got us sorted.

When you ring the call centre they can't help and need to get someone to call back, speak to engineers etc or another department and no-one does.

I have just taken the view that I pay above the estimated bills and increased it another 15% as its gone up in the news, in the hope one day they will HELP US.

I'm not holding my breath,

Tricia1

I have had two very different experiences regarding the same issue. Years ago I realised that I wasn't being charged for my gas and warned the company a few times, after 6 months they suddenly requested all the back money. This was bad news for me as I was in very straitened circumstances at the time and hadn't managed to keep enough put by, so, a real struggle. Conversely, a couple of years after this when moving house I realised that I wasn't being charged for my electricity, after my previous experience you can bet I pestered them for a bill and gave them regular meter readings. Despite this I didn't get a bill for 2 years! This time I had managed to save some money towards it, but I only received a bill for £11 in total for the whole period, as despite my meter readings they said that they had no records!

Bellisima

Best to email or write to them, then you have a record of informing them. Sadly telephone calls can easily be "lost". You must contact them otherwise this could bite you on the bum at a later date.

Sheepies

This happened to me once, except I didn't notice because it was my first house on my own and back then we couldn't check accounts online, etc. Anyway, I was stuck with a £250 bill all of a sudden, I don't recommend it!

penarthian

Some years ago I had the same issue with NPower , only gas being charged for and no one would listen Very polite each time I phoned but nothing changed. After a year I was eventually told it was because I was not giving Economy 7 meter reading We did not have Economy 7 and despite using phone camera to show gap/screw holes left by removed meter of previous owner they would not progress or send bill.
Eventually we referred issue to Onbudsman who sorted it out. NPower kept offering flowers as a sorry but not good enough

My advice is to keep notes of all phone conversations, what was said, when and who to, keep copies of emails..Onbudsman said our scribbled notes over each letter we received was good enough as it had these details.

dw1

I had a similar situation where I wasn't charged at all by co-operative energy, and I told them about it at the time. TWO years after I left, they sent me a bill for £400.

I complained under the Back Billing rules others have mentioned. Long story short they dragged the complaint out for a further 6 months, I took it to the ombudsman who said I should pay half. When I contacted them again to set up a payment plan, they said the bill had been cancelled.

So ignore it for now, you've done your job. If they do ask for it back and they've broken the rules by all means stand firm, but only if you're prepared for months and months of hassle.

ian_wales

It also happened to me, I have a separate household bill account and all house bills paid by direct debit. I noticed after about 8 months I was getting a healthy balance in there and could not work out why. After investigation it appeared that whilst I had signed up for a dual fuel direct debit with Scottish Power only the gas was being deducted i.e. no Electric payment. I tried phoning them for 3 months and either put on hold for literally hours on getting no response. So I cancelled my direct debit and guess what the rang me. I just said I wanted to leave they straight away said I owed about £500 for unpaid electric. Obviously I was incensed and said I could not get hold of them to resolve this and took leaving to establish communication. I also said it was deceitful as I thought Id paid as was dual fuel and had no Bills. They responded that my Bills were sent on line to their web site and I was supposed to have logged on to it. Anyway long story short they said they did not expect me to pay the owed amount off in full and they would spread it over 2 years, I hit the roof and accused them of a scam deliberately orchestrated to get me in debt and sign up with them for a 2 year contract and I was going to citizens advice. A manager subsequently rang me and apologised and offered to knock around £200 off which I settled on as wanted a clean sheet to get another provider.
It was a lot of hassle and it difficult to get another provider without satisfying the one your leaving. Personally I would try and leave and see if it picked up and take it from there as you'l never know if the money is yours to spend or not or at what rate you will be charged for the electric.