Hit by a massive bill upon closing energy account

pyrrhic

Hi all,

Looking for some quick advice. My household has been with Sainsbury's Energy for gas and electricity the past year on their fixed tariff - now ended, so we've moved suppliers.

We were paying something like £90 a month by monthly direct debit based on their initial suggestion. I think we had to up it marginally some time back because we were using more than expected, but it wasn't by much. They take the money monthly, but bill quarterly.

Throughout the course of the year I submitted some meter readings, but not particularly regularly.

They've now submitted our final bill, and the account has suddenly gone from around £100 in credit to £330 or so in debit.

I'm really hoping this is just an error that will quickly be resolved, but assuming this is 'correct' - would we actually have to pay all this? To my mind, we went with their initial recommended direct debit, they've corrected it once - they've had all year to correct the amount if it was really that far out, and surely we didn't exceed what was expected by £400 in the last quarter - that's about a third of our expected annual cost!

I suppose my question is - if they had been letting us go on underpaying significantly month after month, is there any Ofgem guidance or so that protects in this instance, along the lines of 'energy companies can only be +/- x% out in their estimates or they're not allowed to take it back from you?

All suggestions welcome - I could really do without another huge bill right now!

daveyjp

As they have sent bills on a regular basis you have had all the information at hand to assess whether the amount you are paying has been enough.

It hasn't gone up £400 in a quarter, its £400 short over the course of the year.

Had you stayed with them they would probably have reassessed after a year and increased your dd accordingly. As you are leaving they quite rightly expect to be paid.

worried_jim

No help today, but in future submit readings monthly and check you are paying enough.

Besides that, the bill is yours to pay. Sounds like you are dividing between several people!

System

Sorry, but an estimate is an estimate, and if you don’t provide the supplier with frequent meter readings then some of the responsibility for what is a ‘catch up bill’ sits with you. Suppliers only have to read your meter once a year. Credit balances are totally meaningless unless an actual meter reading has been used.

Obviously, you need to check that the billing is correct but,if it is, then the amount stated on the bill is due.

Robin9

I do hope you've given your new supplier last years consumption in kWh and not on £ otherwise you're going to be in the same situation next year.

Get into the habit of reading your meters at least monthly, give them to your supplier; create a simple spreadsheet so you can keep track of actual usage; read your bills when they and don't just assume that because you;'re paying by DD all will be well.

pyrrhic

Thanks guys. I have indeed given my actual consumption to the new suppliers. I do hear what you're saying about needing to check these things, but it's kind of a harsh lesson in these times of online-only billing and no paper statement reminding you to take a look.

I had a look back and it was January that they decided to increase our contribution - but only by £3. I still maintain it's really off that there would be such a huge gap opening up and they only upped the payments by that sort of amount. I would have thought you could trust your energy supplier to try and bring you as close to square as possible over the course of a year. I guess I won't make that mistake again.

Thanks folks.

EachPenny

pyrrhic wrote: »

...but it's kind of a harsh lesson in these times of online-only billing and no paper statement reminding you to take a look.

...I still maintain it's really off that there would be such a huge gap opening up and they only upped the payments by that sort of amount. I would have thought you could trust your energy supplier to try and bring you as close to square as possible over the course of a year.

Many suppliers pester customers with texts or emails asking for regular meter readings - if yours doesn't, and you have problems remembering to submit readings, then the easiest thing to do is to use some kind of technology (e.g. a smartphone) to give you reminders to do it.

It is only harsh in the sense you get a big bill on switching, rather than having had the payments spread out through the year. You could look on it that you have had money in your bank account earning interest which by rights you should have paid to the supplier many months ago.

You can trust your supplier to bring you close to square over the course of a year, but unless you have a smart meter then you also need to play your part which - as other posters have said - involves taking readings regularly and submitting them to the supplier. The supplier cannot bring you square if they don't know what you've used. The other part you have to play is to keep on top of your bills, even if you have a smart meter, and make sure the supplier hasn't made any errors.

At least you know what to do in future

Al_Ross

pyrrhic wrote: »

Hi all,

Looking for some quick advice. My household has been with Sainsbury's Energy for gas and electricity the past year on their fixed tariff - now ended, so we've moved suppliers.

We were paying something like £90 a month by monthly direct debit based on their initial suggestion. I think we had to up it marginally some time back because we were using more than expected, but it wasn't by much. They take the money monthly, but bill quarterly.

Throughout the course of the year I submitted some meter readings, but not particularly regularly.

They've now submitted our final bill, and the account has suddenly gone from around £100 in credit to £330 or so in debit.

I'm really hoping this is just an error that will quickly be resolved, but assuming this is 'correct' - would we actually have to pay all this? To my mind, we went with their initial recommended direct debit, they've corrected it once - they've had all year to correct the amount if it was really that far out, and surely we didn't exceed what was expected by £400 in the last quarter - that's about a third of our expected annual cost!

I suppose my question is - if they had been letting us go on underpaying significantly month after month, is there any Ofgem guidance or so that protects in this instance, along the lines of 'energy companies can only be +/- x% out in their estimates or they're not allowed to take it back from you?

All suggestions welcome - I could really do without another huge bill right now!

You are quite high users.How big is your house ?

badmemory

One of the things we all tend to ignore is that it is in a suppliers interest to have you in debt at the end of your fix. If you can't immediately pay that debt then they can then refuse to release you. You need to keep on top of this yourself and not trust a company with any financial interest to do it for you.

phillw

badmemory wrote: »

One of the things we all tend to ignore is that it is in a suppliers interest to have you in debt at the end of your fix.

If it were that much of a priority then they would let us stooze.

spiro

badmemory wrote: »

One of the things we all tend to ignore is that it is in a suppliers interest to have you in debt at the end of your fix. If you can't immediately pay that debt then they can then refuse to release you. You need to keep on top of this yourself and not trust a company with any financial interest to do it for you.

If you pay by DD you are not in DEBT you have a DEBIT balance. They can object on the basis of the former but not the latter.
Debit = bill issued and not paid within 28 days.