Economy Energy refusing Refund of Credit Balance

kendizle

kendizle wrote: »

I am owed over £300 from my last energy supplier that I left in May 2018. Since then Ive been with Outfox and as of January have now returned back to British Gas. Ive been asking for my money back and a final bill for the past 6 months, the final request was in September.

How long do I have to wait to get my money back? Ive contacted the ombudsman but this seems to have stalled and if I'm honest Im lacking in the confidence of their power to effect any actions. Over a year ago they resolved an issue I had with Avro where I was to be awarded £50. This never materialised despite numerous requests.

What is my best cause of action to get my money back? Small claims court?

Thanks in advance

Happy days, Ombudsman Services have just ruled in my favour. Means I'm only gonna get billed for about 5 months of energy and the rest gets credited back to me. Happy Days!

dizastru

I hope more of us get positive results from this mess. I get stressed every day about the money owed to me by this now non-existent company.

amcg100

Thankfully they don't owe me any money, but I have received an e- mail from OVO energy telling me that they are going to set up a direct debit - emmm - no thanks. If they set up a DD based on EE's estimates I would be paying a fortune - I think we should all write back to OVO and tell them no DD until the details are sorted.

Dwarf123

Economy Energy refused to provide a final bill by the account closure / transfer date of 31-Oct-2018 which was valued at £200 to £350 and also took another direct debit amount of £150 on 19-Nov-18 after the account was closed - and after I complained they agreed to refund by mid-Dec. Of course I've not received penny. So I'm £500 down. From now on is it easier to avoid direct debit altogether and pay each bill?!
The new supplier suggests it is not their problem.
Has anyone got suggestions of how i can attempt to reclaim any of this money or is the ombudsman the only remaining option? (apologies if i've missed detail in the long thread)

Sterlingtimes

Dwarf123 wrote: »

Economy Energy refused to provide a final bill by the account closure / transfer date of 31-Oct-2018 which was valued at £200 to £350 and also took another direct debit amount of £150 on 19-Nov-18 after the account was closed - and after I complained they agreed to refund by mid-Dec. Of course I've not received penny. So I'm £500 down. From now on is it easier to avoid direct debit altogether and pay each bill?!
The new supplier suggests it is not their problem.
Has anyone got suggestions of how i can attempt to reclaim any of this money or is the ombudsman the only remaining option? (apologies if i've missed detail in the long thread)

OVO will sort this out for you and is obligated to do so by OFGEM. There may be some waiting time but it will be sorted in due course.

I am inclined to agree with you that payment upon the receipt of a correct bill is the best way forward. OVO will do this and is around about the cheapest offering this fascility. The smaller suppiers can manipulate things to their advantage when the going gets tough for them. I like the idea of smaller entrepreneurial companies entering the market but there is a problem in gaining market share by offering unsustainable pricing.

Caparn

Dwarf123 wrote: »

Economy Energy refused to provide a final bill by the account closure / transfer date of 31-Oct-2018 which was valued at £200 to £350 and also took another direct debit amount of £150 on 19-Nov-18 after the account was closed - and after I complained they agreed to refund by mid-Dec. Of course I've not received penny. So I'm £500 down. From now on is it easier to avoid direct debit altogether and pay each bill?!
The new supplier suggests it is not their problem.
Has anyone got suggestions of how i can attempt to reclaim any of this money or is the ombudsman the only remaining option? (apologies if i've missed detail in the long thread)

If you paid by Direct Debit there is a Direct Debit Guarantee, whereby you can claim back repayments from your bank account. Yesterday I was in an almost identical situation to you, but I went onto my bank account and sent a message saying I would like to use the Direct Debit Guarantee to get a refund of the last 6 months direct debit payments to Economy Energy. They replied back with a request that I confirm I want to proceed and to list all the payments I wanted refunded and to say why I wanted the refund also they said:

"Whilst a refund can be provided under the terms of the Direct Debit Guarantee if an error has been made, you may be required to pay back the amount refunded if it is later found that an error has not occurred. In this situation the organisation that collected the Direct Debit is likely to seek payment from you, which may include legal action."

So I replied back saying I was in credit and they debited my account after I left them, I included a list of all the payments I wanted back with dates (obtained from my online bank statement). Today, I requested the refund, a couple of hours later all the repayments have been credited back to my bank account (over £400).

DaveTheRave100

I'm pretty sure that if you switch (and it sounds like you should) they'll have to refund what's left in your balance after taking a final meter reading. Just make sure that your readings are up-to-date, as you don't want to end up paying a nasty final bill!

Caparn

DaveTheRave100 wrote: »

I'm pretty sure that if you switch (and it sounds like you should) they'll have to refund what's left in your balance after taking a final meter reading. Just make sure that your readings are up-to-date, as you don't want to end up paying a nasty final bill!

But they don't refund you. They just ignore your requests for a refund. My advice is to claim the direct debit payments back from your bank. It's a lot easier than you might think.

Dwarf123

Excellent advise, thanks Caparn