Economy Energy refusing Refund of Credit Balance

joe134

On Friday, Ofgem said that 15 suppliers missed a final deadline for green taxes – or Renewable Obligations – totalling £58.6million.

Coventry-based Economy Energy was revealed last week to owe regulator Ofgem £15.5million in green taxes - more than any other energy firm.

The Mail on Sunday found the supplier has taken down all its Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages, while Companies House revealed that its bosses have given themselves an extra six months to file accounts. The firm appears now only to offer one direct debit tariff.

Not looking good !

psarinuk

Another complainant on Economy Energy. I switched from them on 1st Oct, so far they have not even done by final bill for GAS.
Final bill on ELECTRIC was showing £155.19 credit but they are delaying crediting my account.

I've not checked the full thread but I am worried.

Boohoo

psarinuk wrote: »

Another complainant on Economy Energy. I switched from them on 1st Oct, so far they have not even done by final bill for GAS.
Final bill on ELECTRIC was showing £155.19 credit but they are delaying crediting my account.

I've not checked the full thread but I am worried.

I have been waiting since August for a refund and and sent lots of emails as phoning them seems to keep you waiting for hours.
Live chats kept saying there is a back log and there is no time limit for EE to pay its refunds to customers.


I made a complaint 3 weeks ago and got an autoreply and then nothing. I done a live chat last Thursday and explained again and was asked if i wanted to complain and i said i have an ongoing complaint about the issue only to be told that complaint had been opened and closed within 24hrs to my satisfaction. My satsfaction would of been a refund?


I was going to get anywhere with the CS rep so i sent an email with heading notice of impending court action and gave the 10 days to pay.


As for EO and OFGEM both have told me that you need to follow the EE complaints timeline and then you can go to them but if EE keep closing peoples complaints then this could go on for years.

System

Boohoo wrote: »

I have been waiting since August for a refund and and sent lots of emails as phoning them seems to keep you waiting for hours.
Live chats kept saying there is a back log and there is no time limit for EE to pay its refunds to customers.

Sadly, they are right. Suppliers have to use their REASONABLE efforts to raise a Final Bill within 6 weeks of the supply transfer date but there is nothing in the Licence Conditions about refund times. Although it is little consolation to those affected, any supplier can probably wait another 8 weeks to pay money back without risking having to pay an EO escalation cost. Ofgem has never truly been on the side of the Consumer.

Sterlingtimes

Of course, little people have to be very careful about what they say about Economy Energy and refrain from speculating where it is going to end up. However, the Mail on Sunday has been quite outspoken.

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-6451953/Fears-250-000-customers-Economy-Energy-scales-operations.html

The Mail states: "Coventry-based Economy Energy was revealed last week to owe regulator Ofgem £15.5million in green taxes – more than any other energy firm."

Between this and the observations made at TrustPilot concerning the alleged withholding to repayments to customers, the situation looks far from pretty. I wonder whether OFGEM like the Revenue & Customs has a prior call on the recovery of debts.

CDSWFUK

If it's of any small consolation they will be out of business soon and whoever the Supplier Of Last Resort (SOLR) is will be able to refund your credit as the balance will be protected by Ofgems safety net. They owe circa 15 million GBP in renewable obligation payments which I don't believe they have the means to pay. They are making redundancies across the board.

8allerob

I have just been told today by Economy Energy that my final bill has been produced, no evidence online in my account so think it was just a fob off to be honest. I’ll not be far off £200 in credit when it’s all done. They also confirmed that they have no timescales for refunds. I referred them to their own website which states 10 working days from the customers request. Magically, the page about refunds could not be found when I looked earlier !

They also have a communication on their website so are aware of the bad press.

I thought they’d be dodgy after they increased my bills by an estimated £400 a year after I’d only been with them 4 months. Luckily I have escaped and they did cancel the direct debuts straightaway.

Seems the only chance of a refund is if/when they go bust. What information do I need to claim my refund if they go bust ? My last bill ? Want to do it before they switch everything off

WB1

I left this company 28/9 this year switching to another cheaper supplier I am in credit for £145 and been trying to get this back since then.almost weekly and daily phone calls get me nowhere.told its been passed and on finance's spreadsheet to be actioned and has been for over a month now.Impossible to get anyone in authority to give me a refund day,just get excuses.so be aware if you're about to switch you will have to chase any money owed.Maybe stop any debits before you leave if possible

System

WB1 wrote: »

I left this company 28/9 this year switching to another cheaper supplier I am in credit for £145 and been trying to get this back since then.almost weekly and daily phone calls get me nowhere.told its been passed and on finance's spreadsheet to be actioned and has been for over a month now.Impossible to get anyone in authority to give me a refund day,just get excuses.so be aware if you're about to switch you will have to chase any money owed.Maybe stop any debits before you leave if possible

Welcome to the forum. If you have clear evidence that a supplier owes you £X then issue a Letter Before Action. Be prepared, if necessary, to go to The Small Claims Court.

wavelets

WB1 wrote: »

I left this company 28/9 this year switching to another cheaper supplier I am in credit for £145 and been trying to get this back since then.almost weekly and daily phone calls get me nowhere.told its been passed and on finance's spreadsheet to be actioned and has been for over a month now.Impossible to get anyone in authority to give me a refund day,just get excuses.so be aware if you're about to switch you will have to chase any money owed.Maybe stop any debits before you leave if possible

Good to hear that the supplier has since been in contact with you and agreed you are owed the money, which is now being processed (although no indication was provided as to how long this process takes)