GB Energy / Debt Collecting

Shellster

I was a customer of GBEnergy over two years ago, my bills usually spanning over near three months were around £80-£100 which I didn't mind, living in small one bedroom flat alone and working most hours away anyway.

However after sending through final metre readings, they sent me a bill for one month that was like £129 and said I'd been underpaying but actual usage that month was still £89..much higher than usual.

I had missed a few metre readings to be fair but thought well if i owe it, i owe it.. contacted them via email to arrange some payment plan as i wasn't going to dent my wallet all at once. In all honestly, I heard nothing back and completely after moving away and starting a new job.

Near three years later I get a debt collecting agency send a random letter to my house asking me to confirm if i was me, I called and then explained I owe near £300 to GB Energy and do I want to pay full amount now or risk home visits and legal action ect.

Pretty intimidating tbh but what GB have said is well we adjusted your final bill and sent it to your address,... my old one even though they had my number, email and new address.

I am not sure what to do really.. I can't afford to send them this amount and don't think I should be charged debt fees or late fees because they didn't even contact me. Until near three years later.. any advice is welcome. I especially don't want to pay these aggressive debt collectors who have basically tried to give me a countdown on payment

Streaky_Bacon

Do not speak with the debt collector again, only communicate in writing.

So, you took final meter readings, and they issued a bill for £129, using those readings, which you have not yet paid. Is that correct?

The debt collector has now contacted you, stating that you owe GB Energy £300.

Did they give a breakdown of that amount? Is it all energy charges, or have they added on debt collection charges or interest? Have they sent a copy of the adjusted final bill?

Shellster

Yep that's correct I received one bill, queried it, never heard back...then only after receiving this letter first enquiring if i lived at my new address (1 month in) I called up and they said it was an outstanding payment from GB..

GB said they had to recalculate the costs due to an error the sent out the new bill to my address, that I had told them I had already moved out of.

GB said there is no debt collecting charge on there, but then how can my bill jump so much? I just can't get my head around what has happened or how it got to a debt collecting agency tracking me, I've moved three times in those years so bit strange. Surely the debt collection agency wouldn't work for free either?

The debt collecting agency sent me an updated bill where the amount is just higher

Such rude people on the phone when I obviously was just trying to work out what the heck they were talking about it.

Streaky_Bacon

What is the date on the new bill, and what was the date on the original bill?

Are the meter readings on the new bill different?

Shellster

Well I was on paperless billing, so accessing them online when I was emailed and told they were ready, the old move out one isn't there.. just the latest one, only 'proof' i have of that original price is my email to customer services asking for the reason for such a high bill priced at £129..

With it being two years ago they said the representative I spoke too no longer works there and after the coop take over some data has been lost!

I mean I have a friend who used to be a bailiff and he said to just ignore them, they may send few letters but with the cost not being around or over £500 they wouldn't bother trying to enforce this if i pushed back, because to get a high court writ it's usually over a certain amount, I don't want anything effecting my credit.. so annoying that is wasn't recent and from few years back.

Streaky_Bacon

You should not ignore this, and you should not assume that they won't enforce this. It will cost them £25, and a few minutes of their time, to start a court claim. They may not follow through, but you would at least have to defend it. It will be much less hassle to deal with this now.

The first thing to figure out is whether they have sent the new bill too late.

What is the date on the new bill, and roughly what date did you close your account with them?

Shellster

Ok, yep the move out date is confirmed as 15th May 2017, this new bill I never saw until the debt agency sent it me, has the date 11 October 2017

Shellster

checking through my emails, they actually sent one bill on May 11th for £113.72 then an hour later another bill saying £121.80

Streaky_Bacon

OK, so the dates don't help you.

The next thing to figure out is why the bill is higher.

Do you have any record of the meter readings that you provided?

Does the new bill state whether the readings are estimated or actual (they may have an A or E next to them)?

Which tariff is stated on the bill, and does that match the tariff you signed up for?

Do you have any of your older bills?

Shellster wrote: »

checking through my emails, they actually sent one bill on May 11th for £113.72 then an hour later another bill saying £121.80

So you have emails from them, with those amounts, but there is no bill attached. Is that right?

Do the emails give any other information, apart from the amounts? (any breakdown or readings)

Shellster

Yep it says the same name of tariff on there.

Yep I have the customer services move out email where I confirm my metre readings.

I have checked the bill and it has my metre readings on there but then has another Estimate treading taken few days later on the 20th when I was obviously moved out already.

Yep my previous bills are as follows --

22 Dec 16 - 21 Mar 17 £259.97
22 Sep 16 - 21 Dec 16 £98.58
22 Jun 16 - 21 Sep 16 £95.26

They had reading from me in June, September, December then March

Streaky_Bacon

Shellster wrote: »

checking through my emails, they actually sent one bill on May 11th for £113.72 then an hour later another bill saying £121.80

Shellster wrote: »

Yep my previous bills are as follows --

22 Dec 16 - 21 Mar 17 £259.97
22 Sep 16 - 21 Dec 16 £98.58
22 Jun 16 - 21 Sep 16 £95.26

So, just to confirm. You do not have the original final bill, so the 22 Dec 16 - 21 Mar 17 bill for the amount £259.97, is new bill that they sent you. Is that correct?

Shellster wrote: »

I have checked the bill and it has my metre readings on there but then has another Estimate treading taken few days later on the 20th when I was obviously moved out already.

Is it a dual fuel bill, or just for gas/electric?

How much higher are the estimated readings than your actual final readings?