Can an energy company force you to stay in a contract with them?

julieann66

Good afternoon,

I would be grateful if you could answer a query for me. I am new to this and have never posted before.

Is an energy supplier able to keep a person in a contract when they have given notice to leave, contacted a new supplier and that supplier has sent a welcome letter and taken money from their account?

I am currently trapped in a contract of supply for dual fuel with First Utility, now Shell Energy.

In January 2018, I left First Utility to join Solarplicity. I was at this point out of contract and had been put on a much higher tariff just the month previously. I was prevented from leaving First Utility as they did not allow the transfer. I telephoned First Utility to complain. I was told that there was no point appealing by their customer service advisor and generally dissuaded from making a complaint by someone working in their complaints team. I then contacted the Ombudsman and made a complaint. My complaint was upheld in August 2018 and I was awarded £175 compensation. I then tried to leave First Utility again and have a chat transcript from August 2018 showing that I attempted to leave again. I was unable to leave on the basis of an unpaid bill. However part of the decision of the Ombudsman was that there was confusion over my meter caused by First Utility and that First Utility had to investigate as they could have been billing me using the wrong meter. First Utility then took four months to get the necessary meter checks in place. In all of this time, they were still charging me at the higher rate of energy. I was not paying through this time due to the ongoing complaint and confusion over billing.

I contacted the Ombudsman again to relook at this issue in December as I had again been trapped in the contract, unable to pay due to the outstanding meter issue but also unable to move and therefore being charged at a higher tariff. They refused to reopen it. I provided them with all of the information such as the tariff I would have been charged with solarplicity, all of my previous bills showing that my energy bills with First Utility were ridiculously higher than I had previously paid with all of my other providers due to the higher tariff, and the two attempts to leave First Utility and them stopping me. I am a single parent of two young children. My energy requirements have not varied very much, I am always quick to leave a tariff when an offer comes to an end to save money. Yet I have been prevented from leaving this provider, expected to pay for a ridiculously high tariff that I did not sign up for and given notice to leave. They are now threatening debt collection action against me. Yet I do not feel I should pay for a bill that consists of a tariff that I have consistently attempted to leave but been prevented from doing so. The energy company have made far more money from me than was covered by the £175 compensation if I do pay it. I feel that they should have allowed my to leave in January 2018 when I joined Solarplicity and when Solarplicity then took money from my account and then if I had not paid the bill taken action against me through the usual ways, ie debt collection or court. But instead they have been allowed to trap me in this contract of supply instead.

So I was just wondering whether you would be able to advise me whether an energy company have the right to prevent a customer from leaving if there is still an outstanding debt on the account or whether anyone has had any similar issues.

Thanks very much for any assistance you can provide me with this.

Kind regards,
Julie

matelodave

Yes, they can prevent you from leaving if you've got an outstanding debt, however they should send you a final bill (possibly an interim final bill) to give you the opportunity to pay it. If it remains unpaid then they can refuse the switch.

You are not actually entitled to switch if you've still got unpaid arrears on your account.

It is sometimes possible to transfer a debit of up to £500 if you are on a prepayment meter and the gaining company agrees to accept the debit.

Neil_Jones

If the debt is big enough, yes they can, in a nutshell.

molerat

If you have a billed debt that is older than 28days they can block a switch. https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/consumers/household-gas-and-electricity-guide/how-switch-energy-supplier-and-shop-better-deal/how-switch-energy-supplier-if-you-re-debt

julieann66

Thanks so much for the replies. The ofgem guide also states that if the reason that a person is in debt is the fault of the energy company then they cannot block a move. All really helpful, thanks very much!

Benight

julieann66 wrote: »

Thanks so much for the replies. The ofgem guide also states that if the reason that a person is in debt is the fault of the energy company then they cannot block a move. All really helpful, thanks very much!

But you need to prove that first, and when you have proved it was the suppliers fault, then the supplier will remove the erroneous charge.

Alternatively, pay what is claimed to be owed (under protest if necessary), then your new supplier will try again and the switch should go through, and you can sort out your dsipute with the then old supplier at your convenience ... and whilst enjoying the lower cost the new supplier will be applying :money: