Debt on energy account - Update

theJBP

Hi all

A while back I posted about a substantial debt I had accrued on my energy bill (gas & electric). The debt was £575.

Basically, unbeknownst to me, my direct debit wasn't covering my energy use. I mentioned in my post that I was considering going to the ombudsman and a number of you replied and there was debate about whether I stood a chance. This is an update post and while I will also post this as a reply to my original post, I feel it's important enough to post in a new thread too so that more will see it.

After protracted negotiations and threats from myself, the energy supplier has ADMITTED LIABILITY. They basically accept they have an obligation to inform customers when a DD is not covering energy use. The exact wording was the following:

"...a duty of care to ensure that customers do not fall into an unmanageable amount of debt and have a responsibility to advise customers if and when their account starts to fall behind. In your case, due to a technical error these communications were not activated and we did not step in early enough to prevent this."

They have now offered me £150 off my debt as a "goodwill gesture".

The reason I feel this is so significant is because I have noticed other threads on this forum discussing accrued debt. As mentioned, there was debate on my original thread about whether customers had rights in this area. Somebody posted a link to an article where the ombudsman was quoted as expressing concern about accrued debt. Personally, I think my experience shows that the energy companies know they are in the wrong. I am yet to decide whether to take my complain further and go to the ombudsman. But the fact is this situation should not be happening.

MalMonroe

Thank you so much for posting this. I feel that I am being ripped off by bulb. When I switched to them last year, they said I could pay just under £50 per month but after three months they wanted to increase it to double that amount. Now they say I owe almost £400. I have complained to them and am awaiting their answer as Ofgem say you have to wait for a response from your supplier before approaching them. I am so upset about this and do not think that any energy supplier should be allowed to offer low prices in that way, draw customers in and then hit them with great increases. I switched to bulb as they were highly recommended by Martin Lewis and I thought I was getting a bargain. I'm on such a low income that I felt bulb was fabulous. Now I know they are not. And if you want energy, you have to pay through the nose and check your direct debits regularly!! But thank you for the advice at the end of your message about energy companies having a duty to customers.

Woolco

I have to say the way BULB allows the quote to go through is very confusing, it just asks about size of house and then presents a price. It took me 3 attempts to figure out how to I tell them my consumption rather than just clicking on some pictures.

The_Fat_Controller

The OP says that the issue was due to a technical error on the part of the supplier, so they have quite rightly offered a goodwill gesture.

As for the Bulb issue, @MalMonroe, they HAVE told you you aren't paying enough and have duly increased your payments, no reason for a complaint, you just need to actually read your meters and work out your consumption.

Benight

OP's existing thread on this matter here:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6002679/debt-on-energy-account

I and others have already responded there to the 'update'.