Back Billing or Rebilling??

basil3legs

Hi Streaky Bacon, I agree with what you are saying and we are also well within the parameters given within the Voluntary Standards Agreement so there is no doubt there whatsoever.

Scottish Power have continued to lie throughout this. They had both my home phone number (I work from home) and, obviously, our club address but neither called nor wrote to re-arrange any of the engineering visits. It was always down to us to have to chase them up which was delayed at times due to other work commitments etc. (and basically getting fed up with them - you can only bang your head against the wall so many times a month!).

After I found out from them that the meter had been changed back in 2011 and conveyed this to the Ombudsman the Ombudsman forwarded my email to them asking for comments in response and to confirm their recent conversation with me. Their reply stated:

There is no evidence to suggest that the opening meter reading was discussed during recent conversations with Mr XXX and the notes confirm only that the back billing code has been checked and confirmed again that no credit adjustment is due as the customer remains as having been undercharged.

Strange that!

Streaky_Bacon

Are you still with Scottish Power? (you say in your first post that you "were with [them] for 7 years")

I ask because they could potentially try to disconnect you, if you do not reply to communications from the debt collectors.

They shouldn't really do this, because you have disputed the bill, but I wouldn't put it past them.

It may be worthwhile responding to the debt collector, in writing, clarifying that you still dispute the claim (because the billing mistakes are SP's fault and as a micro business you are protected by the back billing code), so that there is no suggestion that you have accepted the ombudsman's decision but then just not paid.

basil3legs

We managed to move supplier whilst it was being disputed so hopefully we are OK there. I may reply to the Debt Collectors next week.