Should I pay my bill? 14 January 2020 at 5:07PM edited 30 November -1 at 12:00AM in Energy 5 replies 363 views

choccy75

Hi. I have received a final reminder for an allegedly outstanding bill. It's a long story but I have disputed the bill and been through the complaints process and have now referred the issue to the ombudsman.

The company is now threatening further action and suggesting that it could damage my credit history. I'm reluctant to pay for various reasons, the key being I'm not convinced I owe it but equally dont want to end up with a black mark/court action/whatever.

Any thoughts?

Kitchen_Sink

choccy75 wrote: »

Hi. I have received a final reminder for an allegedly outstanding bill. It's a long story but I have disputed the bill and been through the complaints process and have now referred the issue to the ombudsman.

The company is now threatening further action and suggesting that it could damage my credit history. I'm reluctant to pay for various reasons, the key being I'm not convinced I owe it but equally dont want to end up with a black mark/court action/whatever.

Any thoughts?

Contact the supplier and request that all collection activity be suspended pending the decision of the ombudsman service in this complaint.

However, if they don't agree, then pay under protest

Should I still pay my bill if I am complaining about my provider?

We would not recommend cancelling any direct debits or not paying bills whilst the complaint is ongoing. This is to avoid any further issues from developing.

https://www.ombudsman-services.org/faqs/using-our-service#should-i-still-pay-my-bill-if-i-am-complaining-about-my-provider

choccy75

Thanks. I was planning on doing that but I thought they might just say that I had to pay anyway on the basis they could refund if necessary (which I'd rather not do). I wasnt sure of my rights.

Gerry1

Why not post the details here (with personal info redacted) to see what others think?

choccy75

The short version is that there was an erroneous transfer when we moved into the house in 2013. I sorted this out with them following a number of calls back then and we were given a new account number.

In august 2019 we switched supplier. On closing our account the old supplier informed us that we owed nearly £300 from 2013 - when they gave us the new account number they didnt transfer the balance in. We'd had no correspondence on this over the period we'd been a customer and our main account (which we thought was the only account) was in credit!

The £300 was based on an estimate which we think was far too high for the 2 week period the bill covered.....

So essentially I'm not convinced I owe it and they haven't provided evidence, and it was nearly 6 years ago!

Streaky_Bacon

It would be useful to see exactly what they recently sent you, but especially the wording where they threaten further action and mention your credit rating.

There are two ways in which they could possibly affect your rating.

1) Putting a default directly on your credit record
2) Taking you to court, winning and getting a CCJ against you, and then you not paying the CCJ within 30 days

Obviously 2) is a long process, and should not be of a concern at the moment. 1) is a bit more complicated so it would be good to see the wording.

I would not suggest paying at the moment, and would follow the advice above regarding writing to them, pointing out that the issue is with the ombudsman and asking that they put any enforcement on hold until the decision from the ombudsman.

It would be useful if you provide

a) the details from the recent letter
b) the wording of your complaint to the ombudsman