Balance owing after switching from prepayment meter?

Mike_Grant

My stepfather who is a SSE customer for electricity recently switched from a prepayment "key" meter to a credit meter. He was mystified to receive a "final electricity statement" which says that he owes a balance of £46. We are not sure how this can happen with a prepayment meter, since he has always kept the meter in credit and has never used the emergency button. Surely since all payments were done through the meter there shouldn’t be any billing at all?

I have of course tried phoning SSE (I have more patience with call centres than my stepdad so offered to do this for him) but have yet to get through to them, despite spending 15 minutes on hold on the latest occasion....!

[Deleted User]

Hi,

has he maybe been charged for the meter change?

brewerdave

If it was an old style prepay, the rates may not have been updated for a while so that he has been paying for his units at a lower rate -hence a shortfall when they reconcile.

Biscuit_Tin

Mike_Grant said:

My stepfather who is a SSE customer for electricity recently switched from a prepayment "key" meter to a credit meter. He was mystified to receive a "final electricity statement" which says that he owes a balance of £46. We are not sure how this can happen with a prepayment meter, since he has always kept the meter in credit and has never used the emergency button. Surely since all payments were done through the meter there shouldn’t be any billing at all?

I have of course tried phoning SSE (I have more patience with call centres than my stepdad so offered to do this for him) but have yet to get through to them, despite spending 15 minutes on hold on the latest occasion....!

If he's been asked to pay an amount, surely he has received a detailed bill that explains what it is for. If not, get him to contact the supplier for that bill. The supplier can only know what is owed after they have produced a bill.

Having said that, I don't think SSE collect amounts calculated as owed on PPMs, unless the amount is due to a previous debt loaded to the meter and not yet paid off, which would lead to the question why they suddenly granted the customer unlimited credit, so a call with the supplier would almost certainly be beneficial.

Mike_Grant

Biscuit_Tin said:

If he's been asked to pay an amount, surely he has received a detailed bill that explains what it is for. If not, get him to contact the supplier for that bill. The supplier can only know what is owed after they have produced a bill.

Having said that, I don't think SSE collect amounts calculated as owed on PPMs, unless the amount is due to a previous debt loaded to the meter and not yet paid off, which would lead to the question why they suddenly granted the customer unlimited credit, so a call with the supplier would almost certainly be beneficial.

His meter is an up to date key meter, it has always been in credit, and he's never used the emergency facility. The bill that he received describes itself as a "final electricity statement" and simply gives an amount due without any clues as to what the amount is for.

As I mentioned, I have been trying to call SSE every day since the statement arrived, but have been unable to get through, so I've decided to go down the route of using their complaints service instead.

Mike_Grant

Well, I used a different number to that shown on the bill and got through immediately, much to my surprise. The call centre operator was very helpful, and took about a minute to check it out, and told me that the final statement in question was erroneous and that no payment was due.

For anyone who might find it of use, the SSE number I dialled was 0345 071 9853

MWT

Mike_Grant said:

Well, I used a different number to that shown on the bill and got through immediately, much to my surprise. The call centre operator was very helpful, and took about a minute to check it out, and told me that the final statement in question was erroneous and that no payment was due.

I would be inclined to make sure you get something in writing from them confirming that nothing is due or you may find this reappearing some months later in the hands of debt collectors...