Court Application to Wind Up Energy Company

inspectorperez

I am now so incensed at the apparent continued misconduct of my former energy supplier in its failure to repay my credit balance, that I am now considering draconian action.

The amount I am owed is slightly less than £100 and is not going to break the bank. I am however disgusted at the way it is totally ignoring it's financially insolvent position, failure to repay other credit balances to customers, and yet still continuing to seek new customers.

I find this morally reprehensible and furthermore, I am mystified that OFGEM allow such situations to persist by a failure to act in a way which protects customers. I know there are safeguards in place, but these have historically caused massive inconvenience to customers for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is being hounded by aggressive debt collectors chasing fictitious debts based on missing or inaccurate records.

I am considering applying to the Court for a winding up petition which would make the energy company involved "subject" of such a petition. Under such circumstances, OFGEM would have to get involved and commence proceedings which may result in withdrawal of the company's license. There is a de minimus level of £750 for such an applcation to be successful, but my debt taken together with the attendant legal costs will exceed this sum.

Sounds like a sledgehammer to crack a nut and could affect the livelihoods of the company's employees, but sometimes such actions are needed to drain the swamp of unscrupulous business practices.

Do any of this forum's readers have any observations or advice to offer?

Gerry1

Don't expect any help from Ofgem, they won't welcome amateurs treading on their toes and embarrassing them !

Also make sure that you won't face massive costs if your David v Goliath battle goes wrong and turns out more like a pea shooter against an enraged elephant.

Perhaps the small claims court might be safer?

enjoli23

inspectorperez said:

I am now so incensed at the apparent continued misconduct of my former energy supplier in its failure to repay my credit balance, that I am now considering draconian action.

The amount I am owed is slightly less than £100 and is not going to break the bank. I am however disgusted at the way it is totally ignoring it's financially insolvent position, failure to repay other credit balances to customers, and yet still continuing to seek new customers.

I find this morally reprehensible and furthermore, I am mystified that OFGEM allow such situations to persist by a failure to act in a way which protects customers. I know there are safeguards in place, but these have historically caused massive inconvenience to customers for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is being hounded by aggressive debt collectors chasing fictitious debts based on missing or inaccurate records.

I am considering applying to the Court for a winding up petition which would make the energy company involved "subject" of such a petition. Under such circumstances, OFGEM would have to get involved and commence proceedings which may result in withdrawal of the company's license. There is a de minimus level of £750 for such an applcation to be successful, but my debt taken together with the attendant legal costs will exceed this sum.

Sounds like a sledgehammer to crack a nut and could affect the livelihoods of the company's employees, but sometimes such actions are needed to drain the swamp of unscrupulous business practices.

Do any of this forum's readers have any observations or advice to offer?

Are you serious?
Are you really considering spending £650+ to recover just £100?
How do you think any court would react to that???

My advice is to follow the supplier complaint procedure and then escalate your claim to the ombudsman at the appropriate time if necessary. That's all free of charge to you.

If there is still no resolution, and you have opted to reject the ombudmsan's proposed resolution, you can have your complaint filed with  the county court, where it would cost you just £25 if you file it online.

UnclaimedEnergy

enjoli23 said:
Are you serious?

Are you really considering spending £650+ to recover just £100?
How do you think any court would react to that???

Welcome to the forum I guess... 
Feel like you've missed the whole point of the post.

It's not just the OP's money at play here and he isn't really concerned about the monetary value.

He's fed up with a company that isn't refunding customers credits and feels something needs to be done as Ofgem aren't jumping in, they're more concerned about look at the big 6 where they can obtain larger fines etc.

OP - it depends if your situation is a one off, or one of many. You also need to consider if they refund delay is because of system issues (due to a system upgrade) or due to mal-practice. I would advise not to act too fast and to also consider if there's other people in your situation who might split the cost of a winding up petition.

enjoli23

UnclaimedEnergy said:

enjoli23 said:
Are you serious?

Are you really considering spending £650+ to recover just £100?
How do you think any court would react to that???

Welcome to the forum I guess... 
Feel like you've missed the whole point of the post.

It's not just the OP's money at play here and he isn't really concerned about the monetary value.

He's fed up with a company that isn't refunding customers credits and feels something needs to be done as Ofgem aren't jumping in, they're more concerned about look at the big 6 where they can obtain larger fines etc.

OP - it depends if your situation is a one off, or one of many. You also need to consider if they refund delay is because of system issues (due to a system upgrade) or due to mal-practice. I would advise not to act too fast and to also consider if there's other people in your situation who might split the cost of a winding up petition.

Welcome to the thread I guess... 
Feel like you've missed the whole point of the post.

If you look back, you will see the OP only joined the forum themselves on 6th March this year, whereupon they were moaning they had not yet received their final bill.
Whilst I'm unclear if the OP is still waiting, even if it arrived the millisecond after they initially posted, suppliers are allowed up to 10 working days to settle and that has not passed yet, so not owed.

If the OP has not been provided with a final bill since 6th of this month, then the alleged debt is not even agreed.

Where in the OP's post does it suggest this will be a joint application with others?
How could you know that. Well there is one way I suppose

Btw, the £750 de minimus level was raised to £5k almost 5 years ago. Do keep up!

inspectorperez

UnclaimedEnergy said:

enjoli23 said:
Are you serious?

Are you really considering spending £650+ to recover just £100?
How do you think any court would react to that???

Welcome to the forum I guess... 
Feel like you've missed the whole point of the post.

It's not just the OP's money at play here and he isn't really concerned about the monetary value.

He's fed up with a company that isn't refunding customers credits and feels something needs to be done as Ofgem aren't jumping in, they're more concerned about look at the big 6 where they can obtain larger fines etc.

OP - it depends if your situation is a one off, or one of many. You also need to consider if they refund delay is because of system issues (due to a system upgrade) or due to mal-practice. I would advise not to act too fast and to also consider if there's other people in your situation who might split the cost of a winding up petition.

Thanks UnclaimedEnergy - we are on the same wavelength.

The comments on this forum, Trustpilot and other social media websites reflect a totally unacceptable form of conduct by this particular company. The fact that the company itself and its directors are trading in contravention of Companies Act legislation (continuing to trade whilst knowingly insolvent) says little for OFGEM's regulatory strategy or for insufficient power to get involved in protecting consumers.

These comments whilst in the public domain are probably not admissible in a Court of Law, but they do provide a body of generic evidence that things are clearly not right with this company. One director resigned last November and another in February 2020, leaving 2 in office. When taken in conjunction with repeated late filing of statutory accounts and insolvent status it does not paint a good picture for OFGEM not to be taking any form of action or at least posting a health warning somewhere

JJ_Egan

LegalBeagles forum may help.

Ectophile

You aren't going to get a winding up order until you have won a small claims procedure case.  The first place to start is the Letter Before Action.  Then the small claims case at the high court.  Only then could you carry out any form of enforcement action.

pelirocco

You cant issue a winding up order for that amount plus you have to issue a statutory  demand first
As an aside  to issue a winding up order you have to be 110% sure you have a provable case, vexatious claimants  can end up with huge costs

inspectorperez

pelirocco said:

You cant issue a winding up order for that amount plus you have to issue a statutory  demand first
As an aside  to issue a winding up order you have to be 110% sure you have a provable case, vexatious claimants  can end up with huge costs

Thank you. I think you are absolutely right in terms of a Court's attitude to vexatious claimants.