Positive balance not refunded after account closure - rights?

michaels

I closed my account with an energy supplier in December, there was a three figure positive balance.  Despite chasing this has not been credited back to me three months later.  I am very concerned that if the supplier goes bankrupt then I will be an unsecured creditor rather than having my supply and balance taken over by another company as I am not an existing customer.

Does anyone know what the situation is if this happens?

Edit: ofgem say any new takeover supplier should pay back credit balances of those who have closed accounts - does anyone have experience of this actually happening?

I recently closed my account. Will I get back the credit I’m owed?

Hide

We’ll look to appoint a new supplier who will pay back money due to customers that's outstanding from closed accounts. Costs for energy you have used but have not yet been billed for will be deducted from your account balance.

inspectorperez

michaels said:

I closed my account with an energy supplier in December, there was a three figure positive balance.  Despite chasing this has not been credited back to me three months later.  I am very concerned that if the supplier goes bankrupt then I will be an unsecured creditor rather than having my supply and balance taken over by another company as I am not an existing customer.

Does anyone know what the situation is if this happens?

I think you and many others (including myself) have this problem.

My reading of the situation is (I am not an expert) that such former customers would be unsecured creditors and therefore very unlikely to receive a penny once all the preferentials had been paid off. Amazingly OFGEM do not appear to have any authority to withdraw licenses even when the company files insolvent accounts and can only do so when the company becomes subject of a winding up petition.

It would need a class action I believe to achieve this

Gerry1

At present they have to refund the credit within two weeks of the final bill, but there's no penalty for the final bill itself taking more than six weeks.

However new rules kick in on 1 May so it should become a thing of the past.

matelodave

Has the supplier gone bankrupt - if so you should contact the replacement supplier.

If he hasn't then you should initiate a formal complaint (do by recorded delivery letter and E-mail) requesting a dead-lock letter if they can't sort it out otherwise you will have to then wait eight weeks to take it to the ombudsman. You cant get anything done until you've exhausted their complains process, so get on with a formal complaint without delay.

I had the similar situation with Eversmart who died around 10th Sept but I'd already swapped to Symbio on 2nd. Utilita took over their customers.

I gave it until just before Xmas and sent Utilita a very stiff letter (both by e-mail and recorded snail mail) and I got my credit back within four days (before Xmas).

Biscuit_Tin

michaels said:

I closed my account with an energy supplier in December, there was a three figure positive balance.  Despite chasing this has not been credited back to me three months later.  I am very concerned that if the supplier goes bankrupt then I will be an unsecured creditor rather than having my supply and balance taken over by another company as I am not an existing customer.

Does anyone know what the situation is if this happens?

Edit: ofgem say any new takeover supplier should pay back credit balances of those who have closed accounts - does anyone have experience of this actually happening?

I recently closed my account. Will I get back the credit I’m owed?

Hide

We’ll look to appoint a new supplier who will pay back money due to customers that's outstanding from closed accounts. Costs for energy you have used but have not yet been billed for will be deducted from your account balance.

In normal circumstances (e.g. not where a supplier has ceased to trade) a supplier has up to 6 weeks to produce a final bill. Do you have one yet?
If not, I suggest you follow the supplier's coimplaint procedure,
Only once the final bill has been produced is any balance acknowledged by the supplier. The final bill should be setlled within 10 working days of being produced.
Again, if that does not occur, you should follow the supplier's complaint procedure.

In regards a supplier ceasing to trade, you will be fully protected by Ofgem's safety net, which you appear to have found reference to. Yes it works.

michaels

matelodave said:

Has the supplier gone bankrupt - if so you should contact the replacement supplier.

If he hasn't then you should initiate a formal complaint (do by recorded delivery letter and E-mail) requesting a dead-lock letter if they can't sort it out otherwise you will have to then wait eight weeks to take it to the ombudsman. You cant get anything done until you've exhausted their complains process, so get on with a formal complaint without delay.

I had the similar situation with Eversmart who died around 10th Sept but I'd already swapped to Symbio on 2nd. Utilita took over their customers.

I gave it until just before Xmas and sent Utilita a very stiff letter (both by e-mail and recorded snail mail) and I got my credit back within four days (before Xmas).

Thanks, gives me hope.  Company not yet bankrupt hence why I didn't name then.

Gerry1

Some companies take as long as possible in order to boost their cashflow, it's part of their business model.  It was 11 weeks before the refund from Eco7 finally reached my bank account this time last year.  So not much need to worry, especially as your company is still trading.

In contrast, Yorkshire Energy were like greased lightning.