Are energy companies legally obliged to provide previous customers access to their historical bills?

Schnurrbart

Hi, does anybody know whether or not energy companies are legally obliged to provide previous customers access to their historical bills (provided the person requesting the bills can prove that they were a customer)? I switch regularly, and need to access bills from the last two or three companies I was with, going back to around 2016/17. Regrettably, I didn’t download them at the time. It’s only in the last few days that the need to see my bills covering the last few years has arisen (although I now see the sense in downloading ones bills as a matter of course).

I’m going to try to contact the companies tomorrow to ask, but it would be useful to know beforehand what the legal position is in case I encounter a less than helpful response.

Thanks, and take care.

Gerry1

https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/how-do-i-make-a-subject-access-request

Schnurrbart

Thanks for that, Gerry1!

I genuinely appreciate the link, but do you mean to say that a SAR is the correct way to make my request? Or are you suggesting it as something I can try if initially making the request via phone/email doesn't get me anywhere? I don't want to waste time contacting their customer service department(s) if sending a SAR is what I should be doing in the first instance.

Essmum

Its easier for them to give you access to your bills rather than to have to complete the SAR..so if when you call customer services and they say you cant have the bills just mention you will be putting in a SAR.I know which one I'd rather do 😊

Gerry1

Why not try a simple request initially, and then submit a formal SAR if you're unsuccessful?

Schnurrbart

Hi, Essmum! Yes, I was thinking along those lines. I probably shouldn't have said "I don't want to waste time...", given that it would probably be a fairly short email/phone conversation - certainly far less time-consuming than a SAR!

Schnurrbart

Gerry1 - thanks, yes, that would certainly be the most sensible approach! I only posed the question on the basis that perhaps it was a fact (which you knew, and I didn't) that a SAR was the right way to make the request. Sorry for being pedantic!

At least a couple of the companies concerned were a bit of a nightmare while I was with them (making a complete pig's ear out of my bills, etc.), but hopefully they'll surprise me and be happy to oblige. Given the mess they made of my bills, though, I might just ask for an annual statement instead.

Anyway, thanks again to both of you.

matelodave

Hopefully you'll now realise that it's so much easier to read your meters, download and save your bills at the time rather than have to grind through their archives to try and retrieve them - that's always assuming that they've kept them

Schnurrbart

Hi, matelodave - I do (and always did) take regular readings, and I have a folder with all correspondence with energy companies dating back to 2013 - but rather stupidly never thought to download the bills for possible future reference.

So yes, definitely a lesson learned!