Shell Recalculation 26 Months After Final Bill - Debt Collection

muro83

I used to have an account with First Utility until 26 February 2018 when I left the property I lived in and settled my final bill. 

Or so I thought.

Around 4 weeks ago April 2020 I received a letter from a debt collection agency appointed by Shell Energy stating I owed £300.

I didn’t know that Shell had taken over until I did a little digging, so contacted them. 

Apparently after paying my final bill (or the bill I believed was the final bill because it was accepted by my landlord as proof I cleared any debts so he’d refund my deposit) they recalculated it. So having paid £336 “final bill” in Feb 2018... I now owed an additional £300.

Rather than advise me of this at any point in 2018 they waited until April 2020. 

Over the phone I’ve been pushed to set up a repayment plan and been told I am refusing to pay - which I am not.

I do want to know how the bill has been calculated somewhat after the fact and why it’s taken them over two years to inform me. Over the phone I was told that it was up to me to check with them they had enough money from me and 26 months delay is utterly reasonable.

Apparently.

As I wasn’t getting anywhere I’ve done a data subject access request but instead they’ve issued me a mail saying I’ve not answered their questions (they’ve not sent me anything to answer) and closed my complaint.

Two years ago I had full time employment and could have cleared the debt but currently I can barely cover my outgoings and don’t earn enough to pay tax which has been the case for  the last 6 months.

I feel worried because since Shell appointed debt collectors it’s like the world and his wife have decided I owe them a few quid and are taking a punt. 

Any idea what I can do, how I can stop it or how I can get Shell to be reasonable? Can they actually decide you owe them more after settling a bill? Is 26 months reasonable? 

matelodave

They've got as many as six years to revise the bill - I suspect that you didn't keep all your bills or paperwork from your old address or energy companies - so it's a good ideal for the future. Likewise it's really worth doing all your own sums when yo do get your bills to ensure that they are correct. There have been many many complaints about all energy companies rechecking t account and revising bills,  months or years after customer had left them so yours isn't a isolated case but it's can be really difficult to get hld of all the info if you haven't kept all your own copies.,

However in this case, if you've requested an SAR and you've formally disputed the bill (hopefully in writing and not via loads of phone calls) then you should demand that they stop any action whilst you are in dispute and demand a deadlock letter and then go to the energy ombudsman.

Do all of this in writing, you can use e-mail but ideally send the letter by recorded delivery. and marked very clearly COMPLAINT.and keep copies of all correspondence.(including the posting a delivery receipts). I find that having to sign for letters tends to concentrate their action a lot more effectively than keep phoning or even emailing. 

MWT

muro83 said:

Apparently after paying my final bill (or the bill I believed was the final bill because it was accepted by my landlord as proof I cleared any debts so he’d refund my deposit) they recalculated it. So having paid £336 “final bill” in Feb 2018... I now owed an additional £300.

Unfortunately what your landlord chooses to accept isn't of any interest to the energy company.

Did that bill use the final meter reading that you took when you vacated the property? ... and do you still have a copy of that bill and the final meter reading?

matelodave

Did you read the meters yourself when you moved in and when you moved out or did you trust the landlord to do do it for you. You should never ever let someone else do it on your behalf - it was your bill so your responsibility to ensure that it was correct and you can only do that by reading the meters yourself and giving the info to the energy company yourself.

muro83

matelodave said:

Did you read the meters yourself when you moved in and when you moved out or did you trust the landlord to do do it for you. You should never ever let someone else do it on your behalf - it was your bill so your responsibility to ensure that it was correct and you can only do that by reading the meters yourself and giving the info to the energy company yourself.

I did the meter readings myself at move in and move out and paid by direct debit every month so the £336 final bill was a little surprise but I could understand maybe I’d not paid enough over the 12months I lived there.
My landlord asked me for proof I’d paid off my final bill which I did and, since I heard nothing for the next 26 months (no email, no call, no post to my new address, no post from them via my redirect service, nothing) 
Now they want money following a recalculated final bill but won’t issue anything more than demands for money and trying to get me in a payment plan. As it stands they haven’t provided me with the read to compare with the readings I had. 

MWT

Yes, you are entitled to a proper final bill and a statement showing how they have calculated the amount owed, but if you took your final meter reading surely you must have noticed that the final bill you had didn't use that reading?