Hit with a £1000+ bill by Bulb

Archelon

My mum recently called me in a panic as she's been charged over a £1000 by Bulb in one month and she is on a very low income.

She has been paying £97 a month direct debit to them for a year or so based on their yearly estimate (calculated from the previous energy company's readings). They have asked for photos of the readings periodically (every 3 months) throughout this time to check that they are correct which she has sent to them. It turns out however that they had underestimated all this time and never uploaded the photos to their system. They admitted their mistake and that they had been undercharging. Her last meter reading was accepted without a request for a photo (the person she spoke to said this was odd but he didn't know why) and the bill was sent at £1,352. When I checked the photos against their latest reading it seems that the new calculation does reflect the actual usage. However, they are saying that they want her to pay £250 a month until the debt is cleared and they will give her £30 compensation for the trouble (!).

I don't think this amount is acceptable and to dump this on someone without warning, particularly as it was their mistake.

I intend to contact the financial ombudsman to check if there is any regulation around this, e.g. is there a time limit for how far back energy suppliers can charge. It seems like the best way forward may be to compromise with them and set a more reasonable payment plan. I was just wondering if anyone had any advice around doing this or the situation in general.

Neil_Jones

This situation usually occurs because the direct debit was too low in the first place, or the usage pattern given to Bulb upon signing was wrong and the actual usage is higher.

Is this gas and electricity or just electricity?

What is the usage?

Back billing rules only apply if the supplier makes an error (in a nutshell), it doesn't protect if for example you didn't provide any readings for years on end, it has to be a supplier error, such as if they didn't bill for an extended period.

Streaky_Bacon

Neil_Jones said:

Back billing rules only apply if the supplier makes an error (in a nutshell), it doesn't protect if for example you didn't provide any readings for years on end, it has to be a supplier error, such as if they didn't bill for an extended period.

No, that's wrong. It is the supplier's obligation to make sure the meter is read, not the customer's. The back billing rules still apply even if you never submit readings.

Unless you have acted obstructively, you will have the protection, and failing to supply meter readings is not considered obstructive.

If the supplier tried to fulfill its obligation, by reading the meter, and you blocked access, that would be a different matter.

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/ofgem-bans-suppliers-backbilling-customers-beyond-12-months

Suppliers can still backbill customers past 12 months where the customer’s behaviour is obstructive, such as blocking physical access to a meter, or manifestly unreasonable, such as tampering with a meter or stealing energy. Consumers will not be at fault for failing to provide meter readings. Suppliers will need to assess consumer behaviour on a case-by-case basis. Suppliers are allowed to chase unpaid bills that they have previously sent in compliance with their obligations.

stewie_griffin

When did Bulb start supplying your mum and when did they send the first correct bill?

Neil_Jones

I stand corrected, must have somehow misread it.

dogshome

Assuming Mum lives alone in a 'Normal house and not a mansion, a £97 monthly D/Debit, (£1164 a year), for dual fuel is reasonable, and could be done for less from other suppliers

It's not unknown for suppliers to 'lose' either the Gas or Elec when calculating the bills, which eventually produces a large debt - Check every bill issued over these 2? years to see if they always include both fuels.

kazwookie

W|hat size house, how many in the house, does your mother leave things on that can be turned off, has the meter been checked, is she paying only for her electric and not for example the flat next door or the garage next door, have you checked the readings against the meter serial number.

matelodave

Without trying to apportion blame or absolving anyone of their responsibilities but I guess that over 90% of the problems of this nature are caused by customers not sending in regular meter readings but even worse not checking their bills against their meters even if they can't be bothered to send in readings.

If you sign up for an on-line account then you have to administer it on line otherwise you generally have to pay extra to get a bill dropped through your letterbox.

Always thinking that it's someone else's fault or responsibility means that any problems or anomalies that could be noticed and dealt within a month of them occurring rather than months or even years down the line - it really does just take five minutes once a month to read your meter(s) and sign on to your on-line account to put in your reading and download a bill - that's an hour a year to save hours of stress and  aggro in the future. 

bsms1147

dogshome said:

Assuming Mum lives alone in a 'Normal house and not a mansion, a £97 monthly D/Debit, (£1164 a year), for dual fuel is reasonable, and could be done for less from other suppliers

Yep, but to have paid £97 a month, and still built up a debt of £1300+ over 'a year', you're looking at in excess of £200 a month (£2400 a year) which does sound high.

Robin9

Could you post one of the photos please and let us know what the reading you posted was. I am thinking mis-reading of the meter - very easy to miss the decimal point or even to read the wrong part of the meter or to doubly wrongly read gas meters.