Elderly Parents getting Ripped Off

xlnc99

UPDATE - NEW TIMELINE

Just thought i share some updates. I have just been over mums bank statements for the last few years to try and make sense of everything. I will be calling SP to get their bills but this is what i have found out so far. Please let me know if this looks right to you...

Here is the timeline for the past 7 years

2013 and previous years mum was with SP paying £282 per month for God knows how long (bank statements only go back 7 years)
May 2014 - Mum switched to OVO Energy (who came and installed the smart meter)
SP refund on 18th June 2014 for 65 and 72 pound? This does not seem right if my mum was paying £200-£300 per month to SP.
2014-2015 mum was paying OVO Energy around 250 per month. OVO refund for £599 and £799 in July 2014 and October 2015. That refund seems right for what mum was paying
2015 - Present = Mum has been with SP

The last 5 years my mum has been with SP with her monthly DD varying anywhere from £100 - £300. in 2016 it was around 160 per month, in 2017 it was around 100 per month. From 2018 in March it went too £237 per month and has stayed there or gone higher to date.

I will point out that my mum said she never used to do the meter readings herself, only the last 1-2 years she has done it herself. This ties in from March 2018 when the bills started going to 250 plus. 

SP in the last 5 years have only refunded once for £400 in March 2016.

What are your thoughts guys? For me it looks like SP have over charged her for many years and have not refunded her

kazwookie

My thoughts

You are now at a 30 page thread................................

You and your parents need help, several people have told you what to do and how to do it, and yet after 30 pages you are still going through bills.

Madness follow the advise you have been given..............

xlnc99

I am following advice and the one of the pieces of advice is to go through old bills

Gerry1

Having dithered for 10 days and missed the mega-cheap Robin Hood 12m Summer Saver tariff, before applying to switch gas the OP is now waiting for the less exciting Robin Hood 12m Summer Saver v2 tariff to be pulled.

Horses, Water...

MWT

xlnc99 said:

SP in the last 5 years have only refunded once for £400 in March 2016...

...What are your thoughts guys? For me it looks like SP have over charged her for many years and have not refunded her

You still have no basis for determining if refunds were right or wrong and in general, if the DD has been set at the correct level you wouldn't expect to see refunds at all.

Once you have the bills and meter readings from SP look closely at what was going on around the time of that refund in March 2016...

It is about the right size for it to have been an incorrect refund caused by an adjustment for a reading from the wrong register making it look like previous correct readings were 'wrong'...

If that is true then that would mean that the opening reading on her account when they returned to SP in 2015 was from the correct register and then around March 2016 they started using readings from the wrong register and now of course since January they are back to the right register...

If this is the case then there is nothing more to be done, the billing cumulatively to date is correct, nothing is owed to your parents and you can go ahead with the electricity switch...

So I'd focus attention around March 2016 ...

xlnc99

I am on the phone to SP now - i will get the bills and post them on here. Switch will be done today

niktheguru

Your fixation on looking at the direct debits and assuming you need a refund is totally wrong.
Your parents usage is very very high. Thats why the bills are probably very high. As a result the direct debits are high. You say the direct debits from SP have been between £100-£300 but then they also gave her a £400 credit refund at some point. so given the high usage that probably has been appropriate.
The main error here is that you are assuming that your parents have been paying too much. In reality they have probably been paying for the high amount they use (due to the size of their property, lack of insulation, age of property, use of electricity by keeping lights and items on, overuse of heating/hot water more than required etc.....its may not see like they are using much, but they probably are.)

The only way you can accurately work out if you have been paying the right amount is by knowing:

1. Your usage (by looking at monthly meter readings)
2. Your tariff (standing charge and unit rate)
3. Using 1+ 2 to work out the value of the electricity and gas you have used.
Anything else is just pure guess work.

I suspect that when they look into things the discrepancy in January is like everyone has said, the fact that the correct meter reading has been read. However at some point in the past the reading has gone from the higher correct reading to the lower incorrect reading, meaning this catchup in January, is actually REAL usage over a period of time, that will need to be paid for, and you may not be entitled to any refund at all.

At least you have finally actually contacted SP!! Let us know what the outcome is.
Do you know anyone in your family/friends who is familiar with this who could help you? You're trying your best and we are all trying to help, but it may be quicker with someone else on board to help you who is more familiar with switching and checkings bills etc.

Talldave

DD amounts don't really tell you a lot without knowing the price. I don't understand why they pay so much then get refunded, it's illogical.  But how much billing was done on estimates and how much on actual readings (of one register or another)?

It sounds like things have been in a mess for years but mostly in the sense of just beingripped off. If you can get all the historical bills then you could do a full analysis but it needs doing offline quietly and carefully not randomly over another 40 pages of this thread.

What your parents have paid for years is ludicrous. I spent a year in a single glazed cottage going through 54000kWh of gas and even that averaged out at £200 a month for gas and electricity. 

The £600 possibly overpaid because of the meter reading mistake is potentially dwarfed by the amount they've been ripped off just paying stupidly high rates for energy year in year out - but of course you can't ask for a refund for that because they willingly switched on to expensive tariffs.

xlnc99

@niktheguru
@MWT

Thanks for the advice and there is no doubt you know more about these issues then me. However i believe you are incorrect on the history and i will tell you my reasoning.

2013 - Mum paying SP around £282 per month. One year contact SP refunded £100 pound after one year.
2014 - Mum pay OVO £250 per month. One year contract OVO refunded £1300 after one year.

Everything else aside for one minute - this clearly shows that OVO refunded the correct amount because when you do the sums it works out about right. How can SP refund £100 after taking £282 per month for 12 months and OVO refund £1300 for taking £250 per month? 

The did not change any habits within those two months.

Furthermore the last 5 years the amount of money my mum has been paying to SP they have only refunded £400 in 5 years. It just does not add up.

xlnc99

UPDATE 2

Just got off the phone. They cant send me the bills - they told me i had to send a SAR, which i did. They are being shady, they said i cant request the last 5 years i have to wait for 48 hours because she has already done an SAR for my mums 2013 bill. I find it strange but ile call back in 48 hours,

In regards to the current problem, i did not want to speak to much because quite frankly i did not know what i was talking about. She told me that although there is a big jump in JAn there are no issues with the meter readings. Her exact words

'prior to the readings on feb 5th the readings all follow on from each other and the consumption history from the last 12 months follow the correct pattern and there is no huge jump especially in jan/feb"

I told her i would call her back. This is why i wanted to write an e-mail because i have no idea what she was talking about and its the opposite of what you guys have told me.

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