Erroneous transfer problem

Ianredman26

Hi, I'm hoping to get some advice if possible.

A few months ago I received a letter addressed to the occupier, this letter was from Green Star Energy stating I owed them £6k. Due to the occupier address and me never hearing of the company I ignored it and put it down to spam.

A month later I received another letter stating the same, I then started to look into this issue. I contacted Green Star on Twitter thinking this must be a mistake. It turned out I had been a customer of theirs for two years, even though I had never signed up as a customer and they had no contact details nor payment details of mine. I hadn't picked this up sooner as I was dual Gas/Elec customer with my previous supplier and hadn't received a 'We're sorry you're leaving letter. After a little back and forth they agreed to start an erroneous transfer, this was at the end of Sept. A month later I followed up and they said their team was still looking into it.

This weekend I have received a letter from MIL Collections stating they have been instructed to start debt collections. I ha enough tried to get in contact with MIL collections and Green Star Energy but no response.

What should my next move be? This is starting to really affect my mental health.

Ianredman26

I have tried to get in contact with MIL* typo

brewerdave

Haven't you received bills from the previous supplier in the 2 years ?? Have you been paying them all the time ?? If so, get them to start the erroneous transfer process to get your supply back !!

Gerry1

Did you move in to the property two years ago and fail to register with the incumbent supplier?  Who have you been paying for your energy for these two years? Who is shown as your current supplier?

Find My Gas Supplier

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Hasbeen

Ianredman26 said:

Hi, I'm hoping to get some advice if possible.

A few months ago I received a letter addressed to the occupier, this letter was from Green Star Energy stating I owed them £6k. Due to the occupier address and me never hearing of the company I ignored it and put it down to spam.

A month later I received another letter stating the same, I then started to look into this issue. I contacted Green Star on Twitter thinking this must be a mistake. It turned out I had been a customer of theirs for two years, even though I had never signed up as a customer and they had no contact details nor payment details of mine. I hadn't picked this up sooner as I was dual Gas/Elec customer with my previous supplier and hadn't received a 'We're sorry you're leaving letter. After a little back and forth they agreed to start an erroneous transfer, this was at the end of Sept. A month later I followed up and they said their team was still looking into it.

This weekend I have received a letter from MIL Collections stating they have been instructed to start debt collections. I ha enough tried to get in contact with MIL collections and Green Star Energy but no response.

What should my next move be? This is starting to really affect my mental health.

Did you move into your current house 2 years ago
If so did you register at that time to the company that supplied the gas/electric? and supply opening meter readings?
Has your present supplier been sending you monthly bills based on your readings.
Who is your supplier and have they been taking the Direct Debits.

Ianredman26

Thanks for your replies.
I moved in to the property over 4 years ago so the supply has been changed whilst I have been living there. I had a joint direct debit with the same Gas/Elec supplier so didn't notice the direct debit amount change. 
If Green Star have accepted Erroneous transfer, can they still hassle me for money whilst this is on going?

MWT

Ianredman26 said:

After a little back and forth they agreed to start an erroneous transfer, this was at the end of Sept. A month later I followed up and they said their team was still looking into it.

It sounds like they have not yet accepted that it was an erroneous transfer so I would suggest writing a formal complaint letter to them which should stop the collection attempts and if you have not already done so contact the supplier you were erroneously transferred from and tell them that you want to reverse the transfer so they can work on this too.

Obviously you really should have noticed this a lot sooner than you did, but I don't think there is a time limit on reversing an erroneous transfer, but it does get harder to get it done quickly, so expect this to drag on for a couple of months or so...

Also get ready to pay for the energy you have used and not paid anyone for over that period, that isn't going to go away.

You may want to check and see what the cost should have been on your 'correct' supplier, as it could actually be more costly to reverse the switch if the 'incorrect' supplier was cheaper...

Hasbeen

Ianredman26 said:

Thanks for your replies.
I moved in to the property over 4 years ago so the supply has been changed whilst I have been living there. I had a joint direct debit with the same Gas/Elec supplier so didn't notice the direct debit amount change. 
If Green Star have accepted Erroneous transfer, can they still hassle me for money whilst this is on going?

Sorry why would it change? What company are you with / paying at the moment?

Ianredman26

MWT said:

Ianredman26 said:

After a little back and forth they agreed to start an erroneous transfer, this was at the end of Sept. A month later I followed up and they said their team was still looking into it.

It sounds like they have not yet accepted that it was an erroneous transfer so I would suggest writing a formal complaint letter to them which should stop the collection attempts and if you have not already done so contact the supplier you were erroneously transferred from and tell them that you want to reverse the transfer so they can work on this too.

Obviously you really should have noticed this a lot sooner than you did, but I don't think there is a time limit on reversing an erroneous transfer, but it does get harder to get it done quickly, so expect this to drag on for a couple of months or so...

Also get ready to pay for the energy you have used and not paid anyone for over that period, that isn't going to go away.

You may want to check and see what the cost should have been on your 'correct' supplier, as it could actually be more costly to reverse the switch if the 'incorrect' supplier was cheaper...

Thank you for your help. I will get in touch with my old supplier today. 
Citizens advice suggest I won't need to pay the new supplier, but when I get transferred back to my old supplier will I owe them the difference between my last meter reading and what it is at the moment?

MWT

Ianredman26 said:

Citizens advice suggest I won't need to pay the new supplier, but when I get transferred back to my old supplier will I owe them the difference between my last meter reading and what it is at the moment?

Yes, you will have to pay for the energy you have used, that is unavoidable, that is why I suggest doing the maths now to see which one is actually cheaper...

No point in insisting on being switched back if the original supplier is going to be more expensive...

do check the meter readings on the bill from Green Star as it will probably be based on an estimate not your actual meter reading...

dogshome

Usual rule with a OT's is that any money paid to Erroneous supplier, is returned and the original supplier is paid for that energy

You case is rare, and different in that you have kept on paying the original supplier for energy consumed -You do have a beef with the original supplier int that no "Sorry you are leavning" letter was sent, OT's occur for a multitude of reasons and it maybe it slipped through the net.

However, Greenstar have committed the bigger sin by allowing the situation to continue for 2 years, and, as they have not sent a bill for 2 years they are wide open to a Back-billing claim

WRITE a letter headed Complaint, pointing out that you have paid for all the energy you have used to your legal supplier, and send it to both parties