Not sure if I'm outside the 12 month limit to be asked for payment

Jelli

Hello,
I've been waiting ages for a previous supplier to generate a final bill and have been with 2 new ones since, and wondered if I'm outside the 12 month limit in having to pay it. The final bill came through my letterbox on 8th January 2021 but is dated 30th December 2020, and I think I left them on 1st January 2020 (date of the final meter reads). Is it only the letter's generation date that matters or when it arrived through my letterbox? I did pester them early on in 2020 but was told it'll be generated in 2-3 months time, but wasn't and totally forgot about it until now. The supplier was Orbit Energy.

Neil_Jones

Were you not in credit with Orbit when you left?

Date wise it will usually be the date on the letter, as unless it was tracked or special delivery nobody's going to know it was shoved through your letterbox at 9:33am one Friday morning.

Jelli

I was able to transfer to a new supplier so was either in credit or not much debit for it to be blocked, but it's such a long time ago. It's frustrating being asked this far on, almost 12 months but for 1-2 days if their letter date is correct.

matelodave

Would you be asking this question if you were in credit and they owed you the money? Would you happily let them keep it?
Likewise , if they had owed you money, would you have happily waited all this time for a final bill or would you have put a little bit of effort it trying to get it sorted out.

Cardew

It is the date the bill was raised. If it was the date of delivery, and no recorded delivery, there would be an amazing number of bills 'lost in the post'!!

FaceHead

The 12 month back billing limit means that you can't be charged for gas and electricity used more than 12 months before the bill is issued. 

What period does the bill issued on 30/12/20 cover? In theory it shouldn't cover any period before 31/12/19, and given that you left on 01/01/20, there might be one or two days there that they're could be billing you for. Likely it covers your last month with Orbit. You could probably fight the bill on the out of time basis. You could argue that the 30/12/20 bill is incorrect (as it is partially out of time) and when reissued (the first correct bill for the time period) any billing up to your leaving them is now out of time. 

However, we're talking about a bill which is probably for a tenner, and you did use that energy, so it seems right that you should just pay it and get on with your day. 

Jelli

Hi FaceHead, the final bill period covers 16-12-1999 to 01-01-2020, issued on 30-12-2020. Like I said before though, I did contact them shortly after and was told a final bill will be sent in the next 2-3 months, so I got on with my life and forgot about it when they didn't.

niktheguru

i think you mean 2019 right? so about 2 weeks, rather than 21 years!
How much is the difference? if its just a few pounds is it really worth all the hassle, you did use the energy right? seems reasonable that you should be paying it. That being said, if you didn't get your bill within 14working days you can write to them asking for compensation, which should write off what you are owing (if it is less than 15 quid)

Jelli

lol yeah, 2019. My past bills were paid monthly by Direct Debit so sometimes they did/didn't cover the cost by the time I left them. It's more than a few quid the final bill.