£900 final bill 6 months later!

Joyyy

Hi,

Me and my partner ended our energy contract in September as we moved from renting to buying. They said they would send a final bill... Never heard a thing untill today, almost 6 months later. Their final bill that they've told us is £900, considering we were on a fixed monthly price also. I know legally they can't charge us for a longer period of 12 months but will this be from today since we got the final bill? This company is so awful we had nothing but issues when we were with them! 

bagand96

Energy is never a “fixed monthly price”. You pay for the energy you use. Many providers collect a fixed monthly direct debit which goes onto your account and hopefully covers your bills. If you provide regular meter readings the suppliers should adjust the DD accordingly. 

You are entitled to a final bill within 6 weeks of leaving a supplier. If you don’t receive it in that timeframe then you are entitled to £30 compensation as per OFGEM rules.

In terms of the bill are you saying you don’t think it’s correct? Did you take regular meter readings, and closing meter readings when you finished your contract?

I’d expect the supplier to have been in touch if that level of debt was accruing.

niktheguru

For a bill that high it suggests you weren't providing regular meter readings during your tenancy to the utility company. As bagand96 has said, it is important to establish that the closing reading for your energy was NOT an estimate and is actual - either by you having read the meter and submitted it yourself, or them reading the meter (which is becoming rarer these days)
If it is an actual reading (and the opening reading was not an estimated reading either) then i'm afraid the large bill is just a result of you not having paid enough duirng your contract (i.e. your fixed direct debit was too low) but you will have to pay the balance as it is the cost of the energy you've been using.
If the final bill was based on an estimate that is where it gets difficult - if you have meter readings then you can see if the estimate they used is realistic. If you dont the best thing you can do it read the meter now, however it will not be 6 months down the line, so that may not be much use.

Anyways, we need more information to know what to advise you.

Joyyy

We did have a fixed monthly price. It was the same price untill it was increased annually as we expected. We provided metre readings whenever asked and also provided metre readings when vacating. We had issues with metre when we opened a account with them it was pay as you go for the first few months as we had to wait to get smart metres fitted, had 2 fitted both were faulty untill the third and metre readings were taken then also. 

Robin9

@Joyyy    Meter please   - metre is a unit of length

Joyyy

Clearly a honest mistake. Someone's got too much time on their hands... 

bagand96

Joyyy said:y

We did have a fixed monthly price. It was the same price untill it was increased annually as we expected. We provided metre readings whenever asked and also provided metre readings when vacating. We had issues with metre when we opened a account with them it was pay as you go for the first few months as we had to wait to get smart metres fitted, had 2 fitted both were faulty untill the third and metre readings were taken then also. 

Energy contracts are not fixed monthly price like, for example broadband. It’s not a case of “pay £xxx per month, use whatever energy you want”. You always pay for the energy you use. The monthly DDs just go to your account and hopefully should cover your bills. 

Do you have your old bills and your final bill? Are they based on actual meter readings and do you agree with the meter readings on them?

Gerry1

Joyyy said:

Someone's got too much time on their hands... 

Not a good idea to ask for free advice on a forum and then insult those who respond.

All that's fixed is the cost of each kWh and the daily charge.  The cost of each month's energy will depend on your usage, so if you use more than expected you'll pay more.  No company offers an All You Can Eat tariff.

rp1974

Just to clarify you are saying that no matter how much or how little you used that you were only going to be billed the same amount of money?.
Think about that for a minute,what supplier would offer that?,as far as I'm aware none ever have.

Joyyy

Gerry1 said:

Joyyy said:

Someone's got too much time on their hands... 

Not a good idea to ask for free advice on a forum and then insult those who respond.

All that's fixed is the cost of each kWh and the daily charge.  The cost of each month's energy will depend on your usage, so if you use more than expected you'll pay more.  No company offers an All You Can Eat tariff.

Sorry, and what help did this person offer? Apart from scoping through post's to reply with needless comments that offer no benefit to the post I submitted. I've insulted no one. 

Gerry1

Joyyy said:

Gerry1 said:

Joyyy said:

Someone's got too much time on their hands... 

Not a good idea to ask for free advice on a forum and then insult those who respond.

All that's fixed is the cost of each kWh and the daily charge.  The cost of each month's energy will depend on your usage, so if you use more than expected you'll pay more.  No company offers an All You Can Eat tariff.

Sorry, and what help did this person offer? Apart from scoping through post's to reply with needless comments that offer no benefit to the post I submitted. I've insulted no one. 

To help you avoid making the same mistake again?