Scottish power. Confused now

Spot5Flowers

Been with scottish power for years, account in husbands name.
A few weeks ago we changed to a cheaper supplier.  According to the online portal we were in quite a lot of credit.
Changeover went fine, as of 11th April we're paying someone else.  A few days ago we got a letter saying our account was closed and a cheque for refund from SP for about £40.  
Now SP are sending texts and emails saying we owe them rather a large amount.  Problem now is husband is in hospital and will be for some time.  He is unable to communicate with them (or anyone for that matter).  SP refuse to speak to me as I'm not the account holder.

How can they refund us if we owe them money?  I don't get it?

Robin9

Spot5Flowers said:

.......................  According to the online portal we were in quite a lot of credit...............

The online portals can be misleading.  The sum shown is the sum of the credit/debit at the last statement plus the DD's credited since then. it does not include the cost of the energy used.

Does the final bill use the opening readings you gave to your new supplier ?

Write a letter headed COMPLAINT - don't try to phone.

Spot5Flowers

I suppose the final bill is that which we gave to the new supplier. We've not sent any other readings I'm confused by the letter that says we owe nothing, and the outstanding credit is paid back to us with a cheque, then 2 days later we owe hundreds, which given the circumstances I'm in no position to pay.
By my calculations we should have been about square on the bill, give or take a few quid, so the £40 refund sounded right to me.  

[Deleted User]

Spot5Flowers said:

I suppose the final bill is that which we gave to the new supplier. We've not sent any other readings I'm confused by the letter that says we owe nothing, and the outstanding credit is paid back to us with a cheque, then 2 days later we owe hundreds, which given the circumstances I'm in no position to pay.
By my calculations we should have been about square on the bill, give or take a few quid, so the £40 refund sounded right to me.  

If you are moving home, the supplier will raise a Final Bill on the readings that you provide. When you switch suppliers you do not need to contact your existing supplier. Your new supplier manages the transfer of supply and it will ask for switch readings. These readings are then industry-validated and passed back to both suppliers to open and close your accounts. The important think to check is that both suppliers have used the same readings to open and close your accounts.

When you calculated the closing amount was the previous reading an actual reading or one estimated by the supplier? Statements and credit/debit balances based on estimated readings are meaningless.

Spot5Flowers

We didn't move, just switched supplier.
I calculated that from the previous meter reading and bill, to the latest one, which we submitted to the new supplier, the credit on the account was about the amount we owed.  No estimates, actual readings.
My confusion is the letter saying the account is closed and they owe us money...here's a cheque for the balance, to a couple of days later (and 5 weeks since the transfer date) we owe them loads.

[Deleted User]

Spot5Flowers said:

We didn't move, just switched supplier.
I calculated that from the previous meter reading and bill, to the latest one, which we submitted to the new supplier, the credit on the account was about the amount we owed.  No estimates, actual readings.
My confusion is the letter saying the account is closed and they owe us money...here's a cheque for the balance, to a couple of days later (and 5 weeks since the transfer date) we owe them loads.

Ok. Does the closing reading (Final Bill) agree with the opening reading (New Supplier Opening Reading) and how close is this to the reading that you provided to the new supplier on switch?  Suppliers have 6 weeks from the supply transfer date to raise a Final Bill.

Spot5Flowers

Yes, the numbers match up.

[Deleted User]

It looks like you have what is known as a catch-up bill. In other words, previous bills were not accurate (that is, they were based on estimated readings) and now that your old supplier has an agreed transfer reading, it has billed you back to the last ACTUAL meter reading adjusted for any credit/debit balance on that date less all the payments that you have made. 

Spot5Flowers

But the bills were accurate.  We put in a meter reading regularly. 

[Deleted User]

Spot5Flowers said:

But the bills were accurate.  We put in a meter reading regularly. 

Look at your old statements. Were the readings used for billing annotated with a ‘C’ or an ‘A’? All customer readings are validated on receipt, and if the computer thinks that something is awry then the supplier will use an estimated reading for billing. Without seeing past  bills, it is difficult to determine what might have gone wrong.