Asking for money back

Eljcornet

My old electricity  company is asking for £297 back, which they gave to me, after receiving meter readings and me switching to another company. I have no available funds as my bills are so high I can barely eat anyway being stuck at home. The ombudsman is saying that yes I owe the money even though they gave me the cheque in July 2020 after readings were given on 31st March 2020. They are saying the electricity wasn't added on but how is this my fault? They have offered to take off £80 but I just can't afford to pay realistically even at a reduced rate as I have other costs to cover and I've cut back as much as I can already. Should I be made to pay this?

niktheguru

If you've used the energy and the readings are correct then yes it is your liability to pay for what you've used. You can ask them to pay it in installments. They're not just going to write off your usage, regardless of your personal circumstances, as then everyone would be asking for it.

[Deleted User]

Sadly, the answer is yes. By going to The Energy Ombudsman you agreed to arbitration and, with detailed knowledge of your case and the various industry rules, the Ombudsman has found in the supplier’s favour. You can reject the Final Decision but the supplier can use it in support of any claim against you. 

Your only options now are to agree an affordable repayment plan or you could ask if the supplier’s assistance fund (if it has one) can help.

Eljcornet

Obviously I have to pay for what I have used. I already did that. They gave me money back and they can't just come ten months later and demand that back . It is not about me not having the money. They gave me money.  I have spent it by now. It's their mistake.

MWT

Unfortunately they are entitled to correct their mistakes, just as you would expect them to correct an error where they had over-charged you, they can correct one where they have under-charged you...

rp1974

As far as I'm aware an energy company can legitimately claim refunds for upto six years.
The Ombudsman have already stated that yes,you owe this money.
Personally I'd make enquiries into setting up an affordable repayment plan,unless youd prefer ending up in court with costs to pay for as well,potentially.
Might not be what you want to hear but I've generally found that when in a hole,it's best to stop digging.

dogshome

So you were paying the bills sent to you, but now the supplier is saying you were not billed for the Electricity, so the bills were only for the Gas ?

If this is the case then the 'Back Billing' rules would apply. in that they cannot bill for energy supplied over before 12 months prior to the date that they did manage to produce a bill

The fact that they returned money to you, strongly implies that they had lost control of the account and were only billing for the gas, and not the Electricity that was included in the amount of your D/Debit payments.

The date on the demand, (Should be a proper Bill with meter readings and dates), is crucial as they cannot make payment demands  bill for any energy consumed 12 months before the date on on that last Bill/Demand, as it you changed supplier in 2020 it can't be a big sum of money.. 

MWT

It is far from clear that this is a 'back-billing' case, especially as it has been through the Ombudsman process already...

Where a customer has paid, built up a balance and is then incorrectly refunded the Ombudsman position has usually sided with the energy supplier when they correct the erroneous refund.

[Deleted User]

Opening a second thread in the hope that someone will say 'it's unfair, you shouldn't pay' might make you feel better but it is unlikely to sway the energy supplier which now has independent confirmation that this is nothing more than a simple administrative mistake. The EO has had full visibility of both sides of the argument and he/she will have made a Decision based on the regulations set out by Ofgem.

Yes, the supplier has made a mistake and an offer of compensation has been made for poor customer service. Ask yourself, how would feel if a supplier had applied an incorrect gas conversion to your meter reading and it had been over billing you for months? When you realised the error and complained, would you expect the supplier to say 'we have your money and it has already been spent'?

If you haven't accepted The EO Decision, you are free to reject it. If you do this, your complaint against the supplier will be struck out and you will not get the £80 compensation. Moreover, the supplier is still free to recover the amount owed to it.