HELP: Wrong supply switched, double payments made, PFP gone bust - nobody wants to help. 😢

madonnamustache

Hi,

We switched gas and electricity to PFP energy in June. After a few months, I realised that they had taken over the incorrect electricity supply from our previous supplier. Only the gas supply was transferred correctly. Because of that, we have been paying double - to the old supplier (at a much higher tariff than we would have paid to PFP) and to PFP. We are still paying double to this date.

We had an ongoing complaint with PFP, who admitted it was their fault, but now they have gone bust. 

What do we do now with all the double payments we have made? Our new appointed supplier, British Gas, have only taken over our gas and not our electricity, as PFP never managed to correct the mistake before going bust.

Ofgem or the ombudsman will not help.

Thank you for any advice you can offer.

mysteryUser

Do you have access to an online portal with PFP?

I'd guess your payments to them were via direct debit and it was a single payment each month? So I guess you've built up a fair amount of credit with them which will all be coming back to you with the SoLR which take over your PFP account. 

QrizB

Have you cancelled the PFP DD?

You have correspondence from PFP admitting that the payments were requested in error? If so, hnave you asked your bank to refund the DD payments made to PFP under the terms of the DD guarantee?

madonnamustache

Thank you for your answers! Apologies for the late reply, I did not get an email notifying me there were any responses to my post.

Yes, I have access to the PFP online portal, but I can't tell by how much they overcharged me, as I was paying for my gas but someone else's electricity. 

British Gas have taken over but they have zero interest in helping. 

I guess I should just contact the bank and ask for all DD payments made to PFP to be refunded? What happens with the current credit I have with them?

Thanks!

jbuchanangb

In your situation I would act as follows. Stick with the SOLR process for gas, i.e. let British Gas take over the account. Stick with your previous supplier (pre-PFP) for electricity, as this will have reverted to Standard Variable Rate, which is on the price cap, which is the best available deal. Be sure to cancel your DD to PFP. British Gas will try to take over the erroneous electricity account. That is when to tackle the problem. If you can get hold of a bill of any sort from PFP about the erroneous electricity charges, do so at once. Absolutely refuse to let British Gas bill you for electricity. It is now their responsibility to sort out the mess. 

You will need to do a calculation as to how much you are owed by the PFP process. Go back to the opening readings for gas and the reading for the changeover, and calculate how much the gas charges were payable to PFP. Subtract that from the total you have paid to PFP, and that's how much money you are owed. I don't think you should ask your bank to claim back the DDs because you did have to pay PFP for gas.