Orbit Energy and OFGEM

redrumgalaxy

Greetings

Orbit went into administration on the 1st December. I paid my last direct debit on 29th November leaving me £246 in credit and had my last bill dated 30th October where I was on a dual fuel direct debit tariff. I was transferred to Scottish Power.

I got my final bill for the period, £165 had disappered from my credit with no bill for the period to the 26th November produced and a final bill only that covered 26th November to 30th November.

They have also changed my tarrif retrospectively from the beginning of November to cash/cheque Tarrif (higher than direct debit tarrif), which unsurprisingly is in their favour. 

I have queired this and there response is:

Thank you for contacting Orbit Energy.

I can confirm that your account is in credit and any credit showing on the account is protected by Ofgem and will eventually transfer to Scottish Power. 

After Orbit ceased trading and went into administration , under the supplier of last resort agreement, we are unable to credit any refunds but you are protected by Ofgem and Scottish Power will refund in due course.

I am unable to make a complaint to Ofgem because they have ceased trading.

Orbit had 70,000 customers, how can the administrators be allowed to just overcharge without any way of challenging incorrect billing? How is it not fraud if they won't correct it? £15 a customer over charge would equate to a million pounds plus?

John

wild666

As soon as they went into administration you should have taken a meter reading then another one when the SoLR took over and possibly taken a photo of the readings too. No one is going to argue with a photo of the readings if the readings also show the meter number for each meter, i.e. electric meter number X12Y321xxxxxx and gas Z98V654xxxxxxx both suppliers would have a hard time disproving the readings if you put something like that days paper in the photo. 

Xbigman

wild666 said:

As soon as they went into administration you should have taken a meter reading then another one when the SoLR took over and possibly taken a photo of the readings too. No one is going to argue with a photo of the readings if the readings also show the meter number for each meter, i.e. electric meter number X12Y321xxxxxx and gas Z98V654xxxxxxx both suppliers would have a hard time disproving the readings if you put something like that days paper in the photo. 

You've missed the point. If a final bill from a bust supplier has money missing or the wrong rates are used there is no way to challenge it. The Ombudsman can't help and the administrators ignore the problem. Even if the Administrators eventually accept there was an issue its too late and you become just another creditor. Even if you go to the small claims court and win you're just another creditor. 
Now if you're got a final meter reading issue, that 'can' be sorted out because your new supplier can't ask you to pay for the same units twice (although some companies are making it hard work). But every other problem where you are in credit with a failed supplier and some of the credit vanishes is ultimately a dead end. 

As a low user I'll be having a long hard look at the price differential between DD and pay on receipt of bill tariffs. There may be a point where they are close enough I'll take the safer but slightly more expensive one. 


Darren

QrizB

Xbigman said:

As a low user I'll be having a long hard look at the price differential between DD and pay on receipt of bill tariffs. There may be a point where they are close enough I'll take the safer but slightly more expensive one.

Some (not necessarily all) suppliers allow you to pay on receipt of bill by DD, rather than paying a flat rate throughout the year, at the DD rate. EDF is one.