Chased for incorrect refund

tallac

I moved away from my old energy supplier (Bulb) over 8 months ago. I had a few pence in credit on my account after my final bill so I didn't even bother requesting this as a refund. I switched over to a different supplier and all was well until recently they got in touch and said they had incorrectly refunded me £100 about a month and a half after I left. I checked my bank details and they did indeed send this money but I was not aware of the refund until now. I have requested if they can reduce this amount due to being their mistake but they refuse to take off anything as they say that they are entitled to the full refund. I have requested to speak to a manager and they have said that I cannot do that. My only way of contacting them is via their online chat which seems to be going nowhere. Their phone lines are impossible to get a hold of anyone. It must be because they are going through special administration.

Are they allowed to pursue me for their own mistake especially given how long it has been? What can I do?

[Deleted User]

Yes. Under Supply Licence Conditions, suppliers have the right to issue a revised Final Bill. As it was only 8 months ago, then you have no rights under the BackBilling code.  I would raise a written complaint. Most suppliers would offer a small reduction in the bill for poor customer service; however, we live in unusual times and Bulb is now run by a Special Administrator who is trying to reduce Bulb’s considerable debt so that the company can be sold off to A N Other.

MWT

tallac said:

Are they allowed to pursue me for their own mistake especially given how long it has been? What can I do?

Yes, they can do it, and no, there isn't much you can do about it except ask for leniency which it sounds like you have already tried.

Sadly the Ombudsman has made their position on reversing incorrect refunds very clear, the supplier is fully entitled to do it, and even if it was over 12 months ago there would be no recourse under the back-billing rules.

MattMattMattUK

[Deleted User] said:

Yes. Under Supply Licence Conditions, suppliers have the right to issue a revised Final Bill. As it was only 8 months ago, then you have no rights under the BackBilling code.  I would raise a written complaint. Most suppliers would offer a small reduction in the bill for poor customer service; however, we live in unusual times and Bulb is now run by a Special Administrator who is trying to reduce Bulb’s considerable debt so that the company can be sold off to A N Other.

Under the code of conduct for administrators they would not be allowed to discount the debt, although I am not quite sure if it is the same as I can't easily find what rules the Special Administrators were appointed under. 

tallac

Fair enough, thanks for the quick reply. I shall try again to speak to a manager and see if they can get anything done.

brewerdave

Did you actually get a correct final bill from Bulb with the actual final readings ? ie one showing that you were entitled to a "few pence" refund, not the larger sum.
At the very least ,I would ask for a final bill to prove that they have refunded the incorrect amount - and ask to pay it in a few instalments too !!!

tallac

brewerdave said:

Did you actually get a correct final bill from Bulb with the actual final readings ? ie one showing that you were entitled to a "few pence" refund, not the larger sum.
At the very least ,I would ask for a final bill to prove that they have refunded the incorrect amount - and ask to pay it in a few instalments too !!!

The final bill from 8 ish months ago showed a few pence of credit. The revised final bill received recently shows I owe £100 less a few pence. From the sounds of things, this doesn't seem to make much difference and it's something I will have to pay. I will plead what I can to see what they can knock off for their mistake but sounds like I'll have to cough up.

[Deleted User]

MWT said:

Sadly the Ombudsman has made their position on reversing incorrect refunds very clear, the supplier is fully entitled to do it, and even if it was over 12 months ago there would be no recourse under the back-billing rules.

The SLC on Final Billing was drafted by a 5 year old. The supplier issues an incorrect bill and job done. the first part of the SLC has been complied with. It is then free to amend the Bill whenever it likes. I am the victim of this with a supplier at the moment. It is only a few £s, but two attempts later they still cannot get it right. I have heard every excuse in the book: home working; the computer knows best; we cannot itemise final bill adjustments etc.  

MWT

It is a mess from all perspectives, making the losing provider both dependent on the gaining provider to give them the meter reading and at the same time making them pay compensation if they are late producing the bill was always going to motivate a creative way around the problem...

tallac

[Deleted User] said:

MWT said:

Sadly the Ombudsman has made their position on reversing incorrect refunds very clear, the supplier is fully entitled to do it, and even if it was over 12 months ago there would be no recourse under the back-billing rules.

The SLC on Final Billing was drafted by a 5 year old. The supplier issues an incorrect bill and job done. the first part of the SLC has been complied with. It is then free to amend the Bill whenever it likes. I am the victim of this with a supplier at the moment. It is only a few £s, but two attempts later they still cannot get it right. I have heard every excuse in the book: home working; the computer knows best; we cannot itemise final bill adjustments etc.  

Out of interest, if it's only a matter of a few £s, what would happen if you ignore it? Surely the cost to chase it up would be more.

[Deleted User]

tallac said:

[Deleted User] said:

MWT said:

Sadly the Ombudsman has made their position on reversing incorrect refunds very clear, the supplier is fully entitled to do it, and even if it was over 12 months ago there would be no recourse under the back-billing rules.

The SLC on Final Billing was drafted by a 5 year old. The supplier issues an incorrect bill and job done. the first part of the SLC has been complied with. It is then free to amend the Bill whenever it likes. I am the victim of this with a supplier at the moment. It is only a few £s, but two attempts later they still cannot get it right. I have heard every excuse in the book: home working; the computer knows best; we cannot itemise final bill adjustments etc.  

Out of interest, if it's only a matter of a few £s, what would happen if you ignore it? Surely the cost to chase it up would be more.

Yes, I could do that but there is a bigger issue relating to the bill that needs to be resolved. I am not a great fan of a single bill adjustment as it is impossible - without going back to basics - to determine whether the adjustment is correct; particularly, when one adjustment covers a number of billing errors. Also, in my case, CS has added the adjustment to the bill when it should have been a deduction. We are also debating the SoLR charge which CS told me that it will not be raising when their own internal communications state that they will. In sum, my Final Bill isn’t a final bill.

All I can say is that the sooner that EDF introduces the Kraken billing system the better.