Vulnerable neighbour charged £1154 for gas by SSE

Clive_Woody

Hargreaves1910 said:

A quick update. We sent another actual reading a few weeks ago but today he received another bill saying he is now £1751 in debt. No mention of any meter readings, it just says meter readings aren't available, it's like they've ignored them and carried on basing their figures on the estimated readings.
I'm at a loss where do we go from here?

Would it be possible to set up an online account submit the readings online? At least that you way you should get an email receipt saying that the reading was received.

Robin9

A formal snail mail written letter headed COMPLAINT

molerat

Robin9 said:

A formal snail mail written letter headed COMPLAINT

This.  SSE customer service is worse than useless.  The ONLY way to get anything done is via the official complaints route.

[Deleted User]

As above: raise a written complaint and cite the Standard Licence Condition below:

Condition 21B. Billing based on meter readings

21B.1 If a Customer provides a meter reading to the licensee that the licensee considers reasonably accurate, or if the Gas Meter is read by the licensee, the licensee must take all reasonable steps to reflect the meter reading in the next Bill or statement of account sent to the Customer.

21B.2 If the licensee considers that a meter reading provided by a Customer is not reasonably accurate, the licensee must take all reasonable steps to contact the Customer to obtain a new meter reading from him.

Inform the supplier that the remedy that you seek is an adjusted statement using the reading provided (send a photo) plus compensation for poor customer service

maisie_cat

If this neighbour trusts you and gives permission you could create an online account for him and input the readings/print bills etc. I did this for FIL last year, he'd struggled on the phone, had misread the meter and had lots of estimates.
We update it regularly now and his payments reflect his actual use.

ariarnia

you can snail mail a complaint sure. but then the response will be by phone or letter and it will be a bother to get the evidence together for the ombudsman if it gets that far. i would email the complaint so the reply will be by email and all already digital if needed to include in the bundle. 

complaints@sseenergyservices.com 

remember you dont need a reply or fix from them to escalate the complaint. at 8 weeks after sending you can escalate to the ombudsman and then the supplier is in a fixed process to resolve with deadlines set by the ombudsman. 

Ectophile

If you're going to send a letter of complaint, include a photograph of the meter, and make sure you can read the current usage and the meter serial number.

Hargreaves1910

Thanks all for the useful comments.

Yes I have opened an online account for him but despite sending in recent meter readings they have ignored them and are still only showing their own estimates and once again we are back up to a grossly  over-estimated reading of 5867.

Your next reading is due between 26 Jan - 12 Feb 2023

02 Nov 2022	Gas Standard (e) 5867
22 Jul 2022	Gas Standard (e) 5252
06 May 2022	Gas Standard (e) 4792
27 Jan 2022	Gas Standard 4510
02 Nov 2021	Gas Standard (e) 4314
20 Jul 2021	Gas Standard 3705
06 May 2021	Gas Standard (e) 3641
27 Jan 2021	Gas Standard (e) 3507

Next course of action official complaint.

Hargreaves1910

Complaint now sent along with photo of the meter.

Thanks.

Brie

Haven't read the whole thing but has your neighbour given you signed permission to deal with this on his behalf?  A simple "I, A B, allow H1910 to deal with all matters on my behalf".  Signed, dated, address and customer number.  Take a photo and email it to them.