Estimate bills for two years now with a real reading BG say I owe £900 instead of £57

[Deleted User]

wild666 said:

Could the person you spoke too just have taken  the recent rates and the last reading given and multiplied it by the October prices? 
I would get into the habit of submitting monthly readings, that way you will know how much your using. 

A customer service advisor doing their own calculation and not relying on what the computer is saying? Unlikely.

ariarnia

[Deleted User] said:

wild666 said:

Could the person you spoke too just have taken  the recent rates and the last reading given and multiplied it by the October prices? 
I would get into the habit of submitting monthly readings, that way you will know how much your using. 

A customer service advisor doing their own calculation and not relying on what the computer is saying? Unlikely.

if there's been a long period of estemated readings would the computer automatically recalculate back to the last manual reading or only go back so far or what? i'm also wondering if the back billing rules wold apply here as its more than a year since they last took a reading and we dont know if they actually tried to send someone out to read the meter. 

Keep_pedalling

ariarnia said:

[Deleted User] said:

wild666 said:

Could the person you spoke too just have taken  the recent rates and the last reading given and multiplied it by the October prices? 
I would get into the habit of submitting monthly readings, that way you will know how much your using. 

A customer service advisor doing their own calculation and not relying on what the computer is saying? Unlikely.

if there's been a long period of estemated readings would the computer automatically recalculate back to the last manual reading or only go back so far or what? i'm also wondering if the back billing rules wold apply here as its more than a year since they last took a reading and we dont know if they actually tried to send someone out to read the meter. 

I don’t thing the BB rule applies in cases where the occupant has failed to submit any readings and has not allowed access to their meter, which seems to be the case here. The OP could try claiming it applies but should not be surprised if the energy company rejects that claim.

ariarnia

Keep_pedalling said:

ariarnia said:

Deleted_User said:

wild666 said:

Could the person you spoke too just have taken  the recent rates and the last reading given and multiplied it by the October prices? 
I would get into the habit of submitting monthly readings, that way you will know how much your using. 

A customer service advisor doing their own calculation and not relying on what the computer is saying? Unlikely.

if there's been a long period of estemated readings would the computer automatically recalculate back to the last manual reading or only go back so far or what? i'm also wondering if the back billing rules wold apply here as its more than a year since they last took a reading and we dont know if they actually tried to send someone out to read the meter. 

I don’t thing the BB rule applies in cases where the occupant has failed to submit any readings and has not allowed access to their meter, which seems to be the case here. The OP could try claiming it applies but should not be surprised if the energy company rejects that claim.

do we know they have refused access? the posts arent very clear if anyone came in the lat couple of years or if the op is talking about meter readers in general. the op says the last reading was shortly before covid so its very possible they didn't send anyone out to read the meter for a couple of years (i know we havent had anyone for at least 3 years).

if the supplier can show the op refused entry then i agree but if they have been happy accepting estemated readings and not sending anyone out then they've not complied with there obligations to get at least one real reading a year. 

on a more constructive note it might be an option for the op to get on the priority register (if they struggle to open the door to unannounced strangers that would qualify them) and maybe that would mean more support with regular meter reads (maybe at times or at least days known in advance)

armistice

What should (and I expect will happen when the OP receives a revised bill) is that every estimated reading between the most recent 'Actual' reading and the previous 'Actual' reading will be adjusted accordingly.  All of those periods where estimated readings were used will be credited and rebilled for the revised usage at the rates applicable at the time.

Until the Op receives a revised bill for the entire period, there is no way of knowing if the figure quoted by the customer service advisor is correct or not. 

In answer to the OP's main concern (being charged for all usage at current rates) that should not happen, would not be right and this forum will help you to correct it (if it happens)

Sea_Shell

armistice said:

What should (and I expect will happen when the OP receives a revised bill) is that every estimated reading between the most recent 'Actual' reading and the previous 'Actual' reading will be adjusted accordingly.  All of those periods where estimated readings were used will be credited and rebilled for the revised usage at the rates applicable at the time.

Until the Op receives a revised bill for the entire period, there is no way of knowing if the figure quoted by the customer service advisor is correct or not.

And that's when things can get really confusing!!!    

If someone is not on top of their bills to start with, this process can be really confusing.   

I offered to work all the figures for a family member (albeit over a shorter period) as they couldn't even begin to understand what their supplier had done.    It all worked correct in the end, but you had to be very methodical in following their methodology (Eon in that case)

[Deleted User]

ariarnia said:

Deleted_User said:

wild666 said:

Could the person you spoke too just have taken  the recent rates and the last reading given and multiplied it by the October prices? 
I would get into the habit of submitting monthly readings, that way you will know how much your using. 

A customer service advisor doing their own calculation and not relying on what the computer is saying? Unlikely.

if there's been a long period of estemated readings would the computer automatically recalculate back to the last manual reading or only go back so far or what? i'm also wondering if the back billing rules wold apply here as its more than a year since they last took a reading and we dont know if they actually tried to send someone out to read the meter. 

Should go all the way back - and can (but often doesn't without extra effort) persist through supplier transfers.

OP seems to suggest that at least one meter reader came and knocked on the door (around springtime) - which they didn't answer - that might be enough to prevent back-billing rules applying.

If the OP can post their statement, we can go through and see how the readings have been updated to see whether the cost is correct, but as another poster noted here - £900 underpayment in two years isn't that difficult to achieve even at the lower prices.

Spies

The fact remains that you used that much energy, it's unlikely they will ask for a lump sum, they will just adjust the direct debit to cover your usage + enough to eat away at the debt.

It's your responsibility to unsure your bills are accurate, you could have submitted actual readings yourself, it didnt have to be read by a meter reader.

EssexHebridean

Spies said:

The fact remains that you used that much energy, it's unlikely they will ask for a lump sum, they will just adjust the direct debit to cover your usage + enough to eat away at the debt.

It's your responsibility to unsure your bills are accurate, you could have submitted actual readings yourself, it didnt have to be read by a meter reader.

The OP has already stated that they weren't aware that relying on estimates was an issue. They'll know going forwards from the many people previously in the thread who have already pointed out the error. 

[Deleted User]

I have long thought that The BackBilling Licence Conditions are the work of a 7 year old. Like many SLCs, Ofgem has failed to consider the unintended consequences of what they have produced. The aim of the Condition is to ensure that suppliers obtain a meter reading, and produce an accurate bill: this is laudable. However, the corollary to this is that it discourages the consumer from providing a reading in the hope that some charges will be written off.