Refunded by energy provider... now they want it back!

finolawalsh

Devongardener said:

I had something similar with SSE some years ago, but as others have said above you do need to get the full calculation from them to check. Once all your bills have been gathered and checked against meter readings you will know for sure.    In the end I won and didn’t owe anything but it took a lot of calls and emails.  Then out of the blue SSE sent me a compensation cheque for £200.

Brill, thank you. Just got to be thorough with these things I guess! Thanks for the help 😊 glad it worked out well for you in the end 

HillStreetBlues

If you do owe the money  you can always try  "full and final" and better if it comes from a 3rd party.

born_again

Did you provide meter readings when you moved out & did the last bill reflect these, or was it estimated? 

If you did not provide readings, could it be that who ever moved in/landlord has only just supplied a reading & this is being taken as your reading when you moved out?

Ectophile

Unfortunately there's a rather daft Ofgem rule that says that energy companies must promptly send you a bill when you close an account.  There are penalties if they are late sending the bill.

But there is nothing that says that the bill has to be correct.  They can estimate what your bill should probably be and send you that.  Then they sit and think about it for a few months before sending the correct bill.  And you aren't allowed to complain about that.

So check the new bill carefully, and decide if you think it's correct.  If it is, you have to pay it.

Jonboy_1984

Make sure the revised final bill matches both the meter readings you took/on your checkout inventory, and the date you left. Also make sure the account number on the bill matches your previous bills.

If there was a void period after you left, or a discrepancy in the opening readings from the next tenant then energy companies have a habit of attempting to pursue the last known tenant until proven otherwise.