Neo Energy Final Bill

rathlee

Many   thanks for the comments but still very much at  sea on this.

rathlee

Would a counter-action  in the small claims court be a viable option?

[Deleted User]

rathlee said:

Would a counter-action  in the small claims court be a viable option?

How does one make a claim when there isn’t any firm evidence that a refund is due? The Small Claims Court goes solely on the evidence provided by the claimant and any defence offered.

To complicate matters further, when a supply company fails consumers are treated as unsecured creditors. Under Ofgem guidance, the full amount of the credit balance is paid for by the SoLR and claimed back from Ofgem as part of the bill that the SoLR makes for taking on the failed supplier’s consumers. This bill is then added to our standing charges.

It follows that if any claim for the full credit balance was to be made it would have to be against the SoLR. It is unlikely that this would be successful if Neo has not provided the SoLR with an accurate Final Bill. Any claim against Neo itself would at best realise ‘pennies in the £’.

rathlee

Excellent thinking. However it does not remove the threat of the account being passed over to debt collectors when NEO Energy refuses to discuss the discrepancy in readings when they have not even verified the meters. If the SoLR picks up the tab at the end of the day, any activity that distracts them from extracting the maximum of cash from consumers may be considered pointless. Another strange coincidence in this saga is that Neo-Energy topped the tables on Citizens Advice energy tables at the time. Should more due diligence have been carried out?

[Deleted User]

rathlee said:

Excellent thinking. However it does not remove the threat of the account being passed over to debt collectors when NEO Energy refuses to discuss the discrepancy in readings when they have not even verified the meters. If the SoLR picks up the tab at the end of the day, any activity that distracts them from extracting the maximum of cash from consumers may be considered pointless. Another strange coincidence in this saga is that Neo-Energy topped the tables on Citizens Advice energy tables at the time. Should more due diligence have been carried out?

The way to deal with debt collectors is a ‘Prove it’ letter. Arguably, as suppliers went over the cliff like Leemings then a lack of regulatory oversight was a factor. As Ofgem is a non-Ministerial Government Department then trying to prove a regulatory failure might be a long and very expensive undertaking. 

If the OP can show that Neo has not used the industry-agreed switch reading to close the account then this is something that the SoLR needs to take up with Neo. That said, the time elapsed since Neo’s failure may be a factor. 

rathlee

Very helpful Dolor; will keep 'prove it' in mind; many thanks 

barrend

I have a similar issue. Neo chasing for payment of a final bill. I checked my contract and whilst Neo Energy Ltd is chasing, it is a different entity than that stated on my energy supply contract which was the now defunct UK Energy Incubator Hub Ltd, co number 09844783. How can Neo Energy Ltd chase and threaten debt collection for a contract with a different company in administration?

Qyburn

Thats interesting, when did you join? My contract and all the bills refer to Neo Energy Ltd 12015844. 

baser999

I’ve received an email today from Neo Energy advising that they’re about to start debt collection for the final bill generated earlier in the year. My recollections are that Octopus advised for this not to be settled? I questioned some of the Neo calculations which were subsequently amended to nearer what I’d anticipated but in light of Octopus advice, I decided not to settle and see the outcome. Six months on, this is clearly it. To my mind, the Neo figures seem correct so the bill is rightly due and payable. 

However, I still have concerns around whether this is genuine or a very elaborate scam - the grammar, spelling errors . . and even if the bank account into which they request payment are correct.

Qyburn

The situation with Neo is unlike other SOLRs in that Neo remained trading, not in administration or any other type of insolvency, but lost access to the licence they were using to supply residential customers.

So their stated position is that their final bills are valid and should be paid to them.

My view is that if your bill looks correct then you should probably pay it. Someone is due payment for energy used up until the Octopus start reading. Although Octopus say not to pay Neo, if the debt has not been assigned then I can't see that as a defence.

Neo first asked me for over £800, then £650, then when they finally sorted out the errors it dropped to £70, which I paid. I might have held out longer if it was a bigger sum. All their correspondence quoted the same company name and number and bank details as always.