Energy Company monthly statements and creative accounting

BarryZ123

I've been having 'fun' with my energy provider since January this year.  They stopped providing me online monthly statements for my usage when the October price cap came in.  I asked them to provide me with copies of my missing monthly statements.  

Upon logging back in the following month, they had removed all the previous charges from my account and gave me a huge rolled up charge for 6 months.  No emails, no messages on what they had done or why and still no accompanying statement.

The new charge was £90 more than they charged me previously.  Asked them again to provide me with the statements and they wouldn't provide or give me any details what the extra £90 was for, or why they had deleted all the previous transactions (which I have a record of).  Tried to give me the runaround saying it was taken from meter readings, to which I replied so were the last lot of charges, they were billed as per my smart meter(!!).

Has anyone else had a similar problem recently?;  
Energy Company jumping into your account removing previous transactions, hitting you with large rolled up bills and not providing you with any details?  

born_again

Which company?

[Deleted User]

Hi,

some only provide 6 monthly bills/statements.

Did bills cover same time period and same start/finish readings?

Scot_39

You are fixated on the mechanism but have not commented on the actual accuracy - so the fairness of the current bill.

You have been told the old bills have errors - the fact they are different is therefore only to be expected.

Billing errors are not that uncommon.  Its therefore worrying so many just trust their companies bills.

They have provided you with a six month bill to fix what they believe was an error - you have the monthly snapshots anyway.

£90 total is not a massive correction over 6m - many see more than that on revised monthly DD for significant billing errors.

But you need to try and work out which version is correct.  The company obviously believes as customers services have said it is the new one.


If the old and new bills are as you say based on actual Smart readings, and If the bills are partitioned with the correct Ofgem/EPG pricing and readings at the cap swap times etc over the period - what is your exact reason for complaint ?

Energy companies by law are legally obliged / allowed to correct billing errors in your / their favour - and allowed charge for any extra over the previous 12 months under back billing rules - from the time of new billing not now.

So rather than being upset by the process - you first need to concentrate on whether the new bill or the old is accurate - including all relevant price point changes in the bill period over the relevant 6months. 

Over the last 15 months ofgem / epg cap changes - Apr 1st ? Oct 1st 2022 Jan 1st, Apr 1st and July 1st 2023 - on both standing charges in some and unit rates.  Any plan or payment method changes etc.

There is nothing abnormal about the process.
Why would or should they leave documentation with a known error on their billing systems etc.  They have a legal duty to bill accurately.

The fact you luckily have them downloaded and have as a reference should help you more easily identify the sources of £90 change.

Look at readings at each point where you can - look at unit rates and standing charges and when they changed - if they did so correctly at the correct times - and against correct readings for those times used etc.

So for instance take Old and new billing - look at key dates and note 

Date vs readings - if actual (smart) or estimate vs rates charged

That should include as a minimum start and end period and any price plan changes such as Ofgem cap dates to be 100% accurate. 
But could perhaps simply be some old bills issued against estimates - despite a smart meter install.  They have been known to periodically fail and then recovery forced by suppliers (sometimes companies can trigger over air resets - and sometimes over air firmware type updates - do go wrong - so readings missed for months etc)

If you were on standard variable term rates - and need help confirming which rates correct - let us know dates old and new bills cover (July 22 to Jan 23 ?), your billing region and payment method and someone here can get you epg or Ofgem Standard rates.

The new bill is the energy companies explanation of the new charges. 
Customer services can only see what is on the system - their staff aren't trying to deliberately hide something.

If new bill is accurate - then I am afraid you will need to pay it.

If not accurate - e.g. has readings, rates or has assumed splits at price change dates that you disagree with - formally complain with your own calculations to explain why  and then escalate to Ombudsman after 8 weeks if not resolved.
If you need help to do so - see if an energy debt charity or Citizens Advice etc will help you understand reason for changes or construct a complaint case.

Gerry1

Could it be British Gas?  Although I'd switched from Neon Reef to another company well before they went bust, many months later BG cancelled previous bills and sent one big replacement with a much earlier date than when I joined BG.  No explanation, and if I hadn't kept all my bills I'd never have noticed the earlier start date.  I complained and BG corrected it, only for the problem to keep recurring.

They overcharged four times and said they couldn't prevent it happening again and again.  After much aggro they made a payment equal to the overcharge.  I made a big fuss about being overcharged and all the time I'd wasted.  I held out for £100 compo and got it.

So if you've ever been with a company that went bust and BG eventually ended up as the SoLR, check your BG bills very carefully.  Always keep your own records and keep copies of all bills.