Incorrect Bill, threat of debt collection Agency - Best course of action

SAC2334

The meter fitter would have sent off the full details of the meter exchange   via his data collector whilst he was there in front of the new gas meter install. They have to do it before they leave the property.

He was negligent in not filling in the yellow sticker as its vital info for you and me as a meter reader when I turn up and not see the meter which I have registed at your address .

He s not done his job properly , but at least he s actually put a sticker in place .

 I did notice before I retired as a meter reader  that meter fitters who could nt be bothered had started  to skip filling in the yellow sticker  because this can  set up a sequence of events leading to incorrect billing 
Personally I think you should mention this in any Ombudsman complaint however The information is all there for you to access as proof , and the supplier to accurately bill you .

CSI_Yorkshire

Let me just write this out again to check the sequence.

Old meter reading is 14609.
Old meter changed for new meter.
New meter reading is 0.
....
New meter reading is 3300.
Switch from BG to OVO.

It might well need an ombudsman complaint to resolve - but the entire thing is the BG system not having the meter change correctly recorded.

All of the noise about 18767 or 17609 or any other fake number that gets invented needs to be ignored.

The final bill from BG should be based on a reading of 3300.  That's what needs to happen.

Countist

The final bill from BG should be based on a reading of 3300.  That's what needs to happen.

Agreed, I was told this couldn't happen cos they couldn't go back and retrospectively change it in their system (since there was a system change a while back) so a manual reading on 17609 was the best they could do.

The frustrating thing is I feel like I'm so close to the conclusion. A bill got issued on 17609. It's only being overwritten because THEY sent Ovo a wrong amount.

All Ovo need to do is change their number and BG are happy, I'm happy and everyone can go home? (or am I oversimplifying). 

This was why I didn't want to go into the knitty gritty of the past mess because it seems so simple(!)

In the meantime though I'm being threatened with Debt Collection, so should I a) sit tight, b) pay the bill and wait for refund or c) ombudsman (which I probably can't do yet because it hasn't been 8 weeks since the latest complaint?)

CSI_Yorkshire

Countist said:

All Ovo need to do is change their number and BG are happy, I'm happy and everyone can go home? (or am I oversimplifying). 

I suppose if OVO pretend that they did a switch at 17609 and then immediately replaced the meter with one starting at 03300, that would solve the problem all around (and dig BG out of their hole).

Countist said:

In the meantime though I'm being threatened with Debt Collection, so should I a) sit tight, b) pay the bill and wait for refund or c) ombudsman (which I probably can't do yet because it hasn't been 8 weeks since the latest complaint?)

If you could comfortably afford it without problems, or if you are planning to apply for a large credit soon, b) is not an impossible option - it's what, about £300?, so you wouldn't be losing much on interest etc.  but getting it back will probably be slow.

If you can't, then ignore that option completely and sit tight.  Grumpy letters are a long way away from bailiffs or court and, if it does end up with the ombudsman, any costs or black marks can be forcibly removed.

MarzipanCrumble

Go for a Subject Access Request to BG.  This includes audio recordings (to which I am sure you got a warning that your call would be recorded).

Countist

Yeah I guess I can afford it, and I'm planning on looking for a new house later this year so by that logic maybe I should pay it...it's £900 though so it's a really bitter pill given a) it's not my fault and b) I have actually have the money so I'd be giving it away to get it back!

And yes your description of what Ovo could do to bail BG out is I think *exactly* what we're all trying to make happen.

I will call them again on Friday first though, by Friday the 10 days they have to reply to the written complaint will have expired so hopefully I'd have a response by then?

I don't even know what to hope or expect anymore.

Noted on the Subject Access Request, that could be useful though.

QrizB

BG agreed that was wrong and told me to send 17609 to Ovo, but Ovo apparently still have 18767 and that means BG's final bill based on 17609 is being overwritten (apparently)

I still don't understand why OVO opened your account on any reading other than 03300.

You will have provided this reading to OVO when you switched. OVO shouldn't know or care what your previous meter read.

If OVO opened your account on any reading other than 03300, you will need to complain to OVO and get them to sort this out.

Any attempt to get two separate suppliers to agree to use fictitious meter readings from a decommissioned meter is doomed.

Countist

From my understanding Ovo have to open the account with the reading BG tell them to, and BG to close my old account with the same reading Ovo open it with.

So Ovo could not open my account at 3300 because BG don't/didn't accept that (despite pictures). They opened it on 18767 because BG told them to, and now BG have told me to tell Ovo it's 17609 (literally told me, have it in an email).

From memory I did tell Ovo to open the account at 3300, but they said they couldn't because of what BG had sent them.

Post Opening ASAP I told Ovo (before the 17609 came into existance) that everything was wrong and my real readings were in the 3000s

What I don't know is whether Ovo then went back and changed the opening reading to 3300, or whether the opening reading is still 18767 and ovo adjusted it "post opening". It's a valid question and I should ask Ovo next time I'm in contact with them. I am assuming it's the latter or BG wouldn't have overwritten my bill with 18767 which they say they got from Ovo.

My current readings in the 3000s have been accepted by ovo and are on my account history on the Ovo site, so yeah something changed at some point.

To be clear I'm not an energy expert at all, I'm just trying to piece together the puzzle from all the snippets of information I've been given over the last 8 months.

OVO shouldn't know or care what your previous meter read. <-- re this point then can't they just bloody change it to 17609 and we'll all be done with it(!)

Any attempt to get two separate suppliers to agree to use fictitious meter readings from a decommissioned meter is doomed. <-- perhaps, but it was BG's idea not mine(!)