OVO claiming closed prepayment meter account is in Debit

milnerrr

BarelySentientAI said:

milnerrr said:

wild666 said:

If the account was closed when you moved out any credit would have being used up when it took the SC's off and then built up a debt that the landlord was responsible for. 
How long after you moved out is the claimed debt covering? it should be no debt as the credit should have run down with any credit depleting over time. I can only assume, that you actually contacted the supplier to close the account, then someone moved in and had the meters changed to credit meters and has done a bunk without paying for the energy used and the supplier is chasing you because that's the last name they had on the account. 

Going by the statements they've sent me the debt is for the period up until the 3rd of July, the day I requested that the account be closed

They're saying I used more electricity than I paid for every single month, which is not possible as the prepayment meter shuts off the power if it goes into debt

Used more?  Or used the right amount but paid the wrong price?  Can you tell?

I have asked my former landlord if they can double check the unit price displayed by the meter for me

milnerrr

Jyana said:

milnerrr said:

Jyana said:

Did you register your own key for top ups when you moved in, or use the one the previous renter left behind? If the latter, it could be a case of they don't have the top ups under your account. An issue we've seen many a time here. 

I phoned them up when I first moved in to ask if I needed to get a new key, they told me just to use the one that was there

Sounds like someone gave you some very bad advice. You always need to have your own key, otherwise you are paying an account that isn't yours. When you said in your opening post that there was credit on the meter when you took it over I had a feeling this was the case. This was the previous account's credit, and you therefore took over their account rather paying towards your own. If they had any debt repayment which they were paying off weekly, you were also paying that with your top-ups.

You need to inform them that you were using the previous account key rather than being given one of your own. Hopefully they will be able to sort it out from there. If you have any receipts from the top-ups you made, that would help I imagine. 

They are aware that I was not sent a new key when I opened my account. They confirmed that the account was opened on the 8th of September 2022, that is the day I moved in and opened my account. So it doesn't sound to me like I've inherited a preexisting account.

t0rt0ise

milnerrr said:

Jyana said:

milnerrr said:

Jyana said:

Did you register your own key for top ups when you moved in, or use the one the previous renter left behind? If the latter, it could be a case of they don't have the top ups under your account. An issue we've seen many a time here. 

I phoned them up when I first moved in to ask if I needed to get a new key, they told me just to use the one that was there

Sounds like someone gave you some very bad advice. You always need to have your own key, otherwise you are paying an account that isn't yours. When you said in your opening post that there was credit on the meter when you took it over I had a feeling this was the case. This was the previous account's credit, and you therefore took over their account rather paying towards your own. If they had any debt repayment which they were paying off weekly, you were also paying that with your top-ups.

You need to inform them that you were using the previous account key rather than being given one of your own. Hopefully they will be able to sort it out from there. If you have any receipts from the top-ups you made, that would help I imagine. 

They are aware that I was not sent a new key when I opened my account. They confirmed that the account was opened on the 8th of September 2022, that is the day I moved in and opened my account. So it doesn't sound to me like I've inherited a preexisting account.

I was told when I moved into a house with a key meter that the key would be updated electronically when I put money on it. That did seem to happen. When I got the meter changed to a normal credit meter, I received a statement but there was no money to pay so you need to query this and see what they say.

milnerrr

The matter is now resolved
The debt on the account is being cancelled and I'm being sent a cheque for the small amount that was still on the meter when I left the property.

After almost 3 weeks of customer service hell involving 15 calls, being passed back and forth between departments, being given a disconnected phone number to call, being called numerous times during working hours on days I'd told them I wouldn't be available, having 3 scheduled callbacks go unfulfilled, and having one of their agents hang up on me as soon as I said hello then having the cheek to send a text message claiming it went straight to voicemail, I have finally had confirmation that the debt is erroneous and will be cleared from the account immediately.

They will also be sending me a cheque for £2.50, which is roughly the amount I think was left on the meter on the day I closed the account. I didn't have any photographic proof of the remaining credit but since it's such a low amount and their customer service has been so shoddy I think they're just sending the cheque based on good faith.