Being taking to court for extortionate Gas and Electric bill - please help.

LuisDiaz

Hello,
I am writing this post in hope for some help and guidance -  I must also say I am extremely stressed with what I believe, sadly, are suicidal thoughts. Any help may be beneficial to me and my family, please do be kind.

Sometime last year I was going through a crisis with redundancy looming at work, after giving over a decade of my blood, sweat and tears to my employer, I was put on notice and went through months of agony and uncertain future. Thankfully, I managed to secure another role in the same company, but the whole saga and trauma took its toll, especially as I was earlier hit by Covid and then long Covid soon after, so health had sadly deteriorated and the stress meant my mental health was not in the best place.

Sadly and unbeknown to me, a well known gas /electric provider (I have omitted their name as I am not sure if I can say on this post) had charged me extortionate charges for Gas + Electric - they claimed they were owed -£3,600! 

I believe this was a error, as I had always paid via direct debit,  had always been in credit and never been in debt to them, ever!

Through several calls and Internet Web messages, I was eventually informed that my account had been ''moved to new system, they cant access old system and had lost bank details''.

They informed me I was on a high rate (I wasnt before) but had now moved me to a new rate and my DD was re-established.

I thought this was the end of the situation, though of course wasn't happy about the additional stress and anxiety they had caused me.

Sadly....it has got worse.

I've now received a ''Claim Form'' from ''Civil National Business Centre'' and this looks like they are taking me to court for the amount of  ''£4,982.22'' which they believe is owed to them.

I am totally broken. I honestly don't know what to do.

I have worked extremely hard all my life for my family - I have always paid my bills on time and have always setup direct debits for the ease of ensuring I was never late on my bills.

I am really not sure what to do. Can anyone help ?

BarelySentientAI

Now it's reached that point, most of the advice we can give on the energy board is pretty redundant.

Did you get bills through the period in which the debt claims to cover?  And bills from after that which would show a debt balance being reduced by a new (larger) direct debit?

kazwookie

From what you say you have been paying a DD, NOT the bills. There is a difference.

What are the meter readings for the last six months or so, that you have read, how do they compare to what is on the bill?

Are the bills estimates?.

LuisDiaz

BarelySentientAI said:

Now it's reached that point, most of the advice we can give on the energy board is pretty redundant.

Did you get bills through the period in which the debt claims to cover?  And bills from after that which would show a debt balance being reduced by a new (larger) direct debit?

Hi,
Thinking about it, I did not.

But, a letter from a '' B W Legal'', which looked like a spam letter, was when I first noticed something was wrong and led to me contact the utility provider 

MikeJXE

Are you on smart meter ?

Do you ever take readings on the meter smart meter or otherwise ? 

LuisDiaz

kazwookie said:

From what you say you have been paying a DD, NOT the bills. There is a difference.

What are the meter readings for the last six months or so, that you have read, how do they compare to what is on the bill?

Are the bills estimates?.

I managed to log into my utility providers account ...and just noticed, they are claiming I havent made any payment ! This isnt right at all. 

When I spoke to them end of last year/beginning of this year, the lady I spoke with set me up on what she said, was their new system and on a promotion tariff, which she said was based on my consumption and the best deal they had based on my usage, which I signed up for and she informed me was setup.

I took some notes down of our conversation but not her name. 

I'm sorry, maybe it is me, I cant see the total reading on the statement.
I did give them my reading at the time of being setup on the account.

This is so frustrating.

LuisDiaz

MikeJXE said:

Are you on smart meter ?

Do you ever take readings on the meter smart meter or otherwise ? 

Hello - I am on the old system..it is not the smart meter. Really old metre system.

I did give them a reading beginning of this year, when they set me up on the new account and they told me I was moved to a new system and the tariff they were moving me onto was the best one for me, based on my usage.

But I've just managed to log into my utility account and they are claiming on I haven't made any payment !
But they set me up on the new tariff beginning of the year.
I wish I recorded that phone conversation

kazwookie

OK they say you haven't paid anything.

How much has been going  out of your bank account as a DD each month, look at your bank statement, if this money has been going out each month you need to check what account number / sort code / ref it has been going to, (look in your bank under DD's)  has the money been going to your account, or are the details someone elses account?

LuisDiaz

these are the notes I made when I spoke with the provider who confirmed I was setup on the new tariff at the start of this year...I didn't write the name of the person I spoke with, but they essentially informed me, my original direct debit was cancelled due to them moving me onto their new system.

I also have a record of the webchat I had with one of their advisors who also commented on the new system, I've included a snippet of that discussion. 

I have removed names but just want to show what I was informed and if there is anything here that makes sense to you guys who are trying to help me. Thank you


Notes:

called 01/2024

variable traffic

moved to new system

cant access old system

lost bank details

on a expensive high rate

annual - £1825.15

monthly 1

24mth contract

1769.27

monthly 147.44

12mth fixed

1682.50

monthly

140.20

44.95p per day

2

was migrated few months ago, can see from September 2023

WebChat:

Advisor (Name Removed): I checked your account is on new energy platform,  Provider Name Removed we have 2 platforms one is old one and the other one which is new energy platform is evolved platform and all the customers are being transferred to the new platform.

LuisDiaz

kazwookie said:

OK they say you haven't paid anything.

How much has been going  out of your bank account as a DD each month, look at your bank statement, if this money has been going out each month you need to check what account number / sort code / ref it has been going to, (look in your bank under DD's)  has the money been going to your account, or are the details someone elses account?

this is a good idea. I will check my account, please bare with me, I think I may have to call the bank. thank you.

elsien

By the way, it’s fine to use the companies name.

Setting you up on a new tariff is not the same as setting up a new direct debit when the old one was cancelled. That’s what you need to check.
Do you not have any emails at all confirming the new arrangements?