Energy contract. Deemed contract or Out of contract

Shacks1931

Hello, 

I’m in dispute with my energy supplier. 

I’ve raised a formal complaint but the responses never answer my questions. 

Sometimes they contradict their previous emails so I’m hoping someone on here may have some experience.

Context:
I moved into my new home. Whilst noting down the meter readings I didn’t get around to setting up a new provider before a bill landed, addressed to “the occupier”. 

The energy company’s phone lines are only open 9-5pm Mon -Fri. Clashing with my working times/day. 

Being my disorganised self I’d keep forgetting to call them in the day whilst swamped with work/parenting etc. 
In the evenings I tried to go online to pay but the online details provided, took me to a page that appeared to want me to agree to signing up to a contract before I could pay (Later discovered a way to pay online without signing up, but that detail wasn’t provided with the bill so took some digging). 

I didn’t want to bind myself into a contract with them until I’d compared other suppliers. 

I just wanted to pay the bill for now…

Struggling to see a way to pay online without signing up to an contract and with my disorganisation, I got chased for the bill which they had now put into my name (obtaining my details from the land registry files). 

Current situation, I now have an account number in my name.
I didn’t sign up to anything with them.
I haven't agreed to any legal terms and conditions. 

My balance is currently cleared and will pay usage on receipt of any further bills.

I’ve had different responses from the energy supplier, confirming that I’m not in contract with them. Then saying that they will withdraw my account so that I’m free 

to leave. Then they’re repeatedly saying that I am in contract with them and that they are allowed to put me into a contract with them. 

Which I don’t believe is correct.
surely contractual legal terms and conditions have to be agreed with a cooling off period? 

Additionally, the late bill is impacting my credit history. 

Which i understood would to a degree, i assumed it would show a couple of months late, on the quarterly basis. 

But my credit file looks a lot worse, like I’ve been not paying for nearly 6 months as it’s been processed as payable on a monthly basis. 

I don’t know where I stand with this? 

Outside any signed T&C’s so no bill/payment terms (mthly or qtrly) agreed. 

Summary
2 key concerns:

1) Am I tied into a contact? Deemed contract? Out of contract? Are they allowed to put me into contract without my explicit consent? 

2) Not agreeing to any T&Cs, have they incorrectly reported my previous non payment against terms I did not agree to? 

To be clear, I am happy to pay for my energy usage. There is no outstanding debt on my account. 

I just don’t feel I should be tied into a contract or impacted by any terms that I didn’t sign up to. 

Thanks for any advice or similar experiences shared! 

PRAISETHESUN

When you move into a new property and take over the supply, you automatically move onto a "deemed contract" and are typically signed up for the standard variable tariff of the incumbent supplier. From there you are free to do nothing, sign up for a different contract (fix, variable, etc) with the same provider, or move providers entirely.

Even if you elected to move suppliers the same day you moved in, there will still be a short period when the incumbent supplier will be in charge of supplying your property, and they are entitled to bill you for that period. Without providing them with opening meter readings though it can be difficult to ascertain if this bill is correct and that you are not being billed for the previous occupants usage. 

In these sort of situations its typically better to pay "under protest" and then dispute it, rather than withholding payments and trashing your credit file with missed payments in the process.

molerat

As soon as you flick a switch you are in a deemed contract with the incumbent supplier and owe them for any energy use until you change supplier, you are bound by that deemed contract in law - the energy acts - merely by consuming the energy they are supplying.  An agreed contract simply formalises that arrangement so they know who you are etc.  Unless you sign up to a deal where there are exit fees you are free to change to another supplier and the supply will often be moved within a couple of days.  You are severely overthinking this.

MWT

The moment you used energy after taking ownership of the property you were in a deemed contract, it does not require acceptance on your part, merely the consumption of the energy supplied.

That doesn't limit your ability to change your supplier, but it also doesn't mitigate your obligation to pay for what you have used before you change suppliers, and yes they can report that failure to pay to a credit reference agency.

mac.d

You aren't tied into a contract or impacted by any terms you didn't agree to (as you have no choice but to agree to be on the standard tariff of the current supplier when you move into a house). 

You do have to register with the current supplier and are liable to pay them for your energy use from as soon as you take over the tenancy for a house (always take a meter reading when you move in and out of a house).

As PRAISETHESUN says, you are then free to move to another supplier, or choose a fixed contract with the current supplier, the same day you register with them.

If you choose to switch to another supplier straight away, you'll only have a bill period of days with the current supplier that you don't want to tied in to a contract with. All you are doing here is putting a late bill on your credit file, and giving yourself a lot of unnecessary angst about it.

Gerry1

Welcome to the forum.

Shacks1931 said:

My balance is currently cleared and will pay usage on receipt of any further bills.

Thereby choosing the most expensive way of paying.

Shacks1931

My message was quite long, I’m not sure it was very clear. 

But thank you all for taking the time to answer.