Charged twice for usage when switching provider

zebedee212121

I switched  from  Utilities Warehouse to Octopus.   I have  smart meters and also  took  a photo  of the meter reading  on the morning  I switched.     I have  now  received a final  bill  from  Utilities and been  charged £10 +   for  electricity  after I switched.   Octopus  have also  charged me for  this  usage.   I have  been  back to  both  Companies  Octopus advising  the readings  where  agreed with  UW.  UW  are saying  they are permitted  to do  this as an  industry  standard.  I have  sent  the photo  of the  meter  readings to  UW  who  are refusing to accept  them as the  final  reading.  Surely  this  cannot  be  correct.   Very  disappointed  with  UW.   Is this  a common occurrence and  is there  a solution.   It is  dreadful  seeing the  cost  of energy at the  moment 

debitcardmayhem

Does the opening meter readings from Octopus bill say the same as the final bill from UW.?

luci

zebedee212121 said:

I switched  from  Utilities Warehouse to Octopus.   I have  smart meters and also  took  a photo  of the meter reading  on the morning  I switched.     I have  now  received a final  bill  from  Utilities and been  charged £10 +   for  electricity  after I switched.   Octopus  have also  charged me for  this  usage.   I have  been  back to  both  Companies  Octopus advising  the readings  where  agreed with  UW.  UW  are saying  they are permitted  to do  this as an  industry  standard.  I have  sent  the photo  of the  meter  readings to  UW  who  are refusing to accept  them as the  final  reading.  Surely  this  cannot  be  correct.   Very  disappointed  with  UW.   Is this  a common occurrence and  is there  a solution.   It is  dreadful  seeing the  cost  of energy at the  moment 

I had something similar for my dad's house when he went into a care home. I took photos of the meters on the day the house was given back to the council and final readings were given to Scottish Gas. They billed for usage beyond that. It was pay on receipt of bill, so I didn't pay it.

I contacted SG 4 times about it, each time they sent a new bill, but they stuck to their guns. So did I. It was very little usage, but it was the principle. I eventually contacted the council and the Clerk of Works had also taken the readings on the same day, which agreed with mine. It was a smart meter, so should have been accurate. Scottish Gas eventually gave up.

I would contact UW, raise a complaint, and ask for a final response letter, telling them you will be taking it to the ombusman. Companies really don't like that, as it costs them money, so you would hope they would see sense and write if off.

zebedee212121

The  open meter readings   from Octopus I agree  with.  The closing  meter readings from UW  are considerably   higher.  UW are saying  this is acceptable as an  industry  standard.    Our  normal  electricity usage is  low as  we have  solar  panels so this would  be for 15 days  usage.   I have  sent the   meter readings photos  to  UW who refuse  to accept them.

MWT

zebedee212121 said:

I have  sent the   meter readings photos  to  UW who refuse  to accept them.

The meter readings do not matter at this point, there is an industry process that sits between the losing and gaining suppliers and they have the power to vary the meter readings to be used for the switch.

Both sides are supposed to use the same reading though, so I would complain to Octopus about the problem and suggest that if their opening reading is the same as your actual meter reading then they may not be using the adjusted reading from the industry process...