13k underpayment!

sirjojo26

Hi,

My mum passed away June 25. It was reported to ovo and her energy account was closed.

She paid by direct debit every month, and had smart meters for both gas and electricity.

We have received a letter saying that she had been underpaying since she joined them in March 2022 and have sent a final bill for £13034.39

Any advice would be appreciated as it's causing a lot of stress.

Thanks

la531983

Is there an estate that it can be paid out of? If so has the estate been settled?

QrizB

Welcome to the forum, and sorry for your loss.

Any advice would be appreciated as it's causing a lot of stress.

Whether the bill is correct or not is going to depend on meter readings.

Has the final bill included a full re-billing back to 2022? Are the readings used on the bill marked as being estimated, or are they smart / actual readings?

Do you have copies of the previous bills, the ones issued from 2022 until earlier this year? Were they based on estimates?

You say:

She paid by direct debit every month

How much was she paying each month? Are those payments all accounted for on the new bill?

Is there anything on the final bill to show that OVO have applied the back-billing rules? They shouldn't be asking for new money for any energy used before ~June 2025.

Finally, if your mum really was using £13k worth of energy in a year, do you know where it all went? For example, did she have a large draughty house that she kept at tropical temperatures?

AntoMac

That seems a ridiculously high amount - £13,034.39 short in 3 years?? Has it taken them a year to chase? That suggests her monthly D/D was short by an average of around £350 per month??

debitcardmayhem

Is there a breakdown of what she has been paying, what bills have been produced and how they have calculated the debt. 13000 is a lot for3 years

la531983

None of the above regarding meter readings is actually relevant until my question is answered.

If there is no estate, and therefore no money, the meter readings may as well be 13 million.

QrizB

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82079807#Comment_82079807

While I agree with you, I thought I'd get ahead of the curve in the event that yes, there is an estate and yes, it's worth more than £13k!

WiserMiser

Was she on the Priority Services Register? If so, Ovo should have offered to send out a meter reader if she didn't have a communicating smart meter and was unable to take readings.

If Ovo are unhelpful and you don't have all the previous bills and meter readings, you can make a Subject Access Request to get all the info they have about her, although there will no doubt be some bureaucratic hurdles e.g. submitting a copy of the Death Certificate etc.

Please come back in due course and tell us how it went.

sirjojo26

Thanks for the replies

Yes there is an estate that is still going through probate.

They have provided a pdf with statements going back to 2022 showing the debt building up.

There are no records of any emails or letters advising her she was seriously underpaying her direct debit each month (£157)

Mum was a worrier and always kept on top of her bills. If they had advised her she would have adjusted it.

I just don't understand how they can be taking smart readings all that time and not adjust the direct debit to ensure it didn't get to this state.

p00hsticks

She surely would have been receiving statements at least every six months though ? Either via the post or, if she had opted to go paperless, with an e-mail telling her to look online.

retiredbanker1

Have a look at OFGEM rules - depending on your circumstances the energy company MAY only be able to go back and charge you/estate for 12 months not 5 years.