Heat Network Dispute Issues at Every Stage; including Citizens Advice & Ombudsman

petulant_giraffe

Suffering a myriad of issues with my heat network provider - Community Energy (CE) They've called themselves Energie, Equans, Bring Energy during my nearly 4 year tenure.

In 46 months I have received 22 bills, only 2 have ever been based on meter readings. They go long periods of no bills then drop large ones.

I'm registered as a vulnerable tenant as I'm a veteran with a Mental Health condition. They changed the DD amount outside of my agreed payment plan after 12 months of not sending me a bill just took the year in one.

They have a £100 DD I paid that they say I didn't, i have bank statements, but in 3 complaint exchanges they never even asked to see my proof just told me I owed it as a fact.

This is the tip of the iceberg there are GDPR breaches, complaints handling failures & billing breaches of regulations too.

After ending the dispute phase with them and escalating, I spoke to Citizens Advice, after they spoke to the they recommended I take the £45 settlement CE offered when I can prove over double that is an error. I called them out on their advice, after which they told me they don't recommend but their language was unequivocally directed to steering me to settle. They denied this & my trust issues mean I can no longer deal with them. I can only assume they wanted a resolution, rather than the workload of an ombudsman dispute.

I went direct to the ombudsman, on their website to submit a dispute the company must be on their list, Community Energy or Equans are not… so I spoke to them, on the call, they told me if the organisation wasn't on the list I should speak to… The Housing Ombudsman… for an energy dispute. I pushed back & someone from a Heat Network team will ring me back, no timeframe given. (I was repeatedly put on hold so the guy could get advice so this the culmination of not just the call handler, but their superior.

It's lucky my vulnerability is Mental Health related as opposed to a more debilitating form because it should not be this difficult to escalate a dispute, that is so clearly in my favour & the organisations designed to protect me both pushing back is really, really worrying looking at the bigger picture.

I suppose if I don't like it I can just leave… my house! There's no market choice with heat networks…

WiserMiser

Is it this company?

https://www.commenergy.co.uk/

petulant_giraffe

OK so the organisation is: Community Energy, yes they are associated with Bring Energy & Equans & Energie.

I gave the ombudsman fella on the phone all these names & he just wanted to fob me off to the Housing Ombudsman.

Looking at my bill there is no mention of Community Energy being associated with Bring Energy. I only know Bring Energy's name as I got a letter about 18 months ago saying the name on my DD would change.

petulant_giraffe

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82082666#Comment_82082666

Yeah I have support.

My bill has no mention of Bring Energy, but they are the same entity. i'm just hesitant to claim against them I'll wait for the Ombudsman's call & see if they suggest I use Bring.

TroubledTarts

Have you taken readings from the day you moved in til today? Including various times during your time there?

Have you got a record over every penny sent to them?

Have you a record of all the prices for energy during that time, pence per kWh etc?

How much do you believe this company owe you/you owe them?

Can you present this data in a logical date time line that is not too emotional just fact?

petulant_giraffe

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82083279#Comment_82083279

Meter readings no, this was the first time having bills in my name after leaving the forces so even though I was 37 when moving in… I was naive, I actually trust the meter readings to an extent in that I believe top and bottom figures, they did have it set to the wrong flat though so my first bill was paying someone else's standing charge… The actual usage is not the issue here.

I have collated every penny that has left my bank account and gone to theirs, I have seen every statement so I can prove every penny I have paid, they're short.

Thye've sent me a bill with every tariff & standing charge since moving in - pretty sure I wasn't getting covid relief during 22/23 either as it's not credited anywhere.

They're yet to provide a bill that shows me what usage I have & when for their reconciliation. (which is wrong) I believe the usage figures, I just don't know when it was used. I'm sure they have that data. Usage is not the issue, but their billing is. They have sent me what I used at what rate, which I initially queried as my bills would arrive with one rate covering a period where more than 1 would have been applicable.

Can I present it factually? Yes
Non-emotionally? No, not a chance! My particular flavour of PTSD is triggered by structural power imbalances and being unable to escape. So the unique way heating networks are set up triggers an adrenal response at every stage. I cannot stress how impossible this ask is. I'm emotional now, I got in an argument with Citizens Advice, they lied so it was justified, but non-emotional is not on the menu here my friend.

I am capable of presenting facts as facts and feelings as feelings though.
The emotional toll is part of this though. Heating network regulation must factor that in, because my only recourse is to move house.

It's too long to explain the issue but headlines are:
- Charging me for a missed DD I paid
- They sent me an email about above with someone else's name on it. (2+2 = that's someone else's missed payment.) Probably a GDPR breach I have this person's name & I know I didn't miss a payment, therefore if I was inclined to I could assume they did.
- They go long periods of no bill, change company name, change company name again, send a massive bill, bill has 1 tariff, 1 standing charge. That cannot be correct. My bill also showed -c6000kWh 1 month +c7000 kWh 12 months later. The reconciliation/catch-up bill addressed this, but they'd billed me for 46 months in one & said I owe £300+. I do not, that still includes a missed DD, my payment figures are wrong and a 4 year bill being only the 2nd I'd ever recived based on actual meter readings feels pretty not meeting their legal requirements.
- They have me as a vulnerable tenant, they do not meet their obligations to me.
- I had a £100pm DD set up to cover arrears (from the last massive bill) they took £500+ in one (definitely not allowed to do that to 'vulnerable tenants)
- I do not believe I've been in reciept of covid support from their reconciliation bill.
- Their reconciliation bill is not accurate for what i have paid them
- The way they conduct complaints feels deliberately combatant, I explained in a complaint email above about PTSD and told them I see them as a threat. They went in pretty hard on denying everything, would not entertain that I had evidence to the contrary, did not ask for the evidence so instead of sending it I kicked off about them not asking, the follow up email again did not ask for the evidence I have. Their position is the figures are right, I owe them, definitely not back-billing. I cannot be non-emotional in this instance, I am at war, that's what this is for me. I'm under attack & I do not have flight as an option.
- Servicing & PPMs are out of date too…

I feel like Citizens Advice 'advising' I settle for a £45 rebate might've been inappropriate given above.

petulant_giraffe

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82083595#Comment_82083595

Does this mean the absence of evidence is the evidence of absence?

Also will I have to provide 4 years of bank statements to prove every payment I made.

debitcardmayhem

Can the MOD VETERANS Services help ? https://www.gov.uk/guidance/get-help-from-veterans-services#what-we-help-with

petulant_giraffe

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82083639#Comment_82083639

Your responses are really helpful here, because I was treating this as regulation, rather than adjudication.

I'll chuck a SAR in to get everything.

Is the burden of proof balance of probabilities then?
I understand they can't go back beyond 2025 generally.