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Original poster

£1600 electricity surprise..I feel sick :(

65 replies

amber90 · 11/09/2017 19:38

I really hope someone can offer some advice. I currently live in a small, 1 bedroom flat. I would have thought my electricity usage was below average. I have storage heaters however these do not work and have not been turned on for over 2 years. I dont use the hot water heater switch beside the tank - I have an electric shower which I use so no baths. I use calor gas for my heat currently although sometimes use 1 bar of an electric fire. The extractor fan in my bathroom has been broken for maybe a few months and wont switch off unless the lights are turned off at the mains. I'm at university and live alone so have struggled a lot with the costs of maintaining the place with little jobs like that. Anyway - sorry. Just wanted to make sure I gave all the info. I changed providers in 2015 and was quoted £56 a month and set up a direct debit - all the meter readings were passed on from my old provider and that was that. I've never had anyone out to take a meter reading and have never been asked for one. I've also never been billed by them and to be honest I never thought about it - I figured I was paying the direct debit and that was fine. This morning I received an email from them saying that I owe them over £1600. I rang them to query this and they said I have two electricity meters in my house and that this is the amount I owe even after my monthly direct debits have been taken into account. They said that this dates back to 2015, when I changed over and that this is the first time they've been able to bill me (I should have asked why this was but I didn't think). I can only see one meter in my cupboard! I don't have this money to pay them - especially if my current payment isn't enough to cover my use along with paying back this huge bill at the same time - I don't see how I can possibly be using so much or how I have two meters. They've asked me to email them photographs of the meter and I've done so but I'm really freaking out and I just cant possibly afford this. I start back at university tomorrow for my final year and am gutted. I don't know what to do. :(

OP posts:
Original poster
amber90 · 11/09/2017 20:10

That's great advice. I've emailed them now but I'll follow up with a call in the morning to a customer service manager and will also get moving on contacting citizens advice. Thank you again everyone. I'll let you know how I get on with them.

It dawned on me there that I feel a bit duped. I moved to them through a comparison site thinking I was saving myself a few £ a month. :-/

OP posts:
Coldhandscoldheart · 11/09/2017 20:11

Not from experience of this, but dealing with BT.
Get a folder & notebook devoted solely to this. In the folder goes every bit of correspondence you gave ever had from them, and then any more you get.
In the notebook, write down every phonecall you have with them, date, time, and who you are speaking to, a full name ideally. If necessary a brief jotting of main points of phonecall.
Keep them somewhere you can always lay hands on them, with a pen.

Original poster
amber90 · 11/09/2017 20:11

BlondieNikC - my hot water isn't on at all. I use an electric shower and don't bother heating the huge tank for the sake of hot water for washing my hands.

OP posts:
Iamtheresurrection · 11/09/2017 20:13

Is your extractor fan on all the time?

RainbowPastel · 11/09/2017 20:16

If you are on economy 7 you will have 2 readings. It could be that they have mixed the 2 up or something.

stopfuckingshoutingatme · 11/09/2017 20:18

We are a family of four and we only pay 40 a month

That's wrong and I would take all advice on here and dispute this as best you can

Justaboy · 11/09/2017 20:19

Umm . if i may ask have they ever read your meter and if so when?.

Have you read it and compared the original readings with what you have now?. If you have then you should at least have the number of units used. Do you know your high/low kilowatt hour rates if so you should be able to get a very close idea of what you do owe.

Also check your standing charge something like for example 30 pence per day

Do remember to add the VAT which is at 5% in the case of electricity.

pinkunicornsarefluffy · 11/09/2017 20:19

If you seriously never use the night storage heaters, then get them removed and get the electricity meter changed as it is probably Economy 7 which charges a much higher rate for daytime electric.

You could also contact CAB for help and advice. They cannot make you pay this amount and whatever the final amount agreed is, they have to let you pay in instalments, as they have only just informed you of the bill.

www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/energy/energy-supply/problems-with-your-energy-bill/you-havent-received-a-gas-or-electricity-bill-in-a-while/

The backbilling law only seems to apply if you yourself asked for a bill but didn't receive one but CAB would be able to clarify this.

First Utility seem to have form for this, so hold your nerve and get as much help and advice as you can.

WingsofNylon · 11/09/2017 20:19

Im not sure if anyone has suggested this but are you absolutely sure the email is from them? Look very carefully at the details and compare the email contact details with the website contact details. Scams can be very convincing these days.

Stormwhale · 11/09/2017 20:24

I'm surprised it's not npower as I repeatedly had them trying to bill me for hundreds, despite me being on a bloody prepayment meter!!

I didn't pay a penny. I repeatedly said I didn't owe anything and they gave up in the end. I actually told them they owed me due to the amount of time I had spent on the phone dealing with their mistake. Funnily enough at this point they asked me to pay a token amount, which I obviously refused and then they just gave up.

In your shoes I would tell them repeatedly that you owe nothing as you are in far too small a property to need more than you are already paying for. Keep saying it's obviously a mistake and keep telling them to investigate it.

scaryclown · 11/09/2017 20:30

By the if you have two meters there might have been economy 10 you can ask to get the additional meter removed. They will try to charge but say you weren't advised correctly when you joined..

Original poster
amber90 · 11/09/2017 20:32

Its definitely legitimate. I rang them on the number from their website to get it sorted out.

I don't still have the original readings from when I moved and no, I've never read the meter. I knew I paid it monthly so didn't see the need to. Perhaps that was stupid of me. I'll look at having the heaters removed as they really are never on. I don't think they even work anymore. I'll stick to my guns on it and let you know what happens.

Thank you again. It's outrageous that this kind of thing is so common. It's really stressful. You guys have helped me enormously.

OP posts:
RainbowPastel · 11/09/2017 20:34

Do you have anything in writing from them that may have the original readings on?

scrabbler3 · 11/09/2017 20:37

First Utility are rubbish. In my case they agreed put it on hold for 30 days. Took triple that time to resolve it though. My new provider had to put the meter reading through several times before I could pay what I ACTUALLY owed, and switch away.

SandyDenny · 11/09/2017 20:40

Have you read the meters today?

I'd take photos every day from now on so you can be absolutely sure how much you're using as this may take some time to sort out.

It might just be something simple like they are using estimated readings, I may have missed if you said they've actually been and read the meters and that's why they've sent you the email

TheFifthKey · 11/09/2017 20:40

It must be wrong. I have a key meter, so expensive electricity but I only use exactly what I pay for, and I only put £40 a month on max. For a 4 bed house, tumble drier, dishwasher, kids leaving lights blaring, stuff constantly charging, electric cooker etc.

Original poster
amber90 · 11/09/2017 20:49

SandyDenny - they've never had anyone out to read the meters. The email just arrived today out of the blue. The advice to take a photograph each day of the readings going forward is great. Thank you.

OP posts:
SandyDenny · 11/09/2017 21:30

If they haven't read the meters they can't know how much you owe.
Was there a bill attached to the email or just a demand for payment?

Primrose06 · 11/09/2017 21:40

You poor soul Flowers
I was going to mention citizens advice. Do that first as they are good . Failing that contact your mp and go to the media.
I don't see how you should be paying as much as you do .
Good wishes.

Original poster
amber90 · 11/09/2017 21:41

SandyDenny - it was just a demand for payment. It said I could log onto their website to see the bill but when I tried I got this...

Thanks again for your help everyone x

£1600 electricity surprise..I feel sick :(
OP posts:
scrabbler3 · 11/09/2017 23:36

Oh - just remembered as well - every letter they sent to me was addressed to Mr Owner Occupier. Drove me mad.

BlondeB83 · 11/09/2017 23:42

It sounds dodgy!

LilyWhites325 · 11/09/2017 23:46

Put in a written complaint, allow 8 weeks for them to investigate. State in the complaint that you have had no correspondance relating to this in 2 years, and point out they are not allowed to backdate more than a year as PP have pointed out. Advise you will escalate to the energy ombudsman if it is not resolved to your satisfaction within the 8 week period.

safariboot · 11/09/2017 23:54

Irrespective of whether or not you owe £1600 (seems unlikely) or even £any, you should know that electricity is charged by actual usage, a monthly direct debit is based on predicted usage, and if you use more than predicted then you may receive an additional bill. (Conversely if you use less than predicted you should be able to get a refund.)

I would definitely challenge it though. I guesstimate the usage at around 20 kilowatt-hours per day (exact depends on electricity price) and that is not a believable usage if you are not using electric heating. Washing machines, dishwasher, fridges, etc, and that fan and the lights are nowhere near. Even the shower would need to be running for several hours straight to use that much.

Justaboy · 12/09/2017 00:40

Well someone must have given them a start reading when they took you on as a customer can you ask them what they had at the start of the contact you have with them?, just phone or mail them and ask then we take the current reading then we get a decent approximation of what the bill should be!.

Go and do that and we can get this resolved.

BTW if the storage heaters arent working then leave them be, there not taking power stitched off more expense removing them!