SSE Electric Bill…..or not

[Greenshake]

Wondered if anyone else had experienced something like this? We changed from a SSE pre-pay meter to a normal billing account in May this year. We were told we couldn’t have a smart meter due to a national shortage of them. Since then, we have not had a bill at all, and despite various calls to them, it has still not been sorted. Our online account first said that we would be billed during Nov- Dec. Now it has changed and says we will be billed between Feb and March 2023. So as it stands, we have no idea how much we have spent, and no opportunity to pay a bill either. Oddly, they supply our gas and this has been trouble free. Not quite sure what to do.

Was there no meter reading taken at changeover?

Yes, at which point they tried to say we owed money, which would have been impossible as it was a pre-pay meter with a top up facility. They eventually backed down on that and since then nothing!

Can you send an online reading to them through the app?

I would definitely start taking daily photos of readings.

Have you taken any meter readings at all....?
Take one now at the very least (assuming your meter is accessible) - then same time the next day for a couple of days. That way you can get an idea of your average use per day, which is usually the same most of the time.

Find out what the price is per kWh and the daily standing charge...
It can be roughly calculated back to the start from that as well, allowing for slightly less use during the summer months - assuming you are not using electricity for your heating.

Do you have money set aside for the payment, or has it been taken by Direct Debit, even if they have not been billing you?

No, it just says “unavailable”

@LoveMyPiano no, there is no DD set up. We have some cash set aside thankfully.

I'd be taking weekly readings and setting that amount aside until it's sorted out, which it will be. My niece's neighbour was in the same situation, with a different company. They caught up with her 2.5yrs later by which time she owed £000s

Having said all of that, without a DD in place you won't have been receiving the £66/67 credit to your bank account. You may have more success calling the specialist support team regarding the CoL 'rebates' rather then the main number.
Not sure how/if those CoL payments could/will be credited to you once this is sorted?

That's good, phew. You would be better to get the facts and figurs sorted out ow, before usage and therefore costs, increase through winter. And of course, so you do know how much the "bills" should be..... I am surprised that they let the prepayment meter come out without setting up a new payment method, and it is very lax of them to not take or ask for a meter reading to establish a starting point.

I would make sure you take a photo of the meter reading every month.

Also, be particularly careful to take photos when the price caps change. That way you have photos before and after the price cap and they can charge you the correct amount.

Be aware that if this drags on much further past the current estimate of March for a bill, they can't charge you for anything you used over a year ago. As long as you have a year's worth of payments saved by then, you should be good.

Thanks all, there is some good advice above.