Advice Needed Please.........

21 Apr 2008

Ok i was with Powergen now known as Eon for my gas and electric... I have it on a quantum card.. which means i have to go to the shop to buy it ..b4 i use it!! Everything was fine till i got a letter saying i owed them over £100 on my electric(can't remember exact numbers).... How u might well ask?... so did i!!! So i rang to ask and gave them a correct meter reading... which ended out i owed them over £150!!!
I questioned them about it, asking "how... if i have to buy before i use do i owe them"? They said that "When the meters got updated.. for some reason mine didn't.. so i had to pay it" . I didnt have the money so did an arrangement that each week when i topped out... they would take £1 off me.. which actually ended up to be £2!!!
Anyhow.. in january this yr British gas came along..door to door knocking saying they were cheaper and going through it all with me..i swopped over to them. I told him about the debt.. he said not to worry they would "PAY" it... So i thought ok...can't really see them paying it off for me but possibly they will pay it and i would do the same as the £1 or 2 a week arrangement.
Then I received a letter today... from Eon(powergen) demanding in 7 days.. which i haven't got. So i rang British Gas to ask why im receiving this letter after what i had been told. They said they can "transfare the debt" but not pay it. Now, i was dafinently told it would be "PAID" by them. Which i then asked so why hasn't it been "paid or transfared" seeing as i signed up to then in january??? and told them i want it sorting within 10 days or i will be going to the citizen advice. Its now gone to investigation.
What i want to know is.. Can they demand i pay this money when its not my fault the system didn't update???? confused

21 Apr 2008

Contact Ofgas or Ofgem and ask them, that's your best bet.

21 Apr 2008

pm incoming biggrin

21 Apr 2008

It would be a good idea to go to your Citizens' Advice Bureau as soon as possible instead of waiting.
There's also some good advice on problems like yours at:

Good luck.

21 Apr 2008

lil this must be a standard trick by gas/electric companies, becasue the same thjing happened to us.....we got a £90 bill on a quantum meter for gas we paid for prior to using it...Mr Bone was...er...lets just say...a bit put out to the guy on the phone, asking the same question as to how we could have run up a bill.
They told us the same excuse as you got, that the meter was set wrong, but they were adamant that wasnt their fault. In the end we were forced to pay half of the debt (after Mr B got a bit irate with them) but they still wouldnt admit their mistake or take responsibility for it.......seems it could be a great moneyspinner for them.
We did change companies and got our debt transferred, and it just comes off the new meter at about £3 a week, so when you put £20 on your meter, £3 comes of it straight away, so in effect you get £17 worth of gas.
It means you dont have to pay the money all in one go.

21 Apr 2008

Hey Lil Miss... hope you get it sorted. Sorry can't be help with regards to energy co. specifics, but I do echo Mike's advice to get to CAB as soon as poss. I was in a situation last year where I needed advice and they were great... except for the fact that I checked the website of my local CAB branch and checked opening hours. I booked time off work and went along... they were shut! So I'd just advise ringing them first, in case like my local branch, the website opening hours are out of date. rolleyes

Save losing money/holiday days at work like I did!! wink

21 Apr 2008

Quote by MikeNorth
It would be a good idea to go to your Citizens' Advice Bureau as soon as possible instead of waiting.
There's also some good advice on problems like yours at:

Good luck.

I'd like to say thank you to the advice given so far... Especially to you Mike.. Can i just point out that Powergen is now knows as Eon. I am looking thru all the different links your all giving me but so far this 1 is the best ive found... according to this..
Q - My supplier has told me that I owe money due to a price increase when I have a prepayment meter - how is that possible?
A - energywatch has become extremely concerned about this issue since it first started receiving complaints and enquiries in mid-2005.
Up to million consumers in the UK use token prepayment meters to pay for their electricity. Token meters are the only type of prepayment device that must be manually adjusted after every price rise. As you may know, energy companies are often slow to recalibrate or adjust these meters. If a prepayment meter hasn't been reset for months or even years, people may have built up hundreds of pounds of debt which is likely to be added to the meter. Often consumers only become aware of this problem when they switch supplier.
These surprise debts can cause considerable hardship for consumers, especially those who are already in vulnerable positions. Consumers can be left facing a price shock as they start feeling the prices increase and find themselves paying back a debt.
EDF Energy: The company has given energywatch a guarantee that consumers will never be placed into debt as a result of their failure to recalibrate a meter.
Scottish & Southern Energy: The company's Customer Charter states: "we will not expect you to pay back any debt which has built up as a result of a recent price increase if we have not adjusted your pay as you go meter".
British Gas: As of December 1st 2006, British Gas changed its policy and will only implement the new prices when the meter is recalibrated.
Eon: The company has promised to recalibrate all meters within three months of a price change. Recovery charges will be a low rate, agreed with the consumer.
Scottish Power: The company will not block transfers where debt due to this problem has occurred, where the balance is less than £50.
Npower: From December 2006, the company has committed to limit debt-collection to a maximum of £70 in these circumstances.
energywatch has teamed up with the Citizens Advice Bureau to refer this matter to Ofgem, the energy industry regulator. You can find more information in our leaflet,
Ive pointed out that bit in bold as it is exactly what i have been doing. There is a bit where u can email then so i might do so with my opening post and see what they say
:thumbup:

21 Apr 2008

Ive had similar problems and at the min am fighting a gas bill for £150 with a company i have never even used before! scoudrils the lot o them
evil

Hope you get it sorted though :thumbup:

21 Apr 2008

Hi
I moved to Ebico
Its a charity and because of that its cheaper no shareholders to pay out of the massive profits they make.
Plus they do not charge for having a meter so you only pay for what you use.

21 Apr 2008

shropsbi, thanks for the link... will have a good read of that in a mo!!
What makes me so cross about these quantum cards/key meters is that we are charged extra for having them even though we pay for out services upfront...
Many *poorer* areas have them installed therefor hitting the poorest most of all!! Grrrrrrrrrrr.....
So Im all for the link above!! In fact Im going to give them a call tomorrow! Bugga BG and the rest of em!

5 May 2008

I've posted again on this as its all about the same kinda of thing ive gone through on Tonight... Itv 8pm

5 May 2008

Did anybody watch it??
The lady with dark hair and the french hubby.... Well her story is exactly the same as what happened to me as you will see on the opening post.
My phone line shall be very busy in the morning