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Hi dont know if anyone can give me some help, in 2021 I switched to neo energy and was with them for one year till they were closed down and I was switched to another energy provider, in that year no one came to read my meter, they did not ask for any readings and I paid by monthly direct debit for about nine months and then they for some reason, I still dont know why stopped taking the payments then after phoning them a couple of times to find out what was going and being promised a call back nothing happened until they were closed down by the regulator, my new provider said that neo would be InTouch about my final bill, now 11 months later they have sent me a final bill for the year minus my direct debit payments for just over £400 but I cant understand there bill they sent me, I emailed them asking for the final meter readings they used and the answer I got said they had used an estimated figure, and despite asking again they would not confirm the final meter readings used for my bill, I asked about backbilling because they were asking for payment from over a year ago and they said it does not apply to final bills, so there emails say if you cant pay it now they will try to sort an affordable payment plan, I have sent several emails asking about said plan but they never reply, now they have sent an email giving me 7 days to pay or it will passed to a debt collection agency where once this happens I will have to pay additional charges to cover the cost of this, I dont know what to do next I dont mind paying if bill is correct but I would like to pay it off monthly if I could, anybody got any ideas what I should do next.
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Well, the Ofgem website makes no mention of exceptions for final bills.
https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/information...-billing-rules
(As an aside, which may help you in future, recommended practise is to record your meter readings each month, with dates, and to photograph the meters as evidence of the readings. This helps to protect in any future dispute about usage.)
A lot seems to hinge on precise dates of billing and usage - you mention 11 months getting the bill, but not the period covered by the bill.
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/co...ll-in-a-while/
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/co...-back-billing/
Last edited by Still Waving; 28 July 2023, 15:01. -
Addendum to my previous post:
According to Ofgem:
"You can’t be charged for gas or electricity used more than 12 months ago if you have not been correctly billed for it, or informed about it via a statement of account, before."
The CAB explanation seems to say that you cannot be billed for more than 12 months usage. It doesn't seem to cover late billing (of a former account).Last edited by Still Waving; 28 July 2023, 15:40.Comment
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Hi thanks for your help, they are billing me from april 21 to july 22, first bill since I signed up with them was also final demand sent july 23 also dont think they are covered by ofgem now because they got thrown out of ofgem and all there customers transfered to new supplier so cant complain to anyone about there service, they didnt go broke like the other suppliers all did.Originally posted by Still Waving View PostComment
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I don't know the circumstances of the transfer from Neo to Octopus, but I'm not sure that a company can be "thrown out of Ofgem". In any case it's the period prior to that which is in question.
It seems to me that, according to what those links say, the worst case scenario is that they can only charge you for 12 months, not for the 15/16 months which they appear to be doing (for which you've already paid in part). Just my opinion.
Last edited by Still Waving; 28 July 2023, 16:27.Comment
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If I understand your initial post correctly, after they stopped taking direct debits from you, they never did restart, even though you contacted them. This may be significant.
From the Switchcraft website:-
"If your direct debit was accidentally cancelled the back bill shouldn’t be more than 12 times the amount of the direct debit."
https://www.switchcraft.co.uk/energy...-back-billing/Comment
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