Electricity and Gas Backdated Billing

[QCKate]

After Sam9002's posting about being chased for a backdated energy bill, I thought more people find these useful about what are their consumer rights

The first is a newspaper article, the second is the code of practice the energy companise should be following


Energy firms flout one-year billing rule | This is Money

The Energy Retail Association - Customer Billing

QCK

:tinysmile_hmm_t2:

[Carnelian]

Re: Electricity and Gas Backdated Billing

I recently came across this. I was getting electricity bills that said they were being read by the meter company. Didn't think much of it then I checked the next estimated bill, way under what it really was but matched the amount the meter reader had apparently stated. I emailed EDF and carried on and forgot about it, next bill came. Again far lower than my reading, I rang them and they said that I was wrong as they had read the meter twice this year and the readings did not match my ones.

Well I complained, sent in photos of my meter and in the end my bill was halved because of the Billing Code not being able to bill back past a year. So Kudos to EDF for getting it right in the end.

[Tools]

Re: Electricity and Gas Backdated Billing

Thanks for sharing Carnelian.

Could you explain in a little more detail the process you followed, it may help others in the same situation.

[Carnelian]

Re: Electricity and Gas Backdated Billing

I am pretty lax at checking my utilities bills but once I was aware that the Accurate meter readings by apparent Meter men were false I took photos of the meter readings whenever I thought about it and emailed them to EDF.
The problem was that I usually always pay the 'Accurate readings' and rarely checked they were real. Big mistake.
Now talking to some friends at work and we are all checking them and an amazing amount are wrong, always over what they really were.

For once, with my problem, the utility people were really kind, they also said they will raise a complaint with the meter reading company, who is an external company.