Shell Energy trying to renege on payment agreement

[gwoots]

Hi everyone, new here and would love to hear from anyone that has had similar problems with Shell Energy (previously First Utility) outcomes, or some comforting advice.
I have summarised the key points below (apologies for the length).
My question if anyone can help is,…* do I need to do anything more, or can I sit back and let them dig a trench and get my guns out if they escalate the matter.
Regardless, I will call them every time they contact me just to put on record that I have not ignored them, and point out that there is already an agreement in place.
Ideally, however, I would like to stop them chasing me.
I have registered the complaint with the ombudsmen, but haven’t submitted it yet as I need to wade through the recordings of all the calls I have had with them for accuracy.
Summary as follows:
My problem dates back to Apr-18.

1. In the mist of personal finances, I had missed that First Utility weren’t collecting the agreed DD for combined gas and electric.
2. As soon as I noticed, I contacted them and they admitted that it was a problem with their collections system.

I have had many conversations between points 2 and 3 and won’t list them all, so below is a shorter list of the key points since Apr-18:

1. Late in Apr-19 I agreed with Shell Energy to pay £X per month until the accrued amount had been paid on the basis that paying it back in one go would cause hardship. I have the agreement in writing from them, and have made the payments agreed ever since.
2. At this time, the £X was collected by way of the existing DD that was in place to make my ongoing monthly payments for gas and electric usage, but notes were put on my account (with reference number) to explain the agreement. I was informed and understood that because their automated payments system does not talk to customer service agreements, that I would be contacted from time to time to change the amount of my DD as the whole amount would appear to the payments team as a single debt. It was therefore agreed that when that happened, I should call the payments team and point them at the notes on the account and they would adjust the DD back to the agreed amount for usage (unless of course the usage had changed and needed to be recalibrated accordingly).
3. On several occasions, I have needed to call the payments team as above and have been able to point them to the agreement as described above.
4. First Utility was then taken over by Shell Energy
5. In Nov-19 I switched supplier for both gas and electricity away from Shell Energy. It was agreed that it was still my right to do this, and that I would continue to pay the £X amount separately either by SO or manual payment online.
6. On 10 Jan-19 Shell Energy tried to take the full amount outstanding using the in-place DD. I noticed this and was able to contact my Bank and they stopped them from taking it.
7. I stopped the DD and setup a Standing Order to pay Shell Energy the agreed amount on a monthly basis. I still pay them the £X amount every month.
8. On 2 Jan-20 I contacted Shell to explain again, and was told I would receive a call back from a Manager *
9. On 10 Jan-19 I received a letter from MIL collections agency on behalf of Shell Energy saying that they had been instructed to collect the outstanding amount and threatened that if I didn’t pay the full amount by X date it would jeopardise my credit rating.
10. I contacted MIL and explained, and they told me that they would put the case on hold. I haven’t checked my credit rating recently, and have not applied for any credit so cannot say if there has been any detriment.
11. On 10 Jan-19 I contacted Shell Energy again. As my efforts to assert that I already had an agreement in place were falling on deaf ears I formally raised a complaint
12. I was subsequently contacted by a complaint handler who said that they don’t allow any repayment plans that are for longer than 12 months. The last payment I have agreed to is schedule for Apr-22.
13. Following further conversation with the claims handler, and the intervention of a 2^nd claims handler that tried to back up their position, I stated that the matter had become so out of hand that I now wanted compensation of £475 for their continued harassment (including stress) otherwise I would report them to the ombudsman – the hope was that by threatening a logical compensation amount (i.e. the cost levied for being reported) the matter would be escalated to senior manager who could finally sort the matter out. I have however, since learnt that they actually pay the ombudsman a fixed annual fee to cover all complaints, so they don’t give a hoot about an individual case.
14. 20 Feb-20 the complaint handler issued a deadlock letter. The deadlock letter “what we cannot agree on and why” is inaccurate, and shows that the payment team that are dealing with this have not grasped the above. The letter also stated that they wanted a new repayment plan to be agreed and would not pay the compensation, and therefore we were deadlocked.
15. 2 Mar-20 I called Shell yet again to try and clear the matter up, and a further ticket was raised by agreement to stop the chasing for the payment of the remaining amount.
16. Opened a case with Ofgem (not completed or submitted yet) and requested recordings of all my calls since Jun-18
17. On 1 Apr-20 I received another call from the payments team saying that I had an outstanding debt to the full amount that needed to be paid now.

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