Powergen - excessive bill

[jayandfoo]

Hi all,

Hope you can help re a recent gas bill we have received from Powergen....for £587.00!!!

After getting over the initial shock, I emailed Powergen to ask what was going on (in cases like this I prefer to have all correspondance written down just in case).

I told them that I had paid all my bills on time, and I couldn't understand why my bill was so high for just 3 months. I was told that after receiving my recent meter reading, there were some previous estimated bills they felt they had underestimated and therefore were simply 'making up the difference'. I lodged an official complaint and got £100 taken off the bill but I'm still reluctant to pay it.

I asked why I was being punished for their poor service - we have been at our current address for nearly 4 years and in that time, they have asked for meter readings on 2 occasions. Other times, I have submitted accurate meter readings online through their website but to be honest, their website is a load of tosh and lets me log in as and when it decides - I give up using it in the end.

I asked why if they thought they had not had enough accurate meter readings, why they persisted in using estimated readings. Why did they not contact me to arrange accurate readings. I was told they did not have to do this.

is there anything I can do? I want to content this but don't really know if I have grounds to do so.

Thanks in advance.

[Karnevil]

Contact Energy Watch they should be able to advise.

Check the readings entered on your last bill - if you have 2 rates, they may have transposed them.

if the meter reading and bill are now correct then there is nothing to contest, you can ask them to pay it over a number of months because providing they get their money they should be fine.

[james141]

This happend to me allthough it was only £200 the problem is they dont read the meters they just guess what you use. Then when they finally do read the meter there is a shortfall.

It is interesting that you got some taken off, I might try that

The best thing to do is read your meter monthly and you can put the reading in to thier website, it takes 2 mins

[Don4071]

It happens:

Finance, loans, credit cards, insurance, mortgages | the Daily Mail

[Jimbo44]

I guess that Powergen, like so many other 'utilities', don't really know too much about what's going on in the real world and use the 'guesstimate' method all too easily.

I read yesterday in a daily newspaper that they were taking someone to court over an unpaid bill for....wait for it.... £0.00!!!

Quite honestly, if it happened to me I'd let them take me there and then explain to the judge how I was expected to pay the amount. I'm not at all sure how my bank would react to a cheque for £0.00 being presented for payment either!