I have had an ongoing nightmare with Utility Warehouse (which I was astonished to see that 'Which' magazine had given good ratings to!) ever since I first moved to my current flat at the end of April 2011. UW were already in place as the supplier but I planned to transfer so as to remain with my then-current supplier from my previous address, Npower. My very first contact from UW was an aggressive letter demanding a £200 deposit as of the date I received the letter, or they would install a pre-payment meter. I have always paid my utilities by direct debit and never been required by any utility company to pay an advance deposit. I wrote back to UW and said that I would have supplied them with my direct debit details in lieu of the deposit, but was in the process of transferring my energy provision to my preferred supplier so instead wished to request a final bill from UW which I would pay by cheque or bank transfer. I then I received an extraordinarily high bill from UW, which upon examination was based on me having supposedly moved to the property over two weeks before I took over the tenancy, and based on estimated meter readings rather than those supplied to them by the property management company. I sent them the correct date at which I moved to the flat along with correct meter readings and asked that they send me an updated and corrected bill as soon as possible. (UW's overestimates regularly range from 3x to 10x to 50x HIGHER than my actual usage as shown on the meters). They replied that their bills were automated and that they could not send me a corrected bill, but that the correct figures would be shown in my bill the following month. I then received another letter from UW demanding payment of the earlier bill based on false readings and false entry date. When I contacted UW again, I was told that this letter was 'automatically generated'. However it appeared that the corrected details had NOT been entered into their system. The following month I finally did receive a bill with roughly the correct billing readings, but including a £6 'late fee'. I wrote to them again and said that as I had been requesting an updated bill from them for over a month but had not been sent one, I was clearly not 'late', but that their systems had caused the delay. I received a letter saying that the £6 would now be waived - without an apology, but as a 'courtesy'. Meanwhile in addition to all this, in trying to change providers, there followed over 2 months of hassle with UW which finally resulted in my supplies being transferred to Npower early in July - only for the gas only to be transferred back to UW, without notifying me, on the 28th of July! Npower claimed that they had been given the wrong gas meter serial point number by UW and so had not been able to take over the gas supply. I THEN RECEIVED ANOTHER BILL BASED ON USAGES OVER10X MY ACTUAL READINGS. Along with this, I received a Final Demand notice for the sum which was on the original false bill. I wrote to them again and was told that their readings were correct and 'based on information supplied by Npower'. When I pointed out that Npower had never actually taken over supply of gas and had only based their electricity figures on estimates, UW replied that I had to 'take that up with Npower'. I have now written to Npower to ask them to tell UW the correct reading, based on my readings which UW refuses to accept from me. This is despite the fact that I have provided PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE that the readings they are using are impossible, as the meter reading as of today's date is nowhere near as high as that stated on their bill. The matter has now been sent to a debt collection agency called Utility Debt Collectors Ltd. which I assume may be affiliated with UW. I have contacted the debt collector to say that the amount on the bill is currently in dispute, that I have been taking regular readings of both gas and electricity usage, that I HAVE MADE REGULAR PAYMENTS FOR ALL THE SUPPLY I HAVE ACTUALLY USED, and that I have submitted not only regular accurate readings of the meters but also PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE showing readings, including holding a newspaper with dated headline up to the meter to prove date it was taken. However, UW continue to bill me for estimated readings that, as of July, were estimated at HIGHER READINGS THAN THOSE CURRENTLY SHOWING NOW ON THE METERS IN AUGUST. As meters cannot run backwards, this is concrete proof that their readings continue to be wrong. They have not yet sent a meter reader to inspect the meters. In addition to many letters to UW, I have now written to the Data Protection Act Information Commission Officer regarding the use of false information about my date of occupation at the address on the initial bill, and because confusing information both on my address listing and meter serial number caused the failure of transfer of my gas supply. I have also written to my local councillor and consulted a lawyer who has advised me to approach the Sherriff's Court for assistance. I would find it quite difficult to pay the amount requested by UW, but the reason I have adamantly refused to pay that sum (while continuing all along to make payments to UW for all the supply I have used) is that I believe the company uses threatening tactics to bully consumers into paying whatever is demanded, whether or not it is correct. Elderly pensioners in particular are vulnerable to this type of threat, and often go without food in order to pay a bill simply out of fear. I would prefer not to go to court, although I believe I would be eligible for legal aid. However, I do think that publicity about UW's practices would be beneficial, particularly while the myth of UW having good customer care still circulates. I plan now to send one final letter to the Chief Executive Officer of Utility Warehouse before contacting the Ombudsman or Energywatch. I saw on one comment on this site that some feel the Ombudsman is either powerless or a waste of time. Can anyone advise me of any further action I should be taking now, or evidence I can use to prove my case beyond taking photographs of the meters?