I've been writing to and arranging plans with other creditors for several months.

I hadn't had a meter reading for some time and my electricity supplier have just presented me with a large bill.

So it seems my regular electricity payment hasn't been enough to cover our usage, so I need to increase that, but also now need to deal with the arrears.

Is this now a priority debt? Do I write to other creditors and reduce my payments to them?

cheers

I have been in this situation, I was too scared to look at the £3k bills dropping on my doormat. Best to ring them up, see if they can spread it over 2 years, or even 3 to pay it off. Also it might be worth you asking, I think they have a scheme to write of debts for households who's fuel bills are 20% of their income.

Who are your other creditors? I think this is key, some others on here will have better information than me. Have you defaulted on your other creditors yet? If they have been sold on to a debt collection agency they may not even be enforceable?

Also under no circumstances allow them to steamroller you into PAYG meter. You will be paying it off until you are 120

You don't tell us which company you are dealing with. Also, how long since the last reading. Also what is the bill they have presented you with.

Most energy suppliers nowadays have a website where you have an account and you can enter your own readings. Have you not done this?

It's with Scottish and Southern - SSE.

They had the meter readings the wrong way round for some reason, and every time a reading was taken they fudged it at their end to produce our bills and estimates. This had been going on since before we moved in 6 years ago.

I had got a bit behind with monthly payments and thought I had arrears of about £800. When I called them my meter readings made no sense to the agent so she went off and started an investigation.

When this concluded they gave me the good news that they had been doing it incorrectly and were writing off £10k of historic charges - dating back God knows how long.

The bad news is that they weren't writing off about £5k worth of more recent charges. We live in a draughty old farm and have pretty high usage with the animals and outbuildings.

Other debts I have detailed on another thread a few months back. Basically a bunch of unsecured loans, credit and storecards, about £30k worth.

Are all the other unsecured loans still with the original creditor or have any of them been passed on to Debt collection agencies?

The reason I ask is because if they are already Sold on they might not be enforceable and you may not need to pay them anything?

Most of the debts are still with the OC. A couple are being handled through DCA's but I am not sure if they have been sold or if they are acting for the OC as a client?

Will any correspondence be specific about this?

Nothing is showing on file as defaulted, although one or two, such as MBNA are saying I've missed 5 or 6 payments now. I have paid them something, just not the requested amounts.

You are going to need to be more specific. List each debt on here with company / or DCA , amount, age of debt, there are people on here who are more experienced than me who can weigh in on what to do on each one. Also nothing showing as defaulted? Some of these debts must be ancient.

You are going to need to be more specific. List each debt on here with company / or DCA , amount, age of debt, there are people on here who are more experienced than me who can weigh in on what to do on each one. Also nothing showing as defaulted? Some of these debts must be ancient.

please follow this advice.

I'm going to move this thread to the utilities sub- forum and you should start another thread on this debt forum and begin by listing out all your debts – including original creditor, state of the debt at the moment, date it was incurred, whether or not you have acknowledged the debt or when you made the last payment – especially anything older than six years, whether there is any PPI, whether there are any charges for late payments et cetera associated with the debt.

It may be possible that some of the debt is unenforceable because there are extortionate and unenforceable charges – or else they are unenforceable because they are statute barred or else because they lack CCA agreements.

You need to take a holistic view of this.

We will ask you more questions about your utilities debt in the utility forum

Please can you tell us more about the meter mixup. Also, you say that they have written off £10,000 but there is an outstanding £5000. Can you tell us the period to which this £5000 alleged utilities debt refers.

Can you tell us how often they have taken their own meter readings based on the meter mixup. You also haven't commented on the fact that you could have taken you only to readings and entered them into your own account webpage.

Can you tell us the history of the dispute and how it you eventually had it resolved. What have you had from them in writing admitting that there was a mixup with the meters – and what date?

Oh the old day/night switcherwroo

I had no idea that the day/night switcheroo was a thing.

I have now dared to have a look at the revised bill on my account, all 26 pages of it. I always find these bills a bit difficult to follow, but it appears that since 2013 they have credited an amount off each bill, and introduced a revised amount, which all add up to the total that they are asking me to pay.

I'm certain that the first person that I spoke to in customer services, who instigated the investigation/complaint on my behalf, told me that I need not worry as I wouldn't have to pay for their error.

And another CS individual advised me at a later date that I wouldn't have to pay for anything older than 12 months.

It certainly looks to me as if they are billing me since 2013.