massive bill why?

[les41]

my mother in law has recieved a bill for over £2000

even though she has always payed every 2 weeks on to a card

and never owed them anything

she recieved a bill for daft amount and is panicking like mad

she has been asked to ring them with meter reading then they will look into it

told her about this great site and people but she still flapping

now she has recieved a letter today saying they are going to her house some time next week to cut her off,

please help me to help her

the company is edf

thanks

les

[gizmo111]

Is the bill estimated?

Has she given them correct readings to adjust the bill?

[les41]

hi gizmo111

she has had regular readings from the meter men

some of her bills have been estimates though dont know why as they have the readings

she has had letters off them saying she in credit for both her gas and leccy

now gas seems right but leccy way out

she lives alone and is scared to use anything now

she is some one who plays by the rules, got no debt and believes anything if in black and white

thank god i found this place

going to hers to read meter and give them readings with the index from the meter as instructed from a thread on here(metric or other)

she is flapping in case she goes out then returns tono leccy even though have explained everything i have read from here

[pelham9]

Which electricity company is supplying her? There is no way that they can cut her off without obtaining a warrant of disconnection from a Magistrate.

 

Has she actually been told that they have obtained warrant to disconnect her next week.? Read the letter she received and make sure of the true position. Often she will be told there is a warrant or they will apply for a warrant to scare her into paying a bill that is incorrect. If you confirm that the letter says that a warrant has been obtained from a magistrates you must ring or visit the court to check. If the court says a warrant has been issued then ask

 

How could this happen without her being informed of the application? She must be informed in writing so that she has the opportunity to explain her position. Clearly no warrant would ever be issued if the Magistrate knew the situation. The Magistrate will withdraw the warrant if she has not been been informed of the application and will refuse further applications until a proper hearing has been made.

 

A bit of backlground about warrant applications and how they are dealt with by Magistrates. Each week there are hundreds of these applications. and if there is no sign of dissent from the defendent the Magistrate will sign them with minimal enquiry. If you turn up to defend your position the Warrant officer will remove the application immediately as a proper hearing must then be held and there is no time to do that in one of these rubber stamping sessions. Clearly this can only be done if the defendant is absent -his absence is taken as meaning that he doaes not object. If he was not informed of the date and time of the 'hearing' it is clear that his absence could not be taken to mean he does not object. If for whatever reason a letter was not sent or has gone astray the warrant has to be withdrawn.

[les41]

thanks pelham9

all the letter says is they will send some out week commencing mon, no mention of warrent, have told her they cant do anything without a warrent due to everything read here, she panics over anything bless

like i have said, she has no debt, always payed and has letters in past saying she was in credit

my better half rang them before i was told aboutit due to being at work and they said it does sound like an error some where!

another meter reading needs to be sent and they will look into it then a letter arrives saying they will cut off

she has never had problems with them in the past

meter readings will be with them saturday then see what happens next

[Helford]

Hi,

 

Check the meter serial number is the same as on the bill and check the current meter reading is a similar level to that on the bill.

 

The BBC Watchdog program this week featured customers whose Economy 7 (Cheaper rate) meter readings were swopped with the regular meter reading. Do check!

 

H

[les41]

thanks h

will tell her and hope she can stop flapping soon

[bedlington83]

How long has she been with edf?

 

What is the current reading and previous reading? Were either/both of them estimates?

 

Do you have the old bills (or a history of what the readings were over the past couple of years)?

 

What tariff is she on?

 

Have her fortnightly payments increased in line with the rises in electricity prices?

 

Was she on Super Tariff when she was with Northern Electric/Npower?

[les41]

hi bedlington83

i know she has been with edf for years and still has all her old bills

my better half going to look through them all

think a lot was estimates then got sorted so she ended up in credit

she pays every 2 weeks a set amount and always is ahead

dont know what tarrif, she has gave them readings and they said seems high

will get info on readings etc and let you know

thanks

les

[bedlington83]

Ok. It could just be that the meter reader's got it wrong - its happened to me before now. Like Helford's already said, the first thing you (or your better half) need to do is to compare the reading on the bill with the reading on the meter. Let us know what they are.