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    • Welcome to the National Consumer Service Buying any goods or any services??? A used car? - Paying by cash or bank transfer??? - BIG Fail!Share the love – Tell a friend about the Consumer Action Group - your National Consumer ServiceAre you buying a used car...? Protect yourself – read our used car guideESSENTIAL:: Read our Customer Services Guide!!!Twitter - Why you should open a Twitter account ESSENTIAL:: Read our Customer Services Guide!!!Have we helped you today...? Please help the CAG Had a car accident? Been offered a courtesy car?Follow @Real_CAG Parcel Delivery Insurance is Unlawful - The TimesWhy don't you change your profile picture?? Problem with utilities company or phone/broadband? Begin by sending a statutory request for your personal data. It’s free    Parcel delivery insurance is prohibited under section 57 – Consumer Rights Act – Read about It Here and in The Times.× Financial Legal Issues Complete My Profile Dismiss Next Step: Profile Photo (Profile Photo and Cover Photo) Your profile is 0% complete! Twitter X - Include the @company's twitter name in your post title – here's why… The UK Stands With Ukraine - 'Slava Ukraini' Parcel delivery insurance is prohibited under section 57 – Consumer Rights Act – Read about It Here and in The Times.  You have received a Court Claim ISSUED IN ENGLAND & WALES What you need to do Rate this topic By citizenB March 4, 2014 in Financial Legal Issues style="text-align: center;">     Thread Locked because no one has posted on it for the last 3638 days. If you need to add something to this thread then   Please click the "Report " link   at the bottom of one of the posts.   If you want to post a new story then Please Start your own new thread That way you will attract more attention to your story and get more visitors and more help    Thanks   citizenB Posted March 4, 2014 #1   The questionnaires below provide important information which will allow us to help you. In order to use them, you will have to copy them into your own post and then give us the answers – preferably in red below each question. You can start by overwriting the prompt: "Give answer here" below each question – and your responses should automatically appear in red   Thank you +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++   You have received a claim form.   firstly - read all the posts in this thread FIRST...   then copy this first msg to your thread - and put your answer after each question   In order for us to help you we require the following information:- [if there are more than one defendant listed - tell us]     Which Court have you received the claim from ? Name County Court   MCOL Northampton N1 ? Manual Claim CCMCC (Salford) ? New beta WWW.MONEYCLAIMS.SERVICE.GOV.UK ?   If possible please scan redact and upload a full page copy of page 1 of the claim form. (not the response page or AOS)     Name of the Claimant ? Give answer here   How many defendant's  joint or self ? Give answer here   Date of issue – top right hand corner of the claim form – this in order to establish the time line you need to adhere to. Give answer here   ^^^^^ NOTE : WHEN CALCULATING THE TIMELINE - PLEASE REMEMBER THAT THE DATE ON THE CLAIMFORM IS ONE IN THE COUNT [example: Issue date 01.03.2014 + 19 days (5 days for service + 14 days to acknowledge) = 19.03.2014 + 14 days to submit defence = 02.04.2014] = 33 days in total   Date of issue XX + 19 days ( 5 day for service + 14 days to acknowledge) = XX + 14 days to submit defence = XX (33 days in total)  if your defence filing date falls on a W/End, you must file by friday @4PM     Particulars of Claim   What is the claim for – the reason they have issued the claim? Please type out their particulars of claim in full (verbatim) less any identifiable data and round the amounts up/down. state how many digits the account number has.. Give answer here   What is the total value of the claim? Give answer here   Have you received prior notice of a claim being issued pursuant to paragraph 3 of the PAPDC (Pre Action Protocol) ? Give answer here   Have you changed your address since the time at which the debt referred to in the claim was allegedly incurred? Give answer here   Did you inform the claimant of your change of address? Give answer here Is the claim for - a Bank Account (Overdraft) or credit card or loan or catalogue or mobile phone account? Give answer here   When did you enter into the original agreement before or after April 2007 ? Give answer here   Do you recall how you entered into the agreement...On line /In branch/By post ? Give answer here   Is the debt showing on your credit reference files (Experian/Equifax /Etc...) ? Give answer here   Has the claim been issued by the original creditor or was the account assigned and it is the Debt purchaser who has issued the claim. Give answer here   Were you aware the account had been assigned – did you receive a Notice of Assignment? Give answer here   Did you receive a Default Notice from the original creditor? Give answer here   Have you been receiving statutory notices headed “Notice of Sums in Arrears”  or " Notice of Arrears "– at least once a year ? Give answer here   Why did you cease payments? Give answer here   What was the date of your last payment? Give answer here   Was there a dispute with the original creditor that remains unresolved? Give answer here   Did you communicate any financial problems to the original creditor and make any attempt to enter into a debt management plan? Give answer here   What you need to do now.   Answer the questions above   If you have not already done so – send a CCA request to the claimant for a copy of your agreement (If Applicable) (except for Overdraft/ Mobile/Telephone accounts)   Send a CPR31.14 request to the solicitor named on the claim form for copies of documents mentioned/implied within the claim form. There are two different versions - one for Loans/Credit cards the other for Current accounts   Request 1 - Loans/Credit Cards     Request 2 - Current Accounts     You may use a CPR part 18 request for any other information (not request documents) that you might require in order to defend yourself. Please note that CPR 18 is specifically for Fast Track claims and although technically the claim has yet to be allocated to a track the claimant may refuse to comply for this reason.   If you require CPR Part 18 - this will need to be drafted specifically.   If you are not planning on defending for one reason or another – then you will need to complete an Income and Expenditure form and contact the Solicitor with your proposal. The N9a is already enclosed in the claim pack for Admittance which should be sent to the solicitor named on the claim form   If you are considering making a partial admittance N9b must be completed and returned to the court. Please note in most cases a partial admittance will result in an automatic CCJ for the amount admitted.   You have received a Claim - What you need to do.pdf1.33 MB · 242 downloads     Before Printing the PDF TIP   If you DO NOT wish to print Page 1 (Cover Page) of the PDF, please ensure to do the following:   Ensure you go to your Printer Settings and set it to 'Print from Page 2' (this way Page 1 (Cover Page) should not print out).   Note: This will save you Ink & Paper     Bookmark   Report 3 weeks later...   AndyOrch Posted March 20, 2014 #2   Once you receive a Court Summons N1   As a defendant in a small claims case it is important that you act quickly and do not ignore the claim form when it arrives. Remember, the claim will proceed anyway even if you don’t respond. If the claim goes against you, it will be very difficult to make a counter claim as you didn’t respond to the initial small claim.   You may be unaware that you are the defendant in a small claims case that a Creditor has bought against you. When the small claims form arrives follow these initial steps:   1: Read the Form Carefully   The detail about the claim that is being bought against you will be in the ‘particulars of claim’ section. If this section isn't completed, or has the words ‘particulars of claim to follow’ take no action now and wait until you are sent details of the claim against you. You may want to consult a lawyer at this stage.   2: Respond in Time   It’s vitally important that you respond to the claim for you have been sent. Remember that there is a 19 day (5 +14) time limit on this to acknowledge the claim.You must submit before the 19 days are up, so post your response with plenty of time.If your intention is to defend the claim in full you get a further 14 days to submit your response ...so 33 days in total.   3: Talk to the Claimant   Just because a small claim has been bought against you and a claim form issued, this doesn’t mean you are not allowed to contact the claimant directly. In fact the court encourages you to try and settle the claim without the need for a court appearance. So, try and resolve your dispute directly with the claimant if you can.   Not Responding to a Small Claim   If you ignore the small claims form when it arrives this can have an adverse impact on your financial status. The court will continue with the small claims lawsuit that is being bought against you even in your absence as this is a legal requirement. When the small claim is processed you will be sent a bill showing the amount you owe and any additional costs. The small claims against you is a legal process that will be recorded on the Register of Judgements, Orders and Fines. This information is used to check your credit, so could have a negative impact when you next apply for any credit. To avoid damaging your credit rating reply to your small claims docket as soon as you can.   How to Respond to Your Small Claims Form   When you received your form from the court you will also have been sent a response pack. In this pack you will see the option that are open to you. These include:   • A dispute claim form. You can use this form if you do not agree that you are liable for the small claim being bought against you and wish to submit a Defence. • Details about how to pay the amount being claimed from you. • Details about how to admit to part of the small claim against you, and how you can ask the claimant for more time to pay.   There are Two Types of Small Claims:   Fixed Amounts:   If the claim against you is for a fixed amount of money your response pack will contain three forms. Form N9 (acknowledgement of Service), form N9A (admission form) and N9B (defence and counterclaim form).   Unspecified Amounts:   If the amount being claimed is unspecified you will be sent forms N9 and N9C (admission form) and N9D (defence and counterclaim form). It is vital that you read the accompanying explanatory notes before choosing which form to send back.   Paying the Small Claim   If you want to make full payment of the amount being claimed against you this amount will be shown on the claim for you have been sent, and will also have details about where to send the money. Don’t forget, this must be done within the 14 day time limit or your case will proceed to the next stage.   In some instances you would like to pay, but need more time, you can give details about the delay you would like on form N9A, which should be in your response pack. It’s also a good idea to read leaflet EX309: The Defendant Admits by claim as this gives more details on this aspect of your case when fixed amounts of money are involved. Leaflet EX308 gives details of cases when unspecified amounts are being claimed against you.   Also please read forms EX326 and EX160A   How to Defend a Claim Against You   Disputed claims are handled by filling in the appropriate form from your response pack. You have three choices: Form N9, N9B or N9D. Read the note accompanying each form carefully to ensure you completely correctly. Pay special attention to the allegations raised on the form. If you don’t respond to each the court will assume you are admitting guilt. Edited April 10, 2014 by stu007 Updated PDF added    1   Bookmark   Report 2 months later...   citizenB   Posted June 5, 2014 #3   PLEASE NOTE - WARNING   Once you have received your claim form - the Court timetable comes into force. Not that of the creditor or claimant. If you have requested information with them after the claim has been issued - or have entered into discussion with them and they say something like "We will put this on hold for a period of time". You cannot and must not ignore the timetable from the court.   This thread should serve as an example   http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?416202&p=4547677#post4547677   The OP in the case above was in communication with the CAG Vodafone rep. A claim was issued during this time. The Rep in good faith said he would ask the Claimant to put things on hold.... they did not.. the OP ignored advice from caggers to continue with the court timetable and did not submit a defence. The claimaint obtained a Judgment by default. Edited June 5, 2014 by citizenB     Bookmark   Report 3 yr AndyOrch changed the title to You have received a Court Claim ISSUED IN ENGLAND & WALES What you need to do   style="text-align: center;">     Thread Locked because no one has posted on it for the last 3638 days. If you need to add something to this thread then   Please click the "Report " link   at the bottom of one of the posts.   If you want to post a new story then Please Start your own new thread That way you will attract more attention to your story and get more visitors and more help    Thanks  This topic is now closed to further replies.  Share Follow3 Go to topic listing Next unread topic Recently Browsing   1 Cagger hugo1963 1,380 Members Viewed hugo1963 4 minutes ago   lolerz 4 hours ago   vicr76 8 hours ago   Moomoo11 Friday at 18:18   London1971 Friday at 11:26   AndyOrch Friday at 11:13   mollie5549 Thursday at 17:21   zyghom Thursday at 13:26   Magnusinfinity May 15   Newdogg06 May 14   Unique May 13   saberguy May 12   Mycathasfleas May 12   WantJustice May 9   Rain clouds May 8   MoltoModerato May 3   George2024 May 1   Badtimes123 April 30   LouLouDev79 April 29   northmonk April 29   mowbli April 29   WornOut55 April 27   paulhn757 April 24   UsedCarMan April 23   robertobaggio April 23   marksheff April 20   anotheruser0000 April 19   TT98 April 18   gatoradeqaz April 17   Murielme2 April 15   Frontera mixup April 11   BreadAndButter April 9   Karalius April 9   nurjeon03 April 9   Penglings April 8   Nick April 8   Edals April 5   thesixco April 1   lifttheveil March 30   dx100uk March 30   Stripeycat March 28   jon8214 March 27   sharkieuk March 25   HappyHolidays March 24   sandokan March 22   SimplyBeyondWords March 22   supernick90 March 20   iyam71 March 20   Nicky Boy March 18   StoryBoard March 18   Myth_007 March 15   kaze March 12   RodeMan March 8   eskimo123 March 7   JEDIKNIGHTS March 6   persha50 March 6   tobzas March 6   lancashirelad93 March 6   HappyDay2222 March 3   1penny March 3   nat8808 March 2   FTMDave March 1   lynzmeek February 25   Mike Mechanic February 25   Ethel Street February 24   Outoftoon February 23   anna may February 22   PJB5 February 22   iamgnome February 21   SweetCaroline February 20   EdinburghDude February 19   Grgw44 February 18   linbren03 February 15   whittymags February 9   flembo45 February 7   comebackjimmy February 6   MontyIsInnocent February 4   libra007 February 1   Eamonn77 January 31   xtonehari January 30   hlh49421 January 30   ceeferace January 29   catscratch January 29   Melbel January 25   Suggababe January 19   yorkshire_lufc January 17   ljrobinson69 January 16   makkyinuk January 15   yogii January 14   MadMat January 12   rocky_sharma January 4   mrskippy21 January 3   lookinforinfo December 29, 2023   europa16 December 28, 2023   MrsSl December 27, 2023   KP44UK December 23, 2023   Montego December 22, 2023   Worazz December 21, 2023   StopTheBullies December 21, 2023   hitman126 December 20, 2023   +1280 More   Have we helped you ...?                     Contact Us   Cookies Copyright Reclaim the Right Ltd - reg: 05783665Powered by Invision Community IPS spam blocked by CleanTalk.  
    • ITV News have got hold of an email and recording of a phone call between Vennells and Ron Warmington of Second Sight. People in the know are saying it's smoking gun everyone's been looking for. I love that this has come out the day before she appears at the inquiry. This should be interesting under oath. Paula Vennells' 'smoking gun' email reveals Post Office 'cover-up' | ITV News WWW.ITV.COM ITV News has acquired an email and recording of a phone call that suggests the former Post Office boss was aware of issues with the Horizon system...  
    • I think you may as well take the opportunity in your letter to tell them that if they won't take responsibility for it then you will see quotations for the repair, provide copies of the quotations to them and then proceed with your own repair and recover the money back from them in the courts if necessary. Separately, can I ask you whether this is the car that you then bought unseen and at some distance from you? Has it come with an MOT and if so what date was the MOT and who gave it the MOT? Have you read our used car guide
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£10,000 Electric bill for 8 years


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Pelham, again, I am in agreement with you and as an employee find it extremely frustrating when there is little that i can do other than get the customer to run the relevant tests that I have had to take upon myself to work out from experience. The results I then have, I pass on, but once I have passed that on I am not allowed to follow up to see if it has been resolved as I am there to take calls only. The first people you all speak to are glorified receptionists who will forward all info or calls to the relevant department. Admittedly, not all call centre staff are clued up (had my own experience today where I had to call in to work to get my tariff changed and had to talk the guy through how to do the simplist of jobs after he told me I would need a meter exchange to come off E7!!!) I find that discouraging and can see why people on here get upset and angry and refer to call centre staff as monkeys.

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As a point of interest EDF insisted that I change my meter when I came off E7. I had been on a different tariff via an E7 meter for years with Eon, but EDFs’ position was that without a meter change I would have to be on E7.

 

I pointed out this had not been the case with Eon but they advised me quite sharply that they were not Eon and other suppliers do things differently.

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Its wrong though as I barely use electricity at night during the summer so shouldnt have to pay a premium for my day usage. I pointed this out to them. In the end he got his manager for me, even though I hadnt requested it, who said it was not a problem. Incidently I also work for and supplied by eon so knew they were able to do it, but the frustration was that I had to talk him through the screen over the phone. How many people had he turned around and said no to previously?!?!?!

 

I know with EDF they had/have an E7 tariff that meant you had to have one of their own meters installed, and if you wanted to change supplier you would have to have it removed and would be charged £50 for this.

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Clare, just shows how inconsistent the advice is (not just from EON. I read for many companies - although being based in East Anglia, EON is the dominant supplier for electic). In my work as a meter reader, I come across plenty of customers that have a meter with two readings but being billed on single rate prices. It can be done quite simply - if the employees know what they are doing! Indeed, it makes sense to have a meter with two readings because if the customers circumstances change or someojne else moves in, E7 may then be the best tariff and having this kind of meter installed already means the supplier does not have the extra expense of going out to fit an E7 friendly meter.

 

In response to the OP (God, they seem remote - this thread seems to have rather gone off the subject!), I think the best solution is that suppliers should physically go around to a property to disconnect the supply when someone leaves (I believe they did this in the distant past). Would get rid of any disputes - to obtain elecric supply (or gas, for that matter) the new occupier would have to then contact the supplier (or perhaps some kind of company that deals with the supply network) to reconnect the power. Of course, this would rely on an efficient and accurate database to be in place so that people knew who the previous supplier at a particular address was. Oh well, here's hoping for some kind of utopia...

 

I still stand by my previous threads though. The OP has clearly made virtually no effort to inform anyone that they are living at an address and are using electric. They should not be allowed to take advantage of the system. Granted, the systems in place should be more effective - I do not dispute that. However, the OP has admitted quite openly that they have taken advantage of the system and yet have pleaded that their bill should only be backdated for the last year! This is, I feel, absolutely non-sensical and should not be allowed. I am not saying they should be forced to pay the arrears in one go - a long-term payment arrangement should be negotiated. But they should have to pay for what they have used!

There is no inkling that the customer is vulnerable in any way = they have just taken advantage of the situation.

 

Maybe I am getting on my soapbox here, but Great Brirtain as a nation seems to have lost amy understanding of the notion of common sense. Someone uses electric (or any other kind of good), they should pay for that usage. The suppliers do not help the situation by appearing to be remote, ie: targets set to answer so amny queries within a set time period, who cares how accurate the answers are? - lets get the customer off the phone as quickly as we can ( I sincerely hope my supplier Ebico are an exception to this mantra). However, that does not invalidate the main point.

I struggle to pay my bills. I do manage but I don't earn wads of money. I am not some kind of privileged individual that can feel smug enough to declare that I can not get paid by my employer for six months or so and yet still pay all my bills (ie: some kind of "liberal" Guardian reader). I do sympathise with people that have been genuinely let down by the systems and hopefullly, some comments I make (when i have the knowledge required) can help them in getting advice that will really help them. However, I do not want to help people that are clearly abusing the system. The OP was quite clear in the fact they had been abusing the system, yet then asked for help in trying to manipulate the system so they only had to pay one years worth of charges!!! They should not be entertained in my opinion.

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I don't want to sound like a long -playing record but I do want to make my point here!

Pelham definitely has some valid points. In particular, he/she seems to have done all they can to resolve the situation, unlike the original poster. There has to come a point when no more! That is totally different sitauation to that outlined by the original OP. That should not be emphasised enough!

It is not an us against them situaton. It is the right thing to do. This is such an important point but virtually no-one seems to bear this in mind!!

I just hoipe the courts still have the sense to bear this in mind -0 assumint his case goes to that stage...

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Mattlamb, I can understand some of the points you make too, and being on the other end of the phone taking calls every day from people who are desperately trying to pay their bills and struggling and those that dont bother and then want the amount to be written off and get away with it, I get that and how wrong that is to try and wriggle out of it . But as Pelham says, if the systems were in place then all this could be avoided. Its not right that someone should get that amount of fuel free, that is pretty outrageous to even expect it, and I doubt very much he will have to pay all of it, but will have to pay a fair amount. There are people out there who have a conscience and will keep on trying to find out who is supplying and maybe even putting some money aside knowing that sooner or later, they WILL catch up with you.

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Thanks Clare. You are right - I know that some people worry so much about what will happen to them if they don't pay the bills. A cursory glance at some threads on this website will show this to be true. My job demonstrates how some people worry about this -even though it is quite clear to me they are being overcharged. I just wish the electic suppliers between them could sort out a system to clamp down on freeloaders and in addition support those who genuinely need the help. Its the all right Jack sociey we live in, unfortunately.

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I would also advise anyone with an E10 meter to keep a close eye on their bill. It is impossible for us meter readers to tell which reading is which on the machines when we enter the readings after inspecting the meter. The 3rs reading should be Ok, but it is quite likely that the other two readings have been mixed up in my experience. We never know which way round those readings have initially been entered on the computer records.

 

A pity really -= cos E10 is theory an excellent tariff to be on if you have electric storage heaters. Pity only EOn amonst the main suppliers seem to recognise the tariff.....

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Pelham, I agree, the system is unfair, particularly to those who live in new build properties and have attempted to find out who is supplying their fuel to no avail. I am not by no means making an excuse for the suppliers because I am an employee, but imagine this. A builder gives you a stack of papers, one with meter serial numbers, one with address's and plot numbers, then drops the stack, shoves them all together and hands them over. I see this on a daily basis, people calling in trying to find out who their supplier is, not always having the right info ie not knowing what the plot number is of their property, not knowing what their meter serial number is and then failing to call back as promised really doesnt help. As a supplier, we need the customer to give as much information as they can. IF the supplier can still not be found then unfortunately it takes time to investigate, not 8 years I grant you and it takes someone to keep coming back and harrassing the supplier to investigate for anything to be done. But it works both ways if someone does honestly want to pay their bill, and if the case is that someone does not call back with the relevant information, remember we are not mind readers, it will not get followed up until maybe a change of meter reading agent. the Billing Code of Practice IS there to protect people and does on a daily basis, but will not help those who sit back and do nothing about it until the bill drops through their door.

As a supplier, we along with all other suppliers were sent a notification about new builds and then each energy supplier could put an offer in to install new metering. It was the up to the developer to accept our quote or not. This would then effectively lock in the metering to our company until the premsies were occupied. In the meantime all charges would eb passed to the developer. We found this to be effective and simple so I do not understand how metering can go missing. Our worst nightmare as an independent supplier was requesting EMEB MOPs to install metering as invariably they would mess up and leave it to us to sort out but either way we still had records

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Clare, just shows how inconsistent the advice is etc...
But you still haven't said why you feel that it is wrong for the customer to get away with his outrageous behaviour and why it is right for the company to get away with their outrageaous behaviour. If you want to define things by a right or wrong approach, then you have to be consistant.

 

I mean, you are taking a moral stance when it is simply not realistic: What if OP instead of being upfront with us, said that he had spent umpteen amount of times on hold trying to contact the company, written over and over again and been ignored and finally gave up in despair? Would that then be ok with you? What's the difference?

 

The code and the law are there for a reason: to stop companies which already have the upper hand to take undue advantage of the consumers. The code had to be brought in due to abuse of the companies, not of the consumers and to force them to get their house in order. If they still can't manage this, then that's their tough luck.

 

On a different note, I agree that if meters were to get turned off when a person leaves and turned back on when new ones arrive, it would make things a lot simpler. That's how it is in France, and until your power has been restored, then you don't have power and that's that. Avoids all kind of complications. ;-)

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On a different note, I agree that if meters were to get turned off when a person leaves and turned back on when new ones arrive, it would make things a lot simpler

.

 

This always was the case in this country too.

 

To do things in a sensible way is fairly expensive. The utilities would again have to arrange for people to be available to got to properties probably twice to get old and new readings and switch off an on. This would entail keeping appointments!! or even an emergency switch on service. We could have proper written contracts instead of nebulous deemed contracts.

 

To save money they have stopped doing this and say that this is a benefit to customers - ' you can rely on utility services as soon as you move in'. It must be that they save more money by not providing this simple service as against the money they lose under the billing code. So when they changed the system they would have already costed in the loss on this OP's account.

 

There is one other point. Those moving in especially to first properties often do not know that it is imperative to read meters and confirm the occupation to the utilities. Many all their lives have simply turned on a switch or turned a tap and just do not know the responsibilities that our utilities place on them. No wonder many get it wrong.

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Even prior to working in the utilities it was common sense for us to read the meter on leaving a property and on taking possesion of another. After all, electgric and gas is not free. It is my opinion, that some people bury their heads and hope that they will never get a bill but when they do and it is high, they start screaming, however by the same token utility companies should be monitoring usage a lot closer. The way around this is to have a SMART meter fitted which always shows the utility exactly how much power you are using!

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If you contact any supplier, they will become your supplier and fit a SMART meter. The point is that they will know your reading on the date you left the premises as they will have a record of the reading on that date eve if you don't tell them when you leave. that is why it si called a SMART meter.

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How will they know the reading on the date a consumer left if they don't know the date the consumer left? It can only tell the supplier information about the meter, not information about the customer (well, I'm assuming that is the case anyway - and as with any machine - rubbish (information) in, rubbish (information) out). I am suspicious about SMART meters becasue in my view it will mean electric suppliers will become ever more complacent and think that the technology can get them out of trouble. And it seems judging by some threads I've seen on this website that electric suppliers still set incorrect prices on keymeters (which are a type of SMART meter in a way) and seem incapable of solving the problem without a whole lot of hassle on the customer's part.

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Smart meters and Smartmetering are two totally different meters and are not related at all except for reads. If olyu leave a premise and only notify the supplier several months later of the date, they will be able to give you the read on that day. SMART meters use digital technology like a mobile phone to send a data package to a supplier once a month . This will show the consumption for each day at a specific time which is why they can tell what the reading was on a specific day.

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And the OP has not added anything to the thread ever since their original post! Even before I started contributing to the thread (and that some way in).

I will stress that the OP has only ever made contact with their supplier once SEVERAL YEARS after they moved in. And that was only ringing an automated telephone line to give the supplier their reading after getting a call-back card put through their letterbox. They did not give the supplier their name or details of when they moved in - the original post makes this clear. The OP wonders how the supplier got hold of their name. I would suggest some p*ss*d off neighbour or local in the pub gave the supplier the details (after no doubt hearing the OP's witty story about getting away with not paying anything for their electric). I would also add that the OP has stated the actual meter reading is less than what the supplier has billed for. So the estimate is in the OP's favour! Stands to reason - if you are not paying any bills, you are probably very slap-dash with how much electric you are using. £10 000 seems an awful lot of money but if you don't have to pay for your usage, you will use your electric as much (and more) as you want.

Edited by mattlamb
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I stand corrected - the OP did add one further post.

And it would appear that the neighbour has given a representative of the supplier the OP's name, although the neighbour is denying they did this.

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So in response to Bookworm's post - the supplier is perfectly entitled to send the OP a bill, estimated or not. That is all they have done - so far.

If the OP does not respond, they are quite entitled to send further letters or even apply to the courts for a warrant (at the OP's expense) to get access in order to read the meter or disconnect the electric. The estimated bill only takes account for the period from when the OP phoned in the reading up until the current time (the OP has outlined this).

The supplier has been slap-dash in finding out if anyone was living at the address and using electricity. I don't think anyone can dispute this. However, that is all they have done wrong. What is this nonsense about it being immoral to send a bill to the OP? The supplier are, belatedly, doing their job!!!!

Edited by mattlamb
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