Utility Warehouse Plucking Debt Figures from the air

[Guy]

I was unfortunate to be persuaded to sign up to UTW way back in 2000. Initially fine but but once i began to query the invoices had no end of trouble. At one point i actually began court action which eventually resulted in them producing the information required in the form of a detailed spreadsheet.

 

Now i have a new issue which is unbelievable:

 

See if you can understand this or have i completely lost it.

 

Originally i had two gas meters and two electricity meters - the house had been two flats.

 

BAck in 2003 i had a new boiler and had this connected to one of the gas meters and the other disconnected.

In 2008 i was able to finally move the remaining gas meter to British gas.

 

So now One meter is still with UTW but no gas consumed. The other with BG so no supply from UTW.

 

I now only had two elec meters. (At this point you should know that i was paying UTW current bills PLUS £25 per week for debt accumulated from my earlier dispute)

 

In 2009 i was losing ground on my debt so requested that UTW install pre pay meters and agreed for them to collect £10 per week via the meters fror the outstanding debt.

 

24/06/09 the two old meters were replaced with ONE pre pay meter.

 

July 2009 UTW send me a bill with an estimated amount of electricity.

August the same, Sept the same. The balance steadily increasing.

 

I phone to explain and they say no problem ill look into it and sort it.

 

WE continue to get estimated bills and eventually letters from the debt collectors, eventually one of their debt collectors comes to the door. I show him the pre pay meter, he phones and someone says - i will sort it.

 

This goes on and after yet another visit from a different collector we get a bill with the amount adjusted out.

 

About a month ago we realise that we are putting an awful amount of electricity on the meter (£10 per day) after further investigation we find that they are collecting £25 per week and the debt on the meter is £1500.

 

At the time of the meter being installed the debt was £945.

The only utility at that point supplied by UTW is electricity which from 24th June 2009 was bought and paid for in advance via the key at the CO-OP.

In May 2010 their own debt collecting co was demanding £1058.73.

 

I cannot get anyone at UTW to accept that the bill CANNOT INCREASE AFTER 24th JUNE 2009.

 

Currently their own debt manager is producing detailed breakdown to show where the extra £600 comes from. I have suggested that all they need do is reprint the invoices from June 2009 onwards and they will see an estimated amount added each month.

All i am asking them to do is reduce the debt on the meter and collect at the originally agreed rate of £10 per week.

 

I have now escalated the dispute to their level 3 with copies of some invoices and made it as clear as possible that they have made an error.

 

I will be sending a copy to the energy ombudsman.

 

My next step is to request from them a copy of ALL transactions on my account from at least June 2009 but may want to go back a lot further. I know that i will have to make this a legal request as they never produce information for free. Should this request be via the freedom of information act or a CCA - not sure which.

 

THey have admitted on the phone that they had a serious system issue at the time of my meter going in so there is a distinct possibility that they have lost data in which case a dump of my transactions would show gaps and inconsistancy.

 

I feel that i may have to bring court action and request this data in the discovery phase. If i have to go down that route then this time i will take it all the way to the court.

 

Am i mad? Does anyone know which legal request for information i should use in this case.

 

Regards

 

Guy

I

[rebel11]

Hi Guy

 

Send them a SAR Request, it will cost you £10, but they have 40 days to provide you with all the data they hold in your account. That includes statements.

If they don't supply stuff send a 7 day deadline letter, them make a complaint to the ICO.

There is a SAR template in the library, send it Recorded.

 

I believe they've got some plush offices in Colindale.

[Guy]

Thanks Rebel11,

 

I knew there was another request just couldnt remember.

Will get one sent ASAP and see.

 

Guy