Recovering Credit from previous supplier Tonik Energy. The new supplier is Avro Energy. **RESOLVED**

[Consumer50]

I switched energy suppliers in mid July for both gas & electricity.

 

The new supplier confirmed that the switch took place on the scheduled date and has taken direct debits as agreed.

 

I was £100 in credit with the old supplier - more than enough to satisfy any unbilled energy usage at the time of the switch (I estimate that £10 of that should settle the final bill and so anticipate a refund of £90).

 

The old supplier attempted to take a further direct debit after I had switched. I spotted it and stopped it. The old supplier is now claiming that the gas was not switched and so is continuing to bill me, eating into the £100 credit.

 

I have checked with www.findmysupplier.energy which confirms that my gas supply has switched to the new company. I assume www.findmysupplier.energy is definitive?

 

I have made a formal complaint but can see from various online discussion regarding my old supplier that I am not alone and that it may well require the ombudsman to resolve it.

 

It seems to me that one way I could expedite the return of my credit is to make a direct debit indemnity claim for the last two debits which would return to me nearly all of the £90 I am owed leaving just a few pounds still owing to me.

 

However, I am unclear about whether I am permitted to do this.

While I was an active customer it was not unreasonable for the energy company to hold a credit balance - it is only with the benefit of hindsight that the taking of those last two debits seems unnecessary.

Does anyone have experience of this sort of situation?

[BankFodder]

It would be helpful if you could start off by telling us who the various suppliers are – unless you are trying to protect them

[Consumer50]

The previous supplier was Tonik Energy. The new supplier is Avro Energy.

[dx100uk]

have you smart meters?

 

each account should thus show the start and end readings, so you can check who is right and wrong...

 

can't see a problem even if you did reverse the DD's, i doubt tonik would trash your file for poss £10 owing for a few days even if you did the DD guarantee reclaim.

 

 

 

 

[Consumer50]

Thanks for your help DX100.

 

No I don't have a smart meter but I did check with www.findmysupplier.energy which confirms that Avro is my current gas supplier. However, Tonik claim that the gas switch never happened and so is continuing to bill me for the same gas as AVRO!

 

Assuming I can trust www.findmysupplier.energy, then if I reclaim the last 2 DDs I will still leave Tonik with enough credit to pay for the gas they actually supplied (as opposed to what they have invoiced).

 

My only anxiety is that, strictly speaking, those 2 DDs were taken while I was still a customer and so were not really taken in error because it was legitimate for them to hold a credit balance at that time.

 

On the other hand, if the bank allow the reclaim then presumably Tonik cannot come after me for money I do not owe.

[dx100uk]

correct

unless they claim they weren't charging you enough during the contract term?

quite a favourite trick with non prime suppliers.

 

if you have the reading of switch over

then ask tonik what are the readings they are relying upon, should they claim your owe anything.

 

sar time?

 

 

 

 

[Consumer50]

Yes I have the switch-over reading which I gave to the new supplier, but of course Tonik are not currently using that because they do not acknowledge that a switch-over has happened - so they are applying an estimated usage and standing charge for a period when they have not supplied me. But yes, when they wake up to the transfer I will be able to check the arithmetic on the closing bill.

 

They have generated monthly bills using readings I supplied right up until 4 days before I transferred so those bills ought to be correct - but are you saying that despite using correct meter readings for those historic bills they might claim that their own arithmetic was wrong and that they under-charged me? If that is a risk I will check the arithmetic on all the past bills myself - I have a spreadsheet to do that so it won't take long.

 

Yes I am thinking about raising a SAR. 

[Consumer50]

My dispute with Tonik is now resolved.

 

It occurred to me that since I was certain my gas supply had switched to the new supplier (confirmed by the national database as well as the new supplier) and since Tonik were claiming that the supply had not switched, I was in a strong position to request a deadlock letter and escalate my complaint to the ombudsman without further delay.

 

Within 1 hour of sending a request for a deadlock letter, Tonik responded by generating a final bill using the agreed final meter reading and correctly calculating the refund due.

 

Interestingly the only explanation they offered was that they had been waiting for the final gas reading from my new supplier. This implies that their billing system assumes they are still supplying energy until they receive the final readings. This is clearly quite wrong but would explain why customers on other forums and Trustpilot have had the same experience as me.

 

Also of interest, the refund has now been credited to my bank account. Tonik had told me that I should keep the Direct Debit in place in order to receive any refund that might be due but I stopped the Direct Debit as soon as I realised they were continuing to invoice me for gas consumed after I had ceased to be a customer. It is clear that they are quite able to make refunds without an active Direct Debit mandate.

Edited September 2, 2020 by Consumer50
correct punctuation

[dx100uk]

well done that man

 

dx