Bbc
Hayley Jarvis released an SMS from the Blue saying that she owed her £ 5,768 energy supplier for her old house
Hayley Jarvis was shocked when she received a bill of £ 5,768.09 in early January for energy two and a half years ago.
“It was a large sum of money that would have taken me an incredibly long time to reimburse.”
It is a practice known as the “Back Bill”, but sending an energy bill that was used more than 12 months ago was prohibited by the OFGEM regulator in 2018 .
But Box Box of Radio 4 learned that 3,308 people complained to the energy mediator to receive these so-called “invoices” within 12 months to September 2024.
The actual number of people complaining about the invoicing of the back is probably much higher because only cases that cannot be resolved by suppliers first come to the ombudsman.
Citizens Advice received 47,000 complaints concerning invoicing in general in 2023, going to nearly 60,000 in 2024.
In the case of Hayley, its back factor covered a period between June 2021 and June 2022.
“I’m not going to say that I was not worried when I was. Even if I knew I would fight him,” she said.
“I don’t think it’s true, these rules and regulations are there to protect the consumer and it seems that the energy society does not follow their own principles.”
What is return billing?
Back billing is when an energy supplier emits customers with a new energy bill used more than 12 months ago. It is contrary to the regulations of OFGEM and was prohibited in 2018. You do not have to pay money sent to a new invoice for the energy used more 12 months ago. Citizens Advice suggests that you write or send an email to the supplier to explain and to a copy of an example of a letter that people can use as a model.
A paper copy of the Bill Hayley received in early January confirming that it owed its supplier nearly £ 6,000
Matt Lynch spoke to Money Box on a very similar situation.
He received a Blue Bill in November for £ 1,665 and was informed by the company that they would take directly from his account, by direct debit, five days before Christmas.
“He was three and a half years after leaving my apartment.
“How do you find £ 1,600 with very little notice? They were going to take money without even telling me. It was an email that I found in my unwanted mail.”
It took Matt and Hayley days of several calls and complaints before having their invoices canceled.
But these two bills should never have been sent in the first place under the bills of the back of ofgem.
“It is essential that Ofgem intervenes to ensure that these companies do what they are supposed to be,” said Alex Belsham-Harris of Citizens Advice.
“These invoices should not be sent first. Once someone identified it as a problem for them, if they come into contact with their suppliers, this should be the end.”
We told Hayley that she owed almost £ 6,000 per SMS when she should not have received the invoice at all
The OFGEM regulator said that money box customers should not have to spend incorrect invoices and that it is the responsibility of a supplier to effectively manage complaints, adding that it was determined to examine the rules concerning billing.
Energy UK, who talks about the industry, says suppliers have a duty of diligence towards customers and are continuously working to improve practices.
The company which sent the invoices both to Hayley and Matt was then, which is part of the E.ON.
They told the BBC that he sent tens of millions of invoices each year and that he had systems in place to prevent the dispatch of invoices.
But in the case of Hayley, he said that human error had led to the sending of a back bill, adding that he apologized and now examines his billing processes to provide the best customer service.
As for Hayley, his main concern is for people who could obtain these invoices and not be arranged or capable of fighting them.
“I just think it’s actually quite sad because I am able to fight it, but not everyone would be.
“You may have elderly, or vulnerable or isolated people who would see this (the bill) and think:” Oh no, I have to pay this. “There is no one to say to them:” In fact, you don’t have this money, more than 12 months have passed. “
