In both of their cases they accepted an 'estimated usage' even if they did 'negotiate' it down a bit, that's what we were initially told but legal advice was sought by us and we were told "they cannot do that"
All I can say is we got a refund after Maz pointed this out to them, maybe the law has been changed since we got our money back (it was a few years ago) but energy companies are known to use 'bullying tactics' to wit their insistence that 'smart meters' must be fitted (a blatant lie) and increasing direct debit charges when the customer is massively in credit (both have happened to us and the company has been told where to get off)
I sent an email to Ofgem yesterday:
Dear Sir/Madam,
Is it legal for suppliers to use an estimated bill if the consumer has already informed them that their meter isn't working? (I'm talking about complete failure here, not just a smart meter failing to communicate.) I'm finding conflicting answers online.
Regards,
And this was in my inbox this morning:
Thank you for contacting Ofgem about smart meters. This is an automated email that answers the most common queries about smart meters.
[pages of blah blah blah about smart meters]
Just to let you know, we’ve sent this in response to your email as we’ve picked up on key words you’ve used. We review all the emails we receive, and if we can see that our automated response has answered your query, you won't receive any further response. If this hasn't answered your query, we will be in touch with you.
Kind regards
Ofgem’s Consumer Affairs Team
So if they recognise that they haven't answered the question I might hear from them again.
Edit:
I've just had a webchat with the Citizens Advice as follows:
CAB: "You would still be responsible to pay for your energy usage even during the period your meter was not correctly recording your usage. For any period where an accurate read could not be taken from the meter then the supplier can only estimate what they think you are using for these periods up until when they replaced the meter.
In a situation where the correct read is not obtainable the supplier would usually estimate your usage based on either your previous years usage or the industry average for your property type if there is no previous years data for yourself."
Presta: "ok thanks, that's what my understanding was too, and i've seen several online saying the same, but I have someone now telling me that they sought legal advice, and were told that suppliers can't charge on the basis of an estimate"
CAB: "You’re welcome, as far as we can advise the supplier is still able to charge based on estimated, you could ask for clarity on how they ae coming up with the estimations and if you dispute the amounts, would need to go through the suppliers complaint process then if needed escalate your complaint to the energy ombudsman."
