Daughter needs help

Has she been to the CAB about it? Someone should be able to advise her.

I agree with Elegran, go to CAB and they will be able to tell her if she is eligible for legal aid.

I have no legal experience or CAB, but hope you are getting some guidance and help from people who do.

I've pm'd you, Alie.

Thanks to those who have answered. Again, not putting details here, but she has been to the CAB.

This one is still going on.
Now gone to the Ombudsman, but people she knows are telling her that that's no good, only a very few get believed.

Electricity company are threatening to put in a coin meter and make her pay that way. Can they do this? Do they have right of entry?

I have found one or two similar cases online, where the electricity company have definitely erred in their records.

She didn't do this! It's not a thing that anyone would get away with in the end, and she is not stupid.

I think you may well find that these companies can get a locksmith and go into the house and just change the meter for one of these where you charge up a key. They did this to my next door neighbour in our last house. It was to do with moving to Sainsbury's Dual fuel - run by EDF -we had done the same and on both my gas and electric they would not take my readings and backed the readings which meant I was billed an extra £500 on one fuel and about £300 on the other. I kept insisting the readings had been correct. As I wanted to go back to my previous supplier - because of the tariff we had been on the readings when we left them did not matter to them - they eventually asked me what I said the readings were and rang EDF and gave them my readings which they accepted - they were the true ones. My neighbour just let things slide and has had to pay the money they billed her. I wish her luck with this - some of these companies are just so difficult to deal with.

actually it doesn't make sense for them to put her on a key meter, because they are accusing her of fraud on a meter, whereas she has paid all the quarterly bills at the new house!

It's just a way of making her pay. They'd better not.

Is it the energy ombudsman alie see this link:
https://www.ofgem.gov.uk//information-consumers/domestic-consumers/making-complaint-or-enquiry

Sorry Alie I don't have any legal knowledge and don't think I can be of any help. Seems like you need some legal advice and/or speak to the ombudsman. I hope your daughter gets help very soon and wish her well. I know how worrying this can be as my daughter is in a similar situation with the local council.

Thanks for support, all.
Jess, I will pass some of this on on Friday when I see her.

also writing to MP or even going to see them in their local surgery can help. I know utilities are private but MPs still write letters on behalf of constituents and companies do take some note of them.

I agree with JessM, AlieOxon. Contact your MP as soon as you can. A friend of mine was having problems with Inland Revenue and our MP helped a great deal. Good luck.

Do not want to worry you further, just giving a 'heads up. Many years ago when we moved into a rented house we refused to pay the first bill as it was mainly for a period before we moved in. We had sent the reading from our moving in day but the said we could have made this up???? . Anyway we got it sorted eventually, moved house again twice and had two children. One day, about 10 YEARS later a friend who was a trainee Social Worker told us about an entry on a list she had been given to check out. It was a list of people unable to pay for their power who had young children in the house or were vulnerable elderly. We were listed with the former address and with two children. We had no children when we lived there but the tenants before us did have two. Our friend asked us to put this in writing and we were removed from the 'at risk' list - I presume many others who were placed on this list in error had no knowledge that they were similarly listed, which might have caused problems at a later date (e.g. if they wanted to foster or adopt).

AlieOxon How very worrying and distressing. I do hope this wretched business is resolved satisfactorily soon. My experience of a power company fitting a key meter compulsorily was in one of my rental houses where the tenant wasn't paying the bills. (He wasn't paying his rent either.) Once I had got rid of him, I asked to have the meter changed but the company refused.

Slightly off tangent here but the S.O's mother had a letter pushed through her letterbox today by the bailiffs acting on behalf of the council saying they were going to start removing her furniture for not paying council tax. It's the second time she's received such a letter in recent months. She's in her late 80's; currently in hospital and the letter is not for her address. S.O. is going to write a letter of complaint to the council and his mum's MP. What if she'd a] been at home and b]not had any family to advise her.

Should be an easy one to get mega apology for tegan.
When I worked for a water company I realised that moving people in and out was one of the huge time consuming tasks for the call centre. It used to take about 3 months to fully train up a call centre agent because of the complexity of the job.
Rental agents say "I'll let the utility companies know the meter readings" .
So agent has to ring once to move a tenant out, with a meter reading. Then the landlord might incur a charge for a few weeks and the agent needs to take the readings again and let the utility know again. Each of these calls needs someone in the call centre to go through many screens on the system.
You can see how things fall between the cracks.

At last!
My daughter has just been on the phone and told me that the arguments she put forward to the Ombudsman have convinced them that she has been the victim of some mistake by the electricity company.

It has taken so long and must have been a great strain on her.

My opinion now is that there has been an inaccurate input, whether by a computer blip or human mistake - and the fraud was actually by someone else.
Which would also explain why HER payments to the key did not show up on their records.

Whew. They can still appeal the decision though.

Phew!! - what a relief for you! I am so glad.

It is such minefield and made even more complicated by the fact that we are always being encoiuraged to change suppliers and look for better deals.

Good news allie and glad to hear the energy ombudsman helpful.

Thanks folks.

She plans to change supplier as soon as she can!!