Advice - Haven't Been Billed for Electricity in Nearly a Year

ryhawk on 05/09/2016 - 11:42

Hi all,

Long time reader. Just wanting a bit of advice.

We switched to another provider for electricity and gas nearly a year ago. Have been receiving Gas bills fine but have never received an electricity bill.

I have enquired a number of times and each time they say its stuck in "processing" and as much as i follow it they say it'll be fixed in the next bill cycle. They have then said when it is worked out they will give us enough time to pay the bill off

Nearly 12 months later here we are.

At what point should i not have to pay for the bill? because there has to be something about not being billed or am i just wishing

Home & Garden

Comments

  • nocure on 05/09/2016 - 11:50
    +9

    Start saving your pennies.

  • hell0 on 05/09/2016 - 11:52

    "At what point should i not have to pay for the bill? because there has to be something about not being billed or am i just wishing"

    That depends on how you feel as it is entirely your decision. Legally you have entered into an agreement to pay it, so if you don't you will receive a default against your credit record. So your best bet is to start saving your cash for the likely $1500-$2500 bill you are about to receive.

  • [Deactivated] on 05/09/2016 - 11:53
    +2

    this is the real ozbargain.

  • retiredfeline on 05/09/2016 - 12:03
    +2

    You're just wishing.

  • burningrage on 05/09/2016 - 12:21

    From memory if it takes them 12 mths to bill you then you are entitled to take up to 12 months to pay them back.

    • ryhawk on 05/09/2016 - 12:32

      One of the times i spoke to them that's what they said. that they will give the respected amount of time to pay said bill back

  • ryhawk on 05/09/2016 - 12:22

    Cool good to know. have had some people say that after a certain amount of time they can't bill you. but all good. just making sure i'm doing the right thing

  • aussieprepper on 05/09/2016 - 12:52

    This is so shocking!

    • snappy1234 on 06/09/2016 - 17:48

      I'm electrified too !

  • holdenmg on 05/09/2016 - 13:02

    This:

    https://ewov.com.au/complaints/process-for-complaints/how-to…

    Information we need to resolve your complaint:

    Your contact details (name, phone, fax, email, address)
Whether your complaint is about electricity, gas or water
The address the electricity, gas or water is supplied to
The name of the electricity, gas or water company
The outcome you are seeking
Full details of your complaint
Details of any information your company gave you when you contacted it about
the problem
  • 2jzzzz on 05/09/2016 - 13:09
    +5

    I havnt been billed for Gas in Victoria for 4 years. I've called them countless times, but nothing ever got sorted. I have reference numbers and email correspondence.

    I'm just leaving it as I rang the ombudsman and they said they can only chance you for maximum 9 months and have to give you 9 months to pay it off.

    • ryhawk on 05/09/2016 - 13:12
      +1

      That's what someone said to me! Do you have that in writing or something i can cite?

    • SirFlibbled on 06/09/2016 - 12:21

      Depends on the State you live in. Not all states have signed up to the Retail Energy Rules (WA and Vic from memory. Unless they have their own schemes.

      Under the rules, if you haven't received a bill for ages, then they have to give you the same amount of time to pay it off. So if they only back bill you for 9 months, they have to give you 9 months to pay it off too.

  • yoonibear on 05/09/2016 - 14:19
    +7

    Can confirm that - the max they'll be able to backdate the invoice would be 9 months. Source - work in the industry

    • burningrage on 05/09/2016 - 14:51

      Nice.

      • mintysaurus on 05/09/2016 - 15:05

        This happened to me, chased them up about my bill a bunch of times but they kept saying it was on its way, then eventually got it and it was only 9ish months. It was over a year of them fobbing me off

    • slow on 05/09/2016 - 15:16

      This happened to me as well, didn't get billed for a few years (chased them for the first 6 months but then stopped) and then when they finally caught up only got billed for 9 months

    • Big Trev on 06/09/2016 - 08:13
      +1

      I've worked in the industry as well and can back this up. If when they eventually catch on, they'll send you a bill for the whole lot and demand payment, and then if you challenge them, they'll say "oh yeah, we totally forgot that we can only come after you for the last nine months, sorry about that!"

      Source - I worked for a short time at one of the companies notorious for this.

      • Stoz on 07/09/2016 - 10:33

        This is exactly what happened to me when I got solar hooked up. My electricity retailer even included a letter or pamphlet that said they wouldn't bill me more than 9 months prior but the bill still included usage older than 9 months. I had to ring them and get them to send an amended bill.

        Here's the source for the 9 month claim:

        http://www.ewov.com.au/complaints/billing/billing-energy/und…

  • FirstNameLastName on 05/09/2016 - 22:58

    Install Solar back-to-grid, tell them you're returning your KwH because they should have made it clear the electricity can't reanimate a corpse.

  • mr626 on 06/09/2016 - 08:33

    As has already been mentioned, make sure you get everything in writing and keep proper records of all attempts to communicate with them. Last thing you want is to think you only have to pay for a small amount of the usage, only to be hit with a massive bill for the lot.

  • kima on 06/09/2016 - 12:19

    i read a case like this and anything beyond a certain point was no longer chargeable it might be 12 months, so if its 3 years worth of bills you only have to pay the last 12 months. if you are worried, put aside the amount you expect them to be in a savings account and accrue the interest so if it does come then you don't have to worry.

    • Big Trev on 07/09/2016 - 07:54
      -1

      Read above. It's 9 months.

  • Brendoo on 06/09/2016 - 17:39

    Far out, that's lucky. Opposite happened to me. I got charged 6 months worth of electricity within one month because they couldnt communicate with the smart meter. They refused to refund it unless I was a pensioner or ptovided detailed proof that it would badly effect my life. Too much hassle so I just copped it on the chin. I got credits for the following 6 months.

    Had similar event with gas. I hardly use gas so they sent me a bill worth 6 months usage. I went mad. They said "your usage is too low so your meter must be broken so we have charged you what we think you should have used". This is the same usage I have had for over 10 years! I noticed the meter had been replaced too. Of course still no change to my usage. I refused to pay. After 3 months of weekly fighting with them they eventually reissued my bill based on the actual meter reading.

  • k-rokfm on 07/09/2016 - 10:37

    We had a very similar issue to yours where we didnt get billed for 12 months. Our issue was that we got billed for the first month after we moved into our townhouse, then hadnt paid anything for the next 11 months. Where we got a letter in the mail from another electricity company that was billing us. Dont know what happened - never agreed to switching agents at any point - but someone stuffed something up.

    As others have said, youll probably end up getting a large bill sometime so keep saving for when it comes

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