In April I received a large bill of around £56k from my gas supplier, Simple Gas and Power. I had moved to Simple when CNG collapsed in November 202. I always paid my bills and was shocked to get such a huge bill and didn’t know how I would be able to pay it. Like many pubs, the last few years have been difficult and a £56K gas bill would have closed my business.

I contacted Nationwide Energy Consultants as they have arranged my contracts over the last five years. I needed their help to understand how a supplier could make such a demand when I had always paid my bills. Nicole was appointed as my advisor, on looking into my account she found that Simple Gas and Power had consistently underestimated my consumption and having got an up-to-date reading earlier this year they had produced a “catch-up” bill for consumption over the last 2.5 years.

She advised me that Ofgem states that suppliers can only back-bill for 12 months, and she argued this with Simple Gas and Power on my behalf. Nicole also calculated what my actual consumption was and what that would cost. Over the 3 months that she was negotiating with Simple, I paid extra to my gas account. By the time Simple re-billed the account I went from £56K in debt to a credit balance of £300.

It’s frightening that suppliers can just demand payment of such a huge sum, even when the customer has paid their bills. I’m so grateful to Nicole and Nationwide Energy Consultants, without their expertise I wouldn’t have known that the supplier couldn’t charge me for historic consumption. Nicole also told me what I should be paying, so I could get my account up-to-date and not worry about debt on my gas.

This outcome wouldn’t have been possible without Nationwide Energy Consultants, and Nicole in particular, who identified the error and then argued it with Simple Gas and Power, I am extremely grateful for her help.