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Switching, Billing & Compliance
Disputed Billing
Key takeaways
- Disputed billing is when you formally tell your supplier you don’t agree with a bill or part of one.
- Raising a dispute usually means the supplier can’t pursue enforcement on the disputed amount until it’s investigated.
- You still need to pay any undisputed portion of the bill while the dispute is open.
What does disputed billing mean?
Disputed billing is the formal status given when a customer raises a complaint that a specific bill (or charge on a bill) is wrong. Common triggers are huge swings between bills, an unexpected catch-up bill, or charges that don’t match the contract.
Once a bill is in dispute, the supplier should investigate within their published complaints timetable and shouldn’t take enforcement action (disconnection threats, debt collection) on the disputed amount while the dispute is being looked at.
How to dispute a bill
- Put it in writing, quoting the bill date, the amount you’re disputing, and the reason (e.g. estimated reads, back-billing, wrong unit rate).
- Pay the undisputed portion of the bill to avoid late-payment issues.
- Keep all correspondence; if unresolved after 8 weeks, take it to the Energy Ombudsman.
Common dispute causes
A long run of estimated readings reconciled against a single actual read.
A meter fault causing readings that don’t reflect real consumption.
Charges arising from being on out-of-contract rates or deemed rates without realising.
