NORTH DEVON DWELLER Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 Taken from the Express & Echo. A DEVON village sports club could be facing closure after receiving an electricity bill for a whopping £25,000. Witheridge Sports Club has received the huge bill from suppliers EDF after it emerged that the firm had mistakenly been undercharging the club for years. In 2002, the community raised funds to open its clubhouse, which was largely built by local tradesmen and plays host to village football and cricket teams. John Gibson, one of the sports club's trustees, said the committee had received "a bolt out of the blue" when a bill for £25,484.27p arrived from the energy supplier. He said: "Finding £25,000 is a non-starter because we don't make enough money to pay that back." A statement from the company said: "We are continuing to work with the customer to reach a satisfactory conclusion for all parties. The club had been paying more than £1,000 a quarter for their bills between 2003 and 2005, but this dropped to about £150 per quarter from 2006 following a meter reading error. We are making every effort to negotiate an agreement." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanBlazey Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 Somebody must have realised something was up! Most people's electricity bills haven't dropped by 90%! Hope it all works out though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NORTH DEVON DWELLER Posted June 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 Somebody must have realised something was up! Most people's electricity bills haven't dropped by 90%! Hope it all works out though. Dan when EDF send a one of their own meter readers on a regular basis to read the meter you take it that as they work for EDF they know what their doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Villains Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 Somebody must have realised something was up! Most people's electricity bills haven't dropped by 90%! Hope it all works out though. Dan when EDF send a one of their own meter readers on a regular basis to read the meter you take it that as they work for EDF they know what their doing. EDF will state that its up to the club to ensure that it is correct and they will take no reponsibility for the wrong reading, maybe someone turned a blind eye hoping that no one would notice........ I agree with DB, someone from the club should have noticed it, prices go up not down. Good luck in sorting it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NORTH DEVON DWELLER Posted June 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 Full story from Tiverton Gazette A SMALL village sports club may be threatened with closure after receiving an electricity bill for a whopping £25,000. Witheridge Sports Club received the bill from suppliers EDF after it emerged the firm had mistakenly been undercharging the club for years. In 2002, the community raised funds to open its clubhouses, which was largely built by local tradesmen and plays host to village football and cricket teams. John Gibson, one of the sports club trustees, said the committee had received "a bolt out of the blue" when a bill for £25,484,27p arrived from the energy supplier. He said: "Finding £25,000 is a non-starter because we don't make enough money even to pay that back over the course of several years. "If the sports club had to fold, it is also the trustees of the playing fields which would also be affected. "The fields are used by a lot of children during the holidays and also by the school during term time." Mr Gibson said the bill was the second financial blow to the club this year. An opposing football player who sustained an injury following a tackle in a game in Witheridge had pursued legal action against the club. Mr Gibson said this had resulted in the club paying out £9,000 to settle the case, despite no foul being awarded by the referee who witnessed the tackle. Mr Gibson said EDF had threatened earlier this month to cut off the club's power supply, but had given them a brief reprieve while it continued to try to negotiate a solution. The French-owned concern is the world's largest utility company and is one of the 'tier one' sponsorship partners for the London 2012 Olympics. EDF contacted the club as soon as the error was discovered and added: "EDF Energy would like to apologise to Witheridge Sports Club for any inconvenience caused by this matter. "We are continuing to work with the customer to reach a satisfactory conclusion for all parties. "The issue was the result of incorrect meter readings being held in our systems for this account, which resulted in the club being undercharged for their energy consumption for more than five years. "The club had been paying over £1,000 a quarter for their bills between 2003 and 2005, but this dropped to around £150 per quarter from 2006 following the meter reading error. "As soon as we discovered the error in January 2011, we contacted the club to inform them. "Subsequently, a senior customer relations manager has met twice in person with the club and we are making every effort to negotiate an agreement, as there is a significant amount of debt outstanding on the account, which is continuing to rise." Last summer, Tiverton Town Council had a run-in with the energy firm when it was hit with a whopping £18,000 bill backdated for five years to cover electricity use at the council-owned New Hall venue. After several months of dispute, EDF agreed to write off an outstanding portion of the bill it claimed the council owed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Villains Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 After several months of dispute, EDF agreed to write off an outstanding portion of the bill it claimed the council owed. Lets hope this is what happens for Withy............. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted June 23, 2011 Report Share Posted June 23, 2011 A similar thing happened with a client of mine with EDF (bill £28k) where meter readings had been given by the customer and EDF's own (sub contract I think) people. This is still in dispute but the eventual agreement may be for a much lower sum in full and final settlement so good luck - a nasty shock and a lesson to all perhaps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen & Mark Posted June 23, 2011 Report Share Posted June 23, 2011 We had a similar issue with British Gas. They supplied us with free gas for nearly 3 years, when they finally got around to sorting it, they told us that because the error was on their part they could only charge us for 12 months usage. The difference here though, is that we kept informing them that they were supplying us with free gas and they said that was impossible ? So it maybe worth seeing if this is the case with EDF as it is "their error" and not yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stig Posted July 6, 2011 Report Share Posted July 6, 2011 You should have signed up with eon for your lecky at least you would have got club cards points, which you could have used to buy the match day teas with.....a great way of saving money. Joking aside I hope that the matter is sorted out soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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