Dealing with SSE

Hi,
Does anyone know if I can compel SSE to correspond with me via email only?
I have no wish to take or make 'phone calls with them because they are dishonest and letters take up too much time.
Thank you.

Gemini566

do you mind if I ask why you want communication via email?

surely better off with written via registered post?

I personnally don't know if you can compel to do as such because compulsion legally (I think) is if something is a legal requirement such as checking if your 'supply' is safe for use, eg you smell gas you can compel them to check & rectify until its safe. If they refuse then take them to court - not sure what the action would be exactly. You would have to show some sort of right to legally exercise through entitlement.

(2755)

Personally i would not advise correspondence via email.
Everything should be via RM.its your evidence.

daveiron wrote:Personally i would not advise correspondence via email.
Everything should be via RM.its your evidence.

I would agree as any E-mail can be altered or tampered with by anyone with access at their end and their E-mail could say anything or potentially be altered by the office cleaner and as Dave has already said letter only and registered, but why?

You send them an E-mail how can you prove they received it and vice versa and this opens up the speculation and doubt, can you or they prove an E-mail was not altered and can you show beyond doubt someone dealing with your matter has the authority.

Letters can contain things which cannot be unsaid as it is irefutible, you can prove postage by registered mail with the receipt you get and it also contains a tracking number which you can track and prove time of delivery; above this you also have the law which says postage is proof of delivery and they cannot claim it was not received as the law says it was delivered, your tracking number says what time it was delivered and you have h the proof, it is now down to them to prove you are wrong, the law is wrong and they did not receive it when the overwhelming evidence says differently.

Guess whos word they will believe?????? neither of you as they will believe your evidence.

Thank you for your replies.
The situation here is now bad for me. I have been forced into a corner by SSE and have no option but to put credit on their smart meter in order to have an electricity supply. This is exactly what I did not want to happen.
I will try to explain as briefly as possible, bearing in mind this dispute is still unresolved after almost two years.
In 2020 I was a customer of a small electricity supply company [Company A, say] having switched, around 18 months previously, from a larger company [Company B]. In October of 2020, a representative from Company B visited my home asking if I wanted to switch back. He managed to convince me the company had changed their policies and vastly improved customer services – the reasons I had left them in the first place.
I agreed to switch back to Company B there and then.
NOTE: I distinctly recall signing an agreement because I am old fashioned and given the opportunity, I always use a fountain pen and I had to go indoors to get one, rather than use a ‘biro’, which I detest.
Several days later, I received notification from Company B that the date set for the switch was to be the 22nd of November 2020.
The smart meter in my property was fitted by Company B when I first became their customer, though it had to be changed three times following a power cut in the summer of 2019. That issue was, incidentally, the reason I switched to Company A; we were left without power for days at a time following the power cut.
Shortly before the date of the switch to Company B, I message was left on my answering machine from an agent at Company B. I recall it was difficult to understand so I called back but could not get an answer after more than 45 minutes. I hung up and listened to the message several times and decided that, although there was a minor issue that needed to be seen to, the switch would go ahead as planned and I was not to worry and just keep paying for my electricity using the Company A app on my PC.
I think it is essential that you understand I have, since 2000, been pre-paying for my electricity as doing so prevents energy debt. I will refer to this again later.
In early January 2021, a chap came to the door, flashed an official [looking] card and asked where my meter cupboard was. It happens to be right beside the front door, which he spotted immediately, and pushed me [gently] aside saying, “I will not be long, just need to check the reading”. I had answered the door wearing the PPE required whilst attending to my wife, I thought it prudent to change the gloves ASAP so I would not forget when this chap left so I went to get a new PPE pack. The little chap left whilst I was telling my wife who had called, indeed, she pointed out to me that he was on his way up the road; I had not even heard the front door close! I went to the meter cupboard to see if all was OK and noted he had locked the cabinet. I changed my gloves and carried on with my wife’s treatment and dressing changing, never giving the strange little man’s visit another thought.
At the beginning of February 2021, I received a letter from SSE which thanked me for booking their Smart meter installation!! Their engineers would call on the 18th of February 2021 between 0800hrs and 1200hrs.
I was astonished, to begin with, believing it was a momentous mistake. I had never even heard of SSE, let alone corresponded with them to book an appointment to have one of their meters fitted. I decided to give the number on the letter a call and tell them they had made a mistake. I waited for a very long time before someone answered my call and it was a complete disaster. I was spoken to with disrespect and treated as though I were a backward child who could not understand what I was being told. I kept my temper, I was polite but insistent, repeating that I was NOT an SSE customer so engineers would not be allowed into my home.
I filled out their online complaint form, explaining that I had never agreed, by word or deed to be their customer and that the issue needed to be dealt with as a matter of urgency. I repeated this procedure every three or four weeks, changing the wording when appropriate and all I ever received from SSE were emails thanking me for my enquiry and that it would be dealt with as soon as possible. Of course, I also received letters demanding I pay my bill, threatening I would be visited by a DCA – which I was, BTW, but only once.
It was not until September 2021 that I discovered the Ombudsman Services and that because more than six weeks had passed since I initiated the complaint, I could approach the OS to attempt a settlement of the issue. That was really a waste of my time and effort. SSE offered £50 off my bill and an apology; the OS upped the stakes to £100 off my bill and a written apology. I declined to accept since to do so would undermine my argument that I was not, nor ever had been an SSE customer.
The only positive result from this farce with the OS was SSE as much admitting they had contacted Company B and cancelled the switch. It seems to me that they must have either pretended to be or, as is more likely, they told Company B that they, SSE, had taken over my account from Company A, which was going broke PRIOR to the date I signed the agreement to switch, in their capacity as the SOLR and Company B believed them. Unfortunately for me, no one at Company B recalls how or why, or even when, or by whom the switch was cancelled.
With my complaint still unresolved, SSE decided to play the “Forced entry with the help of the Police” ‘legal’ card. They sent the warning letter, whilst keeping up the pressure with threats of legal action to recover the alleged debt and regular [3-4 times a week] text messages informing me that SSE had made it easier to pay bills with an app and so on.
They informed me they were going to court to get a warrant to force entry and change the meter. If I wanted to attend the hearing and tell my side of the dispute I should fill in and post the enclosed form to have the hearing take place in a court closer to my home. Of course, I did so, but to no avail, as the case was heard in a court in Leeds, 150 miles away.
An SSE engineer, a warrant holder and a police car arrived on the 26th of January 2022 outside my home. As a law-abiding subject of this Kingdom, I offered no resistance, allowing the SSE team access; the Police constable did not even get out of the car. I watched and asked questions which were answered and I was told what would happen now and going forward. The engineer left £30.00 of credit on the meter. I have no complaints at all regarding the behaviour or attitude of these two chaps. They were just doing their job in a polite, sympathetic, and helpful manner. Thank you.
Please, note that at this time, SSE was fully aware of the fact that neither I nor my wife were able to walk the distance to the nearest Pay-Point to put credit on either a card or key, yet the engineer only had a pre-pay key meter with him!! I was left having to make telephone calls to try and ensure that our supply was not interrupted going forward. I lost count of the number of calls and the amount of time I spent on the telephone. I do know that most of the calls were to people in South Africa who either failed to understand the situation so chose to hang up, transfer me to another department, also in SA and once, to an NHS helpline for people vaccine problems [as if I am stupid enough to believe any of that rubbish]. I also wrote emails and eventually, one of my emails was answered and a new dance began. Credit was transferred remotely to the meter, and an engineer visited [late one evening] to tinker with the meter, added more credit, and told me not to use the key. An engineer would come and change the meter, he said. Sure enough, on the 16th of March, the meter was changed again and I was sent a card to use to credit the meter. Then an email arrived to say it was a credit meter and not a PAYG meter??!!
Now, please, remember that, throughout all this dispute I have insisted that SSE are NOT my energy supplier, I am most definitely NOT in a contract with SSE so I am not their customer: moreover, SSE are fully aware that I have, by choice paid upfront for electricity for over 20 years, thus negating any chance of ever being in debt, for energy, that is. Furthermore, SSE is fully aware that we are registered as “vulnerable” because of our health problems and we are on their Priority Services Register.
Believing that willingly paying SSE for electricity would, by implication, be accepting SSE as my supplier, and ergo, making me their customer by default, I continued to ignore the bills they kept sending. Bills, I might add, increased from £492.99 to almost £1000.00 in a month. I am not sure if this has any bearing on the case, but I have three different payment cards with three different account numbers and at least four account numbers among the various bills.
I was informed, by letter dated the 16th of August 2022, that on the 26th of August 2022, the meter would be remotely changed to PAYG mode and, “[that]. You will pay for your energy as you use it by topping up your meter with credit. Without credit, your energy supply will stop.”
During this time, I was researching online and seeking help. I joined this forum and you mentioned it was imperative that all correspondence should be via registered mail that had to be signed for.
So, I composed a letter to SSE explaining that it would be wrong of them to leave me without electricity and that they should reconsider their proposed action and instead try to resolve this dispute. I posted the letter Recorded Delivery on Thursday the 25th of August 2022 having been assured that it would arrive the following day. The letter has not even been acknowledged and, on Friday 26th of August 2022, my power was cut off at 1000hrs.
I then spent the remainder of the working day on the telephone, eventually getting connected to a helpful agent from the Customer Service Department. He told me he would escalate my complaint [the RD letter] as soon as he got to work on Tuesday the 30th of August and that I would be contacted within 48 hours. That deadline is long passed and since I have now been forced to, I have no other option than to pay SSE for electricity. As I have no intention of rolling over and allowing this awful company to bully me into submission.
Could anyone, please, suggest my next move?

sorry to hear of your woes.

I would as I am now thinking of doing if it means simply SSE (in your case) get fined £500 for each complaint received go to ombudsman service

What they must do is have a risk assessment for your property to take into account peoples' medical needs if any. Putting people onto pre pay meters of any type could & probably will threaten life. They don't care all they want is profit.

'I have, since 2000, been pre-paying for my electricity as doing so prevents energy debt.' please comprehend, you end up paying a lot more as you are on a much higher tarriff, & if anything increases your so called debt as you get less electric for your £1.

'They were just doing their job in a polite, sympathetic, and helpful manner.' Just doing thier job was ruled inadmissable at the Nuremburg trials after WW2.

' I am most definitely NOT in a contract with SSE so I am not their customer' CORRECT they are our Agent, you may be or not in an agreement which is not in this case a contract but evidence of a trust:
https://goodf.forumotion.com/t5800-fiduciary-trusts-agreement#39531

'increased from £492.99 to almost £1000.00 in a month.' that does not surprise me

'Could anyone, please, suggest my next move?' by almeans send a private message (PM) to me & I can advise very simply if you wish to learn how to pay by endorsement but that will lead you down the road you are currently on having court, pre pay fitted etc.

As you vulnerable there should have been a risk assessment done, you should still be on analog meters (you don't have to have smart fitted if you don't want) There is a thread here on goodf I did about going to SSE in your case & getting onto some charity support system all providers have please give me sometime, the procedure should be very simple & straight forward. I can remember the essence but not the details. I will get back as soon as I find the thread.

please excuse my typos & spelling.

LS

can't find the thread so here is the essence.

please look at:
https://charisgrants.com/partners/sse/

all 'providers' including mine have a charity fund for those experiencing difficulty 'paying' - note the quotes.

As you are now deemed (there really is no point in fighting this with ego, I know where you are at on that point because I had the same way back......) with SSE you are going to have to go cap in hand (just like Dickensian - 'please sir can I have some more?') & apply (beg) to go on to the Trust fund set up by whomever.....

Tell them of your situation, give the full 'SP' if you like cut 'n' paste the part for your main descriptive post above. Leave nothing out & all I can say is good luck, God be with you etc

If its any consulation we are all of us in/under a system which is a Trust based system its suppose to work for us, and through research should very well indeed, but its been usurped & we pay for the debts of the upper echolons. please watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJYcM7AAN7I

again please excuse my typos & spelling.

LS

please serch the internet for what you can find regarding SSE, what I gave,  just paid more attention to the link & they don't have anymore - there will be something out there somewhere:

try this:
https://sse.co.uk/help/bills-and-paying/extra-help-paying-your-bills

also remember its all rigged bent & corrupt

please try to read this part of goodf:
https://goodf.forumotion.com/f42-utilities

it may give some you some solace as to why we are in the situation we are in, as I posted 'its all rigged, bent, & corrupt'.

if you have more questions please ask. I will try to help as far as....

this is I think is where we all need to be:
https://goodf.forumotion.com/t5799-ch11-order-for-interim-injunction

but its over my current knowledge although I can see the basis for it.

LS

regarding endorsement I am using a mix of the old goodf & the newer NoCA - mix it up a bit - sent off notice to remedy & notice to cure, next is default & estoppel, am able to then show when not if it goes to court my record of the parties & through acquiescence they admit 'there is no debt'.

Will it work or will I be railroaded? Wait & see I suppose.

Thank You, LionsShare,

You have given me a lot to look at and think about and I look forward to my exploration.

In the meanwhile, is there an address to write to other than Head Office or PO Box numbers?

does your 'boll' state SSE/OVO Electricity Ltd? if so here it is:

https://companycheck.co.uk/company/06858121/OVO-ELECTRICITY-LTD/companies-house-data

1 Rivergate, Temple Quay, Bristol, BS1 6ED

I know this is correct for SSE/OVO Electricity Ltd as my in-laws are having problems with them & the SSE/OVO Electricity Ltd logo is on thier paperwork.

here is some important info too:
https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/06858121/officers

If you like use the company secretary as a person of significant control in the company as your addressee

better off stick with head office

Thank you again, LionsShare,

Bristol seems a better option than Perth; still, any idea why the Recorded Delivery has not been acknowledged even? Seems a bit rude to me.

I apologise if I am taking up a lot of your time asking all these questions: new ideas keep coming to me as well as issues that really need addressing to my satisfaction.

Whilst going over the pile of bills, demands, threats, and the Warrant, I note I have 4 different accounts, according to SSE.

As they did not fit their meter until January 26th 2022, surely they have no meter readings prior to then? That being so, how can I possibly have used £2K of electricity, which is now the total amount they are demanding? To be clear, that is the demands from 4 different accounts.

I do not use the electric storage heaters, ever. I only have the water heating for 2 hours overnight. We have one TV, no radio, no electric kettle, a washing machine we use twice a week, overnight and we do not have a tumble drier or dishwasher. We have two desktop PCs, an average number of external SSDs, two phone chargers and so on. Nothing that uses huge amounts of electricity.

Since SSE remotely changed the meter to PAYG I am consuming around £30/week but £7.00 of that is what they are taking per week as debt recovery. I think that is quite reasonable but, according to SSE, I  spent around £75/week between January 26th and July 26th!

I mention these things because I wonder how many separate complaints I can make to SSE, and then escalate to the Ombudsman Services before they decide I am just being a nuisance, complaining when there is no realistic chance of my complaints being upheld if you know what I mean.

Do you keep your own meter reading records?  In my experience suppliers sometimes dream up their own readings, I had that issue recently when my supplier went broke.  As soon as I was aware I took a reading (29891).  However as the hand over between old and new suppliers they used an estimated reading of 30294 dated a couple of weeks earlier, that means that the old supplier was trying to bill for over 500kWh more than they should.

In my case it gets sorted out because it's the same meter, so the new supplier won't bill anything until the reading goes over that estimated 30294.  In your case with the meter being changed I think errors like that might not be so easily cleared up.

why its not been acknowledged is a misstery, but so long as its in recorded post then its deemed delivered as I found over a speeding tiket many years back.

4 accounts - don't know.

£2k is far too high , no-one uses that amount. Contact SSE & get them to explain. Told you its all rigged......

well all that NON use of electric to me seems fair for a bill of £2k don't you?    only joking, again its all bent & corrupt there is something a miss but don't know exactly, contact SSE & get them to explain.

The endorsement process invovles using a cheque they send for you to discharge the bill, nothing is ever owed & its all free. Even N'Grid are banned from charging anyone please read & don't fall for the 'you have to choose a supplier', its both gas + leccy:
https://goodf.forumotion.com/t5779-gas-electric-and-water-are-free#39456

TBH don't mess around go for the juggler & contact the Ombudsman Services, chronologically put everything down & describe in detail all events so far & then in detail why you are unhappy. Emphersize its not nagging but deliberate & unnecassary hardship played out by SSE, its all SSE's fault - sort of thing, as they are ignoring you & putting obstacles at every point in your life needlessly. State SSE will not listen & people are simply being awkward by not trying to sort out problems caused by SSE.

Please remember you are not in this alone & many 1000000's accross UK are stuffed over nothing. I can go about how the GBP '£' is FIAT currency & in turn its worthless - yes worthless & people are done over literally for nothing. This info is contained in several other posts in the utilities section you can find on the home page.

Please also remember you have NO debt with these people as its all free, that info is contained in my Trust post linked to above in another post. All utility Co's are simply billing companies & gas +leccy provide nothing, they simply connect you to the transmission network - he who controls the meter controls the supply.

Depending on your circumstances you could have your own meters fitted & baracade the door so no one gets in. That has other consequences which I may face in the not too distant future.

read this:  
https://goodf.forumotion.com/t5803-fauxpas#39550

even though I have pointed they can fit pre pay, even disconnect for non payment its the reasoning why its all free & all we have to do is endorse that cheque sent & return, that should be it, done, dusted. There is no debt but people I do comprehend get confused, trying to put all as simply as I can is too much for some & is too much a leap of faith. Please re-read that Trust post link above, if you can get your head round that you will see its all FREE. again you have no debt beleive me.

If you have more questions please ask. That's all I really can help with for now.

LS

Thanks again Guys,

I will try to keep you all updated on any progress - for the record. I have a lot to take in now and plan a strategy that has a good chance of success.

Gemini566

Am I correct in thinking that if SSE is a part of the Ovo family, I should address complaints to Ovo?

If I send a Recorded Delivery letter to Ovo, how can a company sign for it? The record states that the person with significant control is, "Ovo Energy Ltd.,". It is all very confusing, deliberately so, I would opine.

Gemini566 wrote:Am I correct in thinking that if SSE is a part of the Ovo family, I should address complaints to Ovo?

If I send a Recorded Delivery letter to Ovo, how can a company sign for it? The record states that the person with significant control is, "Ovo Energy Ltd.,". It is all very confusing, deliberately so, I would opine.

Address it to the person of significant control at SSE try the company secratery, its in the link provided. Tthe Co don't sign its someone that physically gets hold of it & signs. Take your pick& always stick to the same 1, try Vincent Casey:

Gemini566 wrote:Hi,
Does anyone know if I can compel SSE to correspond with me via email only?
I have no wish to take or make 'phone calls with them because they are dishonest and letters take up too much time.
Thank you.

Gemini566

Please never email only via royal mail or fax

I would not accept faxes. RM only ,hard copies only of all documentation.