Recommendation 4: “On a bimonthly bill, the wording in the box on the first page ‘Your billed usage’ is incorrect in some cases”
1. Customer observation
The complainant failed to understand and contested the usage billed over two months and indicated on the first page of his bimonthly energy bill in the box ‘Your billed usage’. This information caused dissatisfaction with the customer casting doubt on the good working order of the meter.
2. Mediation solution
After analysis of the file, the Mediation team found that the consumption indicated on the first page of the energy bill resulted from a calculation. This corresponded to the difference in billed energy consumption between two meter readings, 6 months apart, from which the consumption estimates billed between these two readings were subtracted. It was therefore a consumption balance which was due and to be billed. The Mediation team therefore indicated to the complainant that this sentence should be understood as “… you are being charged x kWh …” instead of “… you have consumed x kWh …”. This explanation made it possible to resolve the complainant’s doubt about his consumption after the mediation team provided the proof by sending a detailed calculation note.
3. Generic observation
On a bimonthly bill issued during an actual reading by the distributor, the consumptions indicated on the first page of the energy bill in the box ‘Your billed usage’ does not correspond to the actual consumption for the period concerned. This causes customer dissatisfaction and casts doubt on the good working order of the meter.
4. Recommendation / generic solution
The bimonthly bill issued following an actual reading indicates in the box “Your billed consumption” usage which corresponds to a consumption balance due for a period of 6 months. In fact, the box “Your billed usage”, on the first page of the bimonthly bill, must be correctly worded, in other words, “… you are being charged for x kWh …” instead of “… you have consumed x kWh …”.