Evidence to collect
Gather as much of the following as is available and relevant.
- Tenancy or lease agreement
- Lease surrender documentation
- Property sale or completion documents
- Title documents where relevant
- Solicitor correspondence
- Landlord or managing-agent correspondence
- Business rates evidence where relevant
- Handover documents
- Final meter photographs
- Final meter readings
- Emails previously sent to the supplier
- Change of Tenancy forms
- Supplier complaint references
- Evidence identifying the incoming occupier where appropriate and lawful to provide
You will not necessarily need every document on this list. The aim is to establish clearly when your responsibility for the premises ended.
First, establish which supply is being billed
Before arguing about liability, make sure everyone is talking about the same energy supply.
Check the disputed bill for the supply address, the MPAN for electricity or MPRN for gas, the meter serial number where shown, the account number, and the period being charged.
If you operated from more than one premises or had several meters, do not rely on the business name alone.
Identify exactly which supply the disputed balance relates to.
Prove the date your responsibility ended
The key date is normally the point at which your responsibility for the premises and its energy use ended.
Write down the exact date you believe this happened.
Then gather evidence supporting it.
Do not simply write: "We moved out ages ago."
Give the supplier a date and evidence.
Ofgem's current business Change of Tenancy guidance says businesses should tell the current energy supplier about a change of occupier as soon as possible.
Suppliers may request evidence before changing responsibility on the account.
Take a final meter reading if available
If you have a meter photograph from around the date you left, keep it.
A final reading can help separate the energy used while you were responsible for the premises from energy used afterwards.
Ideally, a photograph should show enough of the meter to identify it as well as the reading.
If you no longer have access to the premises, do not invent or estimate a final reading.
Tell the supplier what evidence you do have and ask how it has calculated the closing position.
Check the MPAN, meter and site address
Do not look only at the address printed at the top of the bill.
Check the underlying supply information.
For electricity, compare the MPAN where available.
Compare the meter serial number with historic meter photographs or previous bills.
Check whether the billing period relates to the premises you actually occupied.
If something does not correspond, raise that discrepancy specifically.
What if the address on the energy bill is wrong?
A wrong or unusual site address does not automatically prove that the energy charges belong to somebody else.
Business energy supply records can contain address descriptions that do not perfectly match the postal address a customer normally uses.
The important question is which physical supply and meter the account relates to.
Check the MPAN or MPRN, meter serial number, premises and billing history.
If the address is wrong but the MPAN and meter identify the correct supply, the address issue may need correcting without necessarily changing who was responsible for the energy.
If the underlying supply information also appears wrong, investigate further.
What if the supplier never processed the Change of Tenancy?
If you previously told the supplier that you had moved out, find the evidence.
Look for the original Change of Tenancy form, emails, automatic acknowledgements, case references, complaint references, and any message confirming that the supplier would process the change.
Send those records again with a clear chronology.
Ask the supplier to confirm the date it currently believes your responsibility ended, whether the previous Change of Tenancy request was processed, whether it requires any further evidence, and which charges will be corrected if the responsibility date changes.
Do not rely solely on a previous telephone conversation if written evidence is available.
What if bills are estimated?
If the disputed bills contain estimated readings, treat that as a separate part of the investigation.
Compare the estimates with actual readings you previously submitted, meter photographs, historic consumption, and any final reading around the date you left.
An estimated reading is not automatically an incorrect reading.
But if the estimate appears inconsistent with the available evidence, ask the supplier how it was calculated and whether the account needs to be rebilled.
What if I didn't receive regular energy bills?
A large catch-up bill can sometimes appear after a supplier has not accurately charged for energy previously used.
Do not assume that receiving the bill late automatically means nothing is payable.
First establish what period is being billed, whether the energy was actually used while you were responsible, whether the readings are accurate, whether the charges have been billed before, and whether the business qualifies for any applicable backbilling protection.
Historic billing and backbilling
Backbilling is a separate question from Change of Tenancy.
A Change of Tenancy investigation asks: "Who was responsible for this supply during these dates?"
A backbilling investigation asks: "Even if the customer was responsible, are these historic charges recoverable under the applicable rules?"
Do not combine the two questions.
Ofgem's current backbilling rules provide 12-month protection for domestic customers and qualifying microbusinesses in relevant circumstances.
The protection does not automatically apply to every business.
The rules are subject to conditions and exceptions.
Do not assume that every charge older than 12 months must be cancelled.
What if the supplier says I still owe the debt?
Ask the supplier to explain exactly how the disputed balance has been calculated.
Separate the balance into charges relating to the period you accept responsibility for, charges relating to dates after you say responsibility ended, estimated or disputed consumption, historic catch-up charges, and any other fees or adjustments.
If you dispute part of the balance, make clear which part you dispute and why.
Do not simply ignore bills, payment requests or supplier correspondence.
Keep the dispute in writing wherever possible.
What if the disputed debt is affecting a supplier switch?
If a supplier switch is being objected to or rejected while there is a billing or Change of Tenancy dispute, ask the existing supplier to explain the reason for the objection in writing.
Do not assume that every supplier objection is unlawful.
The correct position can depend on the contract, account status, customer type and circumstances.
If you believe the objection relies on a balance that should not belong to you, explain the underlying Change of Tenancy or billing dispute and ask the supplier to review the objection alongside the account correction.
Keep evidence of attempted transfers, rejection messages and supplier correspondence.
Supplier complaint and escalation
If the supplier does not resolve the issue, raise a formal complaint.
Keep the date the complaint was raised, the complaint reference, copies of evidence, supplier responses, and a short chronology of what has happened.
Eligible microbusiness and Small Business customers may be able to take an unresolved supplier dispute to the Energy Ombudsman after receiving a deadlock letter or after the supplier has had eight weeks to resolve the complaint.
Not every UK business qualifies for the Energy Ombudsman.
Ofgem does not investigate individual customer complaints.
Energy Ombudsman eligibility
Energy Ombudsman eligibility is broader than the microbusiness definition used for 12-month backbilling protection.
Current Small Business criteria can include: fewer than 50 employees/FTE AND annual turnover of no more than £6.5 million or balance sheet total of no more than £5 million; OR annual electricity consumption of no more than 200,000 kWh; OR annual gas consumption of no more than 500,000 kWh.
Do not confuse these thresholds with the microbusiness backbilling thresholds.
What to send your supplier
When raising the issue with your supplier, give them enough information to investigate properly.
Copy-and-paste supplier message
Subject: Business energy account still billing us after change of tenancy
I'm contacting you because we are still being billed for an energy supply after we stopped being responsible for the premises. Our responsibility for the premises ended on [DATE]. Please confirm: 1. The date you currently have recorded as the end of our responsibility for the supply. 2. Whether a Change of Tenancy or Change of Occupier request has previously been recorded on the account. 3. Which evidence you require to update the responsibility date. 4. The MPAN/MPRN and meter serial number currently associated with the account. 5. The meter readings being used to close our period of responsibility. 6. Which charges on the current balance relate to dates after [DATE]. 7. Whether any of the disputed charges are based on estimated readings. 8. Whether historic bills will need to be recalculated once the responsibility dates and meter readings have been confirmed. I have attached the evidence available to support the date we stopped being responsible for the premises. Please investigate the account rather than simply confirming the outstanding balance. Please provide your response and any corrected billing in writing.
The Best Energy Rates Desk
When a business tells us it is still being billed after moving out, we don't start with the size of the balance.
We start with responsibility.
Which supply is it?
When did the business stop being responsible?
What evidence proves that date?
What did the meter read?
What period is the supplier actually charging for?
Once those facts are established, we can then look separately at estimated readings, historic billing, backbilling and any disputed balance.
Trying to argue everything at once usually makes a complicated account even harder to understand.
Break the problem into parts.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my business energy supplier still billing me after I moved out?
The supplier may not have processed the Change of Tenancy, may not have sufficient evidence of the responsibility date, or its records may contain different occupancy information. Start by asking what responsibility dates are currently recorded and what evidence is required to correct them.
What evidence proves I moved out of business premises?
Useful evidence can include tenancy or lease documents, surrender documentation, sale or completion documents, solicitor or landlord correspondence, business rates evidence where relevant, handover records and meter photographs. The evidence needed depends on the circumstances.
Do I need a final meter reading when moving business premises?
A final meter reading is extremely useful because it can help separate your consumption from energy used after responsibility changed. If possible, take a clear photograph. If you no longer have a reading, do not invent one. Ask the supplier how it intends to calculate the closing position.
What if the address on my business energy bill is wrong?
A wrong address does not automatically mean the supply is not yours. Check the MPAN or MPRN, meter serial number and physical premises. The underlying supply identifiers can be more important than the way the address is displayed.
What if I told the supplier I moved out but they didn't process it?
Find the original Change of Tenancy request, emails, acknowledgements and case references. Send them with evidence of the responsibility date and ask the supplier to explain whether the previous request was processed and what remains outstanding.
Am I responsible for energy used after I moved out?
Liability depends on the circumstances and when responsibility for the premises and supply changed. If you believe charges relate to a period after your responsibility ended, provide evidence of that date and ask the supplier to explain why it believes you remain liable.
Can estimated readings affect my final business energy bill?
Yes. If the closing bill uses estimated readings, compare them with any actual readings or meter photographs you have. Ask the supplier to explain the estimate if it does not reflect the available evidence.
Can my supplier backbill me for energy from years ago?
It depends on the customer and circumstances. Ofgem's 12-month backbilling protection applies to qualifying microbusinesses in relevant circumstances and is subject to conditions and exceptions. It does not automatically apply to every business.
Can an energy supplier stop my business switching because of disputed debt?
Supplier objections and rejected transfers can depend on the contract, account status, customer type and circumstances. Ask the supplier for the precise reason for any objection. If the balance itself is disputed because of an unresolved Change of Tenancy or billing problem, make that clear and ask for both issues to be reviewed.
Can The Best Energy Rates help with a Change of Tenancy dispute?
Yes. We can help investigate the supply details, responsibility dates, meter readings, billing history and evidence and help establish what needs to be raised with the supplier. This does not require you to change supplier.
Related guides
Business energy bill validation
How we check business energy bills for errors.
Meter readings don't match bill
What to do when meter readings and bills don't correspond.
SSE change of tenancy guide
Change of tenancy process for SSE business customers.
PE Solutions change of tenancy guide
Change of tenancy process for PE Solutions customers.
PE Solutions moving premises guide
What to do when moving premises as a PE Solutions customer.
SSE bills, meter readings and backbilling
Backbilling rules and meter reading guidance for SSE customers.