The situation
A retailer with a store in a large shopping centre received a back bill from its supplier covering several years of estimated billing. The sum ran to six figures and the supplier wanted it paid in full.
The business had paid every bill it had been sent. The problem was that those bills had been estimated, and the estimates had drifted a long way from what the store actually used.
What we did
- Pulled the full meter history and the half hourly data for the supply.
- Challenged the period the supplier was entitled to bill for.
- Reworked the consumption using actual reads rather than estimates and produced our own calculation.
- Went back to the supplier with the evidence, and kept going through several rounds until the figure was right.
- Negotiated a 12 month payment plan so the business could spread the cost rather than pay in one go.
The result
The supplier accepted a figure around 70% lower than the original demand, and agreed a 12 month payment plan.
The business kept trading without a cash flow shock, and its bills now run on actual reads.
What this shows
A back bill is a starting position, not a final figure. Suppliers are entitled to recover under billed usage, but only for the right period and the right consumption. The evidence usually exists to test both.
Received a back bill?
Send us the bill and the letter that came with it and we will tell you what the position looks like and what the next step is. Free and no obligation.
Send us the billClient details are withheld to protect confidentiality. We do not name clients or disclose contracted rates without their explicit permission. The outcome described is specific to that client's contracts and circumstances and is not a guarantee of what we can achieve for another business, so it is worth confirming the detail for your sites.