Energy Guides

What’s an erroneous transfer?

At AquaSwitch, our energy experts help businesses with the process of switching between electricity and gas suppliers.

In the energy industry, only the account holder (the business or person responsible for paying for energy) can choose to switch suppliers.

A situation sometimes arises where a business energy supplier switch occurs without the account holder’s permission. This is known as an erroneous transfer.

Here we’ve published a helpful guide explaining this situation to help you navigate the process should this occur to you.

What is an erroneous transfer?

An erroneous transfer occurs when one business energy supplier mistakenly switches the wrong gas or electricity supply.

How does an erroneous transfer occur?

The most common reasons for an erroneous transfer are:

When a new property is built, the MPRN/MPAN registration details have been recorded inaccurately. This is a common scenario for a block of flats or offices that contain numerous gas and electricity meters.
Human error by another person or business selecting your supply point and signing up for a switch.
An error made by a business energy supplier.

What happens during an erroneous transfer?

Your experience in an erroneous transfer depends on whether you make the erroneous transfer or someone else does. Let’s explore both:

i. I’ve accidentally switched someone else’s electricity or gas supply.

Using the AquaSwitch business energy comparison service, you can look up electricity and gas supply point information based on an address.

If you’ve made an error in this process and signed up to switch to a new supplier for someone else’s supply, then you’ll be informed by AquaSwitch that your switch has been objected to because you are not the account holder.

In this scenario, our energy experts will help you identify the correct supply point and repeat the comparison process.

ii. Someone else has accidentally switched your energy supply.

In this scenario, you’ll receive communication from your current business energy supplier. You’ll likely receive:

A customer service department query lets you know someone has requested to switch your supply.
A “sorry you’re leaving” communication from your supplier.
A final bill that you haven’t asked for.

In this scenario, we recommend talking to the customer services department of your supplier to explain the situation. Check out our guide to business energy suppliers for your supplier’s contact information.

How long does it take to resolve an erroneous transfer?

Business electricity and gas suppliers have an agreed process for dealing with switches that have occurred in error.

Once you’ve let your supplier know of the error, your supplier will resolve the situation on your behalf. The process of resolving erroneous transfers will typically take three months.

Can my business get compensation for an erroneous transfer?

Unfortunately not.

In the consumer energy markets, customers receive £30 compensation for erroneous switches and delayed refunds of credit balances. Since such compensation would make very little difference to most businesses, this rule does not apply to business electricity rates or business gas prices.