You know how it is these days. You go to one of these switching sites and they switch you to a company that provides a cheaper service. And suddenly the companies that provide that cheaper service all go to the wall.

I got an email yesterday from GNE asking for meter readings and I remember thinking, "That's odd. It feels like less than three months since the last one." But I went to the site anyway and put in my readings. Today I read that they've gone bust. That's why they needed the final reading before I get transferred to someone else. God knows who they'll be or what they'll charge.

You can read about it here.

The new one can't do their own meter readings?!

I don't have a smart meter.

Looking at it's accounts posted on Companies House, it looks like your supplier was incorporated in 2015, so a relatively new company - and was loss making from start to finish. Looks like they also fired some directors and appointed three new ones, but still couldn't turn it around.
As soon as they change you over to a new supplier - just switch to your supplier of choice.

Choice is meaningless nowadays. The whole market has just gone crazy. I blame it on the comparison websites. That seemed like such a good idea at the time (like Facebook??). People could compare the market and find the best deals. But what happened of course was that all the energy companies had to produce cheap introductory rates to look good on these sites, which they financed by screwing the hell out of their existing customers. So now everybody has to switch every year just to avoid getting screwed. This has generated big costs for everyone and huge amounts of aggro for customers, without the slightest benefit to anyone. It's just endless, needless churn.

So OfGEM tried to prevent customers from getting screwed (for example by setting ceilings for certain tariffs), and what's the result? Companies that offer the lowest rates to new customers to get them from the comparison sites mostly go bankrupt.

They should never have privatised energy. Gas, electricity and water are the same wherever you buy them from, so it's ridiculous to buy them from different places. It's not like food, where you can get different things by going to different supermarkets. When different companies are allowed to sell exactly the same thing at different prices, that isn't competition; it's a recipe for fraud and price-fixing.

The market is sewn up the "big 6", who control the biggest and most lucrative contracts. The smaller providers fight over the domestic supply market.

In our region we have them where they can be read remotely, and used to be read by a drive-by, but we still have physical meters outside the houses where someone can walk up and read it. That's always been the situation around here.I can agree, but in theory only. They've had it privatized here for years and there's usually "choice" documents sent around (1) because lawfully your energy suppliers are supposed to advise you that you have a choice, and (2) it allows potential competitors to send you advertisements and enticements. It's just never been a problem where I live, no suppliers have gone out of business, and I haven't seen any stories about some debacle where an energy provider screwed people and got sued or congress got involved or something. Last big thing I recall was the breakup of what we called "Ma Bell", and that's worked out pretty good.

The first rule of Business is: If they couldn't do that, they probably weren't very good at their job.

Fixed that for you. Seems to be what I have witnessed with business all my lifetime and from the laws enacted against it everywhere, it seems to have been the popular method since the beginning.

That was the first rule of business since before Adam Smith, but, thanks to the Chicago School, the first rule of business now seems to be "maximum return to shareholders."

Many businesses have been sacrificed on that altar, even though that notion is barely older than I am.

Not saying that's the case for hazel's electric utility, just sayin'.

I'd say move to Texas where the choices are numerous but I know you would be miserable here also for assorted different reasons.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Uc9ULdBtMg

Maybe in another life. The only religion that makes some sort sense to me.

Just joking around Hazel. I gotta release some of today's tension after hearing " we charge 175 dollars a hour"
and me having no choice but to leave the part with them.
Edit:
Might help you. Might not. I am UK clueless.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqFL5Xs6Rl4

What happens in these cases is that OfGEM gets you a new supplier and they contact you and arrange the transfer. Meanwhile the gas and electricity keep flowing. Any surplus or deficit that you have built up with the old busted supplier gets transferred along with you. In my case, it's a large surplus, because I pay the same monthly amount, summer and winter, but I don't use a lot of electricity during the summer; my fridge, freezer and computer run off the solar panel on the roof by day.

Actually I 'm a bit puzzled about that. Essentially this is money that I've lent the company and usually, when someone goes bankrupt, money lent to them is simply lost because they can't pay it back. That's what bankruptcy means. I assume that taking on these responsibilities is the price the new supplier has to pay for gaining a large block of new customers. Some will be in credit, some in debit, so it probably evens up overall.

Anyway, I went to the bank yesterday and cut off the direct debit to GNE. OfGEM's site says you can safely do that.

I'm with a "community power provider" myself, being Energy Locals, they don't attempt to try and make a big profit. So my power bills are always very reasonable, and I think I'm in credit with them over $400, from memory.

I don't know if you have any "community" power providers in the UK like Energy Locals here, but if you do, you might want to go with one of them. Have you looked into that?

According to the OfGEM HOWTO, you should not switch suppliers in this situation but wait until you are switched by them and then switch further if you do not like the new deal. However it is permissible to cancel a direct debit to the failed company. So yesterday I did just that. I don't see why I should pay good money to a bankrupt institution. Furthermore, because of my pattern of consumption, I always build up a large credit surplus over summer so I owe them nothing.

Today I got the standard email complaining about the cancelled direct debit and warning me that it could become a blot on my credit record. Such emails always come from a noreply sender and this one provided no alternative way to contact them except their customer service telephone number. As that was a free 0800 number, I called them.

The menu robot was working normally of course, but when I finally fell off the menu, there was a very long silence and then a frazzled Indian voice telling me that they weren't dealing with anybody right now and I should ring another free number. That turned out to be a prerecorded message from the Citizens Advice Bureau telling me mostly what I knew already about this kind of situation.

So I looked at the original "welcome pack" that they had sent me when I joined and found a customer service email address. I sent an email there explaining my course of action and pointing out that I actually had a £105 credit balance with them, more than enough to pay for any energy that I might use between now and my transfer to the new supplier.

That email arrived intact because I've just received an automatic receipt notice. I just hope someone actually reads it. I really don't see why I should be f****d about just because I don't want to send good money after bad.

@Hazel
Do you have to pre-pay for your power? They have a level pay here. I never use it. They average your years usage and divide by 12. I just pay what I owe, I don't care if it is not the same every month. So they are waiting on me, not me on them.