A number of Spanish home owners have recently received a rather surprising phone call from their power suppliers claiming that they have an outstanding amount on the account (sometimes thousands) which needs to be paid immediately – failure to pay immediately will result in the power being cut off and the meter being removed.
The caller claims that the outstanding amount comes from paying too little over the previous year, reminders have been sent and that they must pay up now to ‘even it out.’ Many home owners, especially those who use their properties for holiday rentals, may genuinely think they could have been paying too little over the past year and pay the outstanding amount just to avoid being cut off.
It can be very worrying to receive such a phone call especially if you are not in Spain at the time, the last thing you want is for the meter to be removed because of an unpaid utility bill! So it’s no surprise that some home owners have felt forced to pay. Luckily for some, after receiving the call they decided to ring the power company back just to be on the safe side, only to find out they didn’t actually owe anything at all! It is also illegal to remove the power meter because of non payment so the threat is another sign the caller is not legitimate.
If you pay your power bill via direct debit, remember to regularly check your bank statements to ensure they are being paid correctly and keep in mind that Endesa will always send registered letters regarding outstanding payments.
Please pass this information on to other members in your community or your community president so everyone can be advised. Alternatively post it on your community website to make sure no one falls for it no matter where they are.