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Erroneous transfers – what happens, why, and how do you sort it out?

If you’re wondering ‘What happens if you've taken over my supply by mistake?’, then you’re in the right place. Read on to find out more.


In this article, we cover all the things that can go wrong when switching or transferring your account to a different energy supplier. The energy industry calls these mistakes with switches, ‘erroneous transfers'. Read on to find out why erroneous transfers happen, what to do if your supply is switched by mistake, what to expect and how long it takes to fix.

Wondering ‘why have I had an erroneous transfer’?

There are three typical reasons:

  1. When you sign up with us, we look up your address in a national database that includes your current energy details. Sometimes the details in the list are wrong or bits are missing (especially if your property is a flat or a new build) and we may try to take over the wrong supply by mistake – this is called an Erroneous Transfer.
  2. In unusual circumstances, it may be that someone has made a fraudulent switch on your behalf.
  3. You could also get an Erroneous Transfer if you’ve changed your mind and cancelled during your cool-off period but we couldn’t stop the switch in time.

Your question is ‘what happens if you've taken over my supply by mistake’?

The simple answer to this is that we’ll work hard to get it sorted out for you as quickly as possible. In a bit more detail:

  • First things first, an apology – we’re really sorry for any inconvenience it may cause.
  • Next, don’t worry – we’ll get in touch with your supplier and arrange to put everything back as it was.
  • You’ll be switched back as soon as possible
  • Your old supplier will bill you for the energy you use while we get your supply back to them, just as if nothing had happened.

Want to know how long it takes to fix?

How long does an erroneous transfer take to sort out? It depends on the circumstances.

If you want to switch to Boost, but we’ve taken over the wrong supply, it may hold up your switch for as long as 4-6 weeks.
If you didn’t ask to switch to us, or if we’ve made a mistake while cancelling your transfer, we’ll start switching your supply back to your previous supplier as quickly as possible – usually within 25 days. However, some cases, it can take as long as 10 to 12 weeks.

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