Energy company keeps messing up bill

rustledjimm

Trying to get in touch with citizens advice but I assume they're overwhelmed like every part of the UK's support network as I've not gotten through yet. Figured I'd also ask for advice here. Please let me know if it's not relevant!

We are with e.on and they have been messing up our bill constantly since we were with them in October. First they randomly took away our direct debit discount despite paying direct debit the entire time. That was finally fixed in April, no compensation but we were not overbilled at least.

Secondly I asked to change from a 2 rate metre (eco 7) to paying a standard rate, we do not have storage heaters and use far more energy during the day. I was told multiple times, incorrectly, that it was either impossible or a new metre would have to be installed. Despite e.on's own website saying they can simply add the day and night rate together as a single rate. After complaining I received £30 compensation, which felt like it barely covered the time I had to spend on the phone multiple times, and we were switched to the flat rate.

But when we were switched to the flat rate they took away our direct debit discount despite paying direct debit and we are now receiving separate electricity and gas bills! My partner is currently going through a bad mental health episode and this is causing her so much stress as she is also the main bill payer. Financial issues cause me stress due to past financial problems I had due to my ADHD, but she is so bad I am having to deal with it. I'm really upset and angry but I feel like they've never taken us seriously.  We want to leave them but because we joined just before winter started we're about £1000 in debt so cannot leave without paying off that entire debt.

I know I have to wait 8 weeks to go to the Ombudsman but is that true if I am still experiencing the same problem 7 months down the line even if there was a small gap of 2 months where it wasn't an issue?

Are there certain things I should say?

Do you think I can demand a switch and we pay off some of the debt we owe them while also expecting some of it to be written off due to how many issues we've had?

rebel11

Are you on social media? If so contact them on Twitter. Write a Formal Letter of Complaint, mark it as such. Explain what's happened, how it's effected you and what you want them to do. You need to do this before you can make a complaint to the Services Ombudsman. EON will send you a final / Deadlock letter, then you can complain to the Ombudsman if you still aren't happy. Don't speak to them over the phone. 

You can leave early because of the problems you've encountered, sometimes if issues linger, things can get out of control. 

https://www.eonenergy.com/contact/complaints.html
  

Hannah_Alumni

I'm so sorry this is causing you and your partner a lot of stress @rustledjimm Can I ask, do you have support around you?

I'd encourage you to reach out to Scope's Disability Energy Support. They would be able to advise and support you further  

2oldcodgers

rustledjimm said:

We are with e.on and they have been messing up our bill constantly since we were with them in October.

 We want to leave them but because we joined just before winter started we're about £1000 in debt so cannot leave without paying off that entire debt.

I am amazed that since October 2022 you have amassed a debt for your fuel despite paying the DD each month.
Either you have not been paying your way fully or that Eon have made a huge bloomer by not ensuring that your DD is not set for a too small amount.

I am also with Eon and I have the exact opposite problem with them. I have had a substantial credit throughout last winter which was increasing every month. Then they tell me that since the 1/7/23 our annual fuel bill will be over £500 lower but they refuse to reduce the DD to take that into account!

My account with them shows a never ending increase in the credit balance every month for the past 18 months at least.

poppy123456

2oldcodgers said:

rustledjimm said:

We are with e.on and they have been messing up our bill constantly since we were with them in October.

 We want to leave them but because we joined just before winter started we're about £1000 in debt so cannot leave without paying off that entire debt.

I am amazed that since October 2022 you have amassed a debt for your fuel despite paying the DD each month.
Either you have not been paying your way fully or that Eon have made a huge bloomer by not ensuring that your DD is not set for a too small amount.

I'm sorry but i find your comment extremely rude! Not everyone is fortunate to be in credit with their energy account! There's so many people going through some very difficult financial times with the CoL being so high right now. Many people spent the winter months choosing whether to eat or heat! I think you should at least show some consideration when posting comments.

Community_Scope

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MW123

Dear rustledjimm, 

E.ON incurred significant repercussions between October and December 2022 during Ofgem's investigation into energy companies. E.ON was imposed with a £5 million fine due to their inadequate customer service. Upon reading the treatment you have experienced, it is evident that E.ON has failed to learn from their past mistakes. I am deeply saddened, shocked, and disgusted by the disregard they have shown towards your pleas for assistance. 

I understand that you initially contacted E.ON in October regarding the removal of your direct debit discount, but unfortunately, this matter remained unresolved until April. Have you received a comprehensive explanation for the six-month delay in resolving this issue? Furthermore, I would like to inquire about your level of satisfaction with the outcome provided. If your concerns have not been adequately addressed by E.ON and you remain dissatisfied with their response, I recommend seeking assistance from the Ombudsman now. 

Based on my understanding, it appears that during the winter months, E.ON assigned you an Economy 7 tariff despite the absence of storage heaters in your premises. As a result, you were charged a higher rate for electricity consumption during the day. I am confident that the Ombudsman will be more than willing to investigate this matter on your behalf. 

In the UK, it is still possible to switch energy suppliers even if you have outstanding debts with your current supplier. However, there are a few crucial factors to consider. Any existing debt with your current energy supplier remains your responsibility, even after switching. The new supplier may conduct a credit check as part of the switching process, and outstanding debts could impact your credit score and the new supplier's decision to accept your application. Since each supplier has its own criteria, it is advisable to directly inquire with the prospective supplier regarding their credit check requirements. 

I recommend contacting the Ombudsman and providing them with a comprehensive account of your complaint, including all relevant documentation and correspondence related to the issues. Clearly explain the ongoing problems you have faced and emphasise the impact it has had on you. By doing so, you will enable the Ombudsman to thoroughly evaluate your case and work towards a resolution. 

I wish you the best of luck in resolving this situation!

rustledjimm

Thanks for the advice, everyone.

In regards to why we got into debt over the winter is because we joined E.On in October when we moved house. The way paying for energy via direct debit works is you are expected to use more energy than you pay in winter and then pay more than you use in summer. We joined them right before the cold period started. We are still in line to reach even in September if this direct debit issue is resolved.

Hannah_Scope Thank you for the link, we do have support and we aren't going to go cold or anything. It's just become such a frustrating rigamarole. I have opened a case with Citizens Advice as well, they were very helpful. They also advised me to complain via email or letter to ensure a paper trail among other good advice.

They also, as @MW123 has mentioned, gave similar advice about switching. We fully understand that we would still have to pay off the debt. Though Citizen's Advice did say that with the issues we have occured we would be able to argue they release us as a customer with a payment plan in place instead of having to pay off the full amount all at once.

I've sent an email off, having written it using the Citizens Advice advice (odd saying that), and advice from here. Thank you all for contributing.

JessieJ

I saw the title of your thread & knew who it would be, @rustledjimm. So sorry you're having problems with EON, it seems the way, often. 

I know, as yet again I had to call this morning & after an hour+ of going around in circles, I still didn't get the simple reply I needed, my charges for the last 13 days. It seems the price changes & then confusion reigns, as they then estimate with outrageous numbers compared to my use. At least, that has been the case with my account. 

rebel11

The UK energy suppliers is the 'Wild, Wild, West', where anything goes. 

I've had many dealings with energy companies over the years, OFGEM 
and the Services Ombudsman (I know way to much about them). 

When the Services Ombudsman makes a decision, previously you only had 2 options, after a bit of intervention (me) you have 3 options, the options didn't make sense previously.  

rustledjimm

MW123 said:

E.ON incurred significant repercussions between October and December 2022 during Ofgem's investigation into energy companies. E.ON was imposed with a £5 million fine due to their inadequate customer service. Upon reading the treatment you have experienced, it is evident that E.ON has failed to learn from their past mistakes. I am deeply saddened, shocked, and disgusted by the disregard they have shown towards your pleas for assistance. 

I looked into Ofgem's decision on this.

The £5 million is broken down into £4 million to be paid to customers affected, this amounts to about £8 per customer. A pittance with how high energy bills are, their parent company made several billion in profit last year and up to May this year had already recorded over a billion in profit.

The other million has been allocated for Ofgem's "Voluntary Redress Fund".

Almost makes you wonder if the fines are already allocated for when they make these decisions. If thousands, if not millions, of other customers have also not received their direct debit discount that is potentially £100+ per customer or more.

OverlyAnxious

rustledjimm said:

If thousands, if not millions, of other customers have also not received their direct debit discount that is potentially £100+ per customer or more.

Should the DD discount show on the bill?  I've just checked my latest statement and can't see it.

rustledjimm

It doesn't show up as a discount but is technically a different tariff. So the bill would tell you that you aren't on the cheapest tariff and the payment method would say something other than Direct Debit.

We are entirely electronic, so admittedly in the first instance between Nov and March we should've caught it earlier but we have a lot going on in our lives and we had no reason to believe there were issues. Since then we do keep a slightly better eye but we did miss the issue for a month this time.

OverlyAnxious

rustledjimm said:

It doesn't show up as a discount but is technically a different tariff. So the bill would tell you that you aren't on the cheapest tariff and the payment method would say something other than Direct Debit.

Thanks.  Just checked mine and it says this so must be correct. 

Good news, you're already on our cheapest tariff. We'll let you know if this changes. 

I always find the electric bill a bit confusing so don't generally question it!  I take meter readings every month and manually calculate them against the rates and standing charge to get a rough idea of what it should be.  

Must admit, even without using storage heaters I still use far more on the cheap rate than I do on the day rate.  I do have an electric immersion heater for the water though, I think that's where the vast majority of my electric goes.

rustledjimm

Yeah, we have gas to heat our water. We're also both home all day (work from home), so using computers/cooking for lunch and everything. Save on paying for lunches etc. but we obviously use a lot more electricity at home due to it.

2oldcodgers

poppy123456 said:

I'm sorry but i find your comment extremely rude! Not everyone is fortunate to be in credit with their energy account! There's so many people going through some very difficult financial times with the CoL being so high right now. Many people spent the winter months choosing whether to eat or heat! I think you should at least show some consideration when posting comments.

The only reason that we were in an ever increasing credit was because Eon would not reduce our DD in October 2022. To be factual during the months of November through to June our DD was for the equivalent of just under one weeks income! Yes we had to budget hard as others have done to ensure that we were able to cover all of the DD's going out. Not helpful of Eon to be adding nearly £200 to the credit each month throughout the winter.
As I have said they have now refused to reduce the DD to give credit for the reduction since this month. 
The only way we have been able to keep our head above water was because we do not have a mortgage on our home and our children have been helping us out.
Finally when they were recently approached requesting that they return the credit on the account they refused citing that it is better for us not to be in debt next winter - as if!!

2oldcodgers

OverlyAnxious said:

rustledjimm said:

If thousands, if not millions, of other customers have also not received their direct debit discount that is potentially £100+ per customer or more.

Should the DD discount show on the bill?  I've just checked my latest statement and can't see it.

Just checked my monthly bills going back to this time last year. No discount is shown. Do I want another round of arguments that only result in me becoming stressed - No! 
My peace of mind is a lot more important than £100.

rustledjimm

2oldcodgers said:

poppy123456 said:

I'm sorry but i find your comment extremely rude! Not everyone is fortunate to be in credit with their energy account! There's so many people going through some very difficult financial times with the CoL being so high right now. Many people spent the winter months choosing whether to eat or heat! I think you should at least show some consideration when posting comments.

The only reason that we were in an ever increasing credit was because Eon would not reduce our DD in October 2022. To be factual during the months of November through to June our DD was for the equivalent of just under one weeks income! Yes we had to budget hard as others have done to ensure that we were able to cover all of the DD's going out. Not helpful of Eon to be adding nearly £200 to the credit each month throughout the winter.
As I have said they have now refused to reduce the DD to give credit for the reduction since this month. 
The only way we have been able to keep our head above water was because we do not have a mortgage on our home and our children have been helping us out.
Finally when they were recently approached requesting that they return the credit on the account they refused citing that it is better for us not to be in debt next winter - as if!!

I will say the reason they like this is because they can use the credit in thousands of customers' accounts for their own purposes. That credit money isn't safely tucked away and untouched, it's used. Much like how the banks use people's savings in bank accounts to offset loans they give out. Of course they want everyone to be in a large credit surplus, it gives *them* more money to play around with. Not that they need it unlike their customers.

WelshBlue

rustledjimm said:

I will say the reason they like this is because they can use the credit in thousands of customers' accounts for their own purposes. That credit money isn't safely tucked away and untouched, it's used. Much like how the banks use people's savings in bank accounts to offset loans they give out. Of course they want everyone to be in a large credit surplus, it gives *them* more money to play around with. Not that they need it unlike their customers.

When I was working, I stopped doing line clearance tree work for electricity companies ... it would take them 3 months to settle invoices.  Industry standard with utility companies but they're quick enough to come after consumers who owe them.  Whole system stinks

@2oldcodgers ... I thought it became law they had to refund customers in credit ?  Could be wrong

I use prepayment - i know where I am

rustledjimm

Incase people are wondering about updates we've heard nothing back yet from our initial email.

@WelshBlue Do you not have to pay quite a bit more with prepayment though or did the government finally change that? I had to live with prepayment when I was a teenager after I moved out. Difficult time for me back then, I was newly diagnosed with Crohn's and far from my support network so it has very negative connotations for me.

WelshBlue

@rustledjimm ... I think it's from July that pre-payment is the same as DD

From past experiences it was about £120 a year more to use Pre-payment.  For me it was worth it for that control need I have with PTSD ...  If I can control it, I've got to.
I've always thought it was morally wrong that the more vulnerable had to pay more when there was no risk of default but utilities are like big pharma' in my eyes.  Crooked and corrupt.  Allegedly.