Is it worth going to the Energy Ombudsman?
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No, we rejected it.
I feel strongly that the regulatory authorities should be treating the energy suppliers' accounting failures in the same way that they treat back-billing, in that it should form part of the agreement to limit the chargeable time period to 12 months. I don't accept the ombudsman's decision that there's nothing they can do to stop EON giving receipts for bill payments, then sending threatening letters several years later demanding payment because they've mucked up the payment processing, then taking payment without permission- it's apparently just a shortfall in customer service.
My position is that it's both a breach of the code of practice (as all accounts are supposed to be reviewed every 12 months, which should unearth errors like this if done properly), and possibly also a breach of the licensing standards, in that suppliers are supposed to offer payment plans, which EON did not do. My next step will be to report to OFGEM- I know that they don't over-rule the ombudsman or intervene in individual cases, therefore we've lost both the disputed money and the small amount of compensation directed by the ombudsman,but I do think EON's licence adherence and poor accounting practices need to be investigated. I've also joined this site to try to find out how widespread this is , and once I've figured out forum navigation will post an EON- specific thread about it.
Ofgem, as you correctly state, do not intervene in customers individual complaints.
So yes, by rejecting the ombudsman's proposed resolution, that is the end of it as far as they are concerned.
Your only avenue open to you now is to take direct legal action against the supplier ... and I don't see you have any grounds to do so, sorry.
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To be honest, my focus has moved away from trying to get our money back from EON. As you say, legal action is a very big step and one which we'd need to consider very carefully after expert advice.
We know that OFGEM don't act on behalf of individuals. However, we do believe that OFGEM should have their attention drawn to potential breaches of the licensing standards and account/payment mismanagement, so that they can then take appropriate action with respect to EON. We'd also like OFGEM to consider extending the back-billing regulations to include suppliers' accounting and payment errors as well as billing errors whenever the regulations are next under review. It won't help us , but I hope that at some point in the future, energy suppliers will no longer be able to clobber customers with huge bills which result from the supplier's own error from several years before.0 -
And going back to the case of the ombudsman- we'd be no better off if we'd accepted the ombudsman's proposal. That would have suggested that we think it's acceptable to write EON's failings off as 'customer service shortfalls' , and we don't agree that that is the case.
Customers who reach deadlock don't appear to have any options other than going to the ombudsman, and trusting that the ombudsman is neutral and fair even though they are paid by the energy companies for each case.0 -
To be honest, my focus has moved away from trying to get our money back from EON. As you say, legal action is a very big step and one which we'd need to consider very carefully after expert advice.
We know that OFGEM don't act on behalf of individuals. However, we do believe that OFGEM should have their attention drawn to potential breaches of the licensing standards and account/payment mismanagement, so that they can then take appropriate action with respect to EON. We'd also like OFGEM to consider extending the back-billing regulations to include suppliers' accounting and payment errors as well as billing errors whenever the regulations are next under review. It won't help us , but I hope that at some point in the future, energy suppliers will no longer be able to clobber customers with huge bills which result from the supplier's own error from several years before.And going back to the case of the ombudsman- we'd be no better off if we'd accepted the ombudsman's proposal. That would have suggested that we think it's acceptable to write EON's failings off as 'customer service shortfalls' , and we don't agree that that is the case.
Customers who reach deadlock don't appear to have any options other than going to the ombudsman, and trusting that the ombudsman is neutral and fair even though they are paid by the energy companies for each case.
Just a quick heads up Eggatha. If you haven't already seen it, I replied to a similar post on the E.ON Feedback thread yesterday. It's at the link below.
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?p=72789117#post72789117
Sorry if you've already seen this.
Malc“Official Company Representative
I am an official company representative of E.ON. MSE has given permission for me to post in response to queries about the company, so that I can help solve issues. You can see my name on the companies with permission to post list. I am not allowed to tout for business at all. If you believe I am please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com This does NOT imply any form of approval of my company or its products by MSE"0
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