GRRR - E.on taken £3,200 out of my account 'by mistake'

1carminestocky

Before any individual gets the wrong idea, this isn't directed at any one person but can I just remind anyone posting on this forum who works for an energy company or in a related field, they MUST declare it in every post. Not my rules, it's the site rules, as laid down here by Martin:


http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=1041722&postcount=1

brysiewysie

What on earth prompted this blast from the past?

1carminestocky wrote: »

Before any individual gets the wrong idea, this isn't directed at any one person but can I just remind anyone posting on this forum who works for an energy company or in a related field, they MUST declare it in every post. Not my rules, it's the site rules, as laid down here by Martin:


http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=1041722&postcount=1

I think you need to revisit that reference, it's to do with a specific problematic thread.

Eon and I'm sure other suppliers do have system in place to stop this sort of thing. If you saw how many meter readers and customers can't enter meter readings accurately and the systems do stop the bills in most of these cases going out rather than the few sad cases like this where something has gone wrong.

It is unfortunate it's happened to the OP and if the OP were speaking to me I'd help you understand where it went wrong and to seriously apologise for the problems it's caused the OP.

It's rare, most problems like this get caught and if I were at work now I'd apologise for it. I'm not and it's irrelevant who I work for but it does give me and many others technical knowledge or insight to be able to help others.

1carminestocky, don't attempt to alienate any energy supplier workers who want to try to help others, they have no obligation to spend some of their own time on these forums.

space_rider

When I worked for EAST MIDLANDS ELECTRICITY BOARD any amount that wasn`t in line with the customers past usage or anything that was over a certain amount which I can no longer remember, was rejected by the computer. The billing team then had to go through the list and put right what was obviously wrong and write to the customer with things that needed verifying. That was 20 years ago!

1carminestocky

space_rider wrote: »

When I worked for EAST MIDLANDS ELECTRICITY BOARD any amount that wasn`t in line with the customers past usage or anything that was over a certain amount which I can no longer remember, was rejected by the computer. The billing team then had to go through the list and put right what was obviously wrong and write to the customer with things that needed verifying. That was 20 years ago!

Aaahhhh....memories of a by-gone era.

Dannii_B

1carminestocky wrote: »

What in the name of Sam Hill are you talking about?? Where did I say they did this on purpose to glean loads of wonga from the OPs account?? My point (which your little rant has conveniently glossed over) was that surely companies like Eon with their supposedly sophisticated computer systems should have in-built safeguards whereby HUGE amounts on domestic accounts are flagged up so that they can be manually checked BEFORE sending out. I'm actually suggesting ways in which Eon could have avoided looking like the total idiots this incident has made them look so my post was hardly anti-Eon. It was a constructive suggestion which you have followed up with a non-constructive rant.

Systems are in place so that generally anything that is above a set threshold from previous readings, likely to create a large bill, should suspend billing so that it can be investigated internally so that this shouldn't happen. However, as I said, systems fail and computers don't always get things right (but do for millions of accounts everyday) but sometimes there are those that slip through the net and it appears that unfortunately this time, the OP, was one of those customers.

Cardew

Dannii_B wrote: »

Systems are in place so that generally anything that is above a set threshold from previous readings, likely to create a large bill, should suspend billing so that it can be investigated internally so that this shouldn't happen. .

However this was the first bill from what I can gather, so no previous reading(other than intial reading)

The computer program has no previous consumption data, so no "threshold" or base figure, with which to compare. The £3,200 bill set the 'pattern' of consumption and thus did not flag up the anomaly.

The irony is that had the OP not protested, a subsequent meter reading resulting in a bill of 'only' £100 would have probably been rejected by the computer as £3200 in a summer quarter is the 'normal' consumption and thus the next quarter should be higher!!!!

As with all computers, Rubbish in = Rubbish out!

1carminestocky

Dannii_B wrote: »

Systems are in place so that generally anything that is above a set threshold from previous readings, likely to create a large bill, should suspend billing so that it can be investigated internally so that this shouldn't happen. However, as I said, systems fail and computers don't always get things right (but do for millions of accounts everyday) but sometimes there are those that slip through the net and it appears that unfortunately this time, the OP, was one of those customers.

Nice to see you've calmed down from yesterday's rather unhelpful rant. But this is where the problem is, Dannii_B, as there is no previous usage pattern the system that you have in place there is clearly inadequate if someone can receive a £3,200 bill for a couple of months usage! All I was suggesting is that, on top of the safeguard whereby usage patterns are used to flag up potential huge (and incorrect) bills, surely a further safeguard should be installed whereby any figure that is over, say, an average of £3-500 per month usage is flagged up as potentially wrong and this safeguard overides any usage pattern safeguard? It would save you threads like this where your company doesn't exactly come out of well. You know the old saying, a satisfied customer may tell a couple of people, a dissatisfied one will tell everybody!