EON offer £10 instead of correct bill

Cornwall2000

I switched away from Eon when they put up their prices 22 Aug (I was notified on 12th September).
I told them I was switching away and they agreed that I would not be charged at the new rates. (in accordance with the rules)
Just checked my final bill and they DID charge me at the new rates.
Then they tried to fob me off with £10 which i was variously told was
a) more than i was entitled to, b) what eon had agreed (with who?) c) the national average d) what they were offering end of story.
what a bunch of cynical con artists! i wonder how many others they have overcharged this way. they made it sound like the £10 offer was standard issue. i am taking it further needless to say.

ex-energywatch_adviser

Is the difference between the bill at the old rate and the bill at the new rate more or less than £10?

If it is more than £10 reject their offer and demand a correct bill. If it is less than £10 you have made a profit - or has receiving an incorrect bill overcharging you less than £10 caused so much inconvenience and distress that you believe you should qualify for a substantial compensation payment?

E.ON_Company_Representative:_Helena

Hi,

I agree with ex-energywatch adviser, take the offer if this works out better.

When customers change supplier due to prices increase the period you are with the original supplier until the change is charged at the new prices.

It is normal practice for the difference in prices for the transition period to be credited to the customer as an adjustment to their account.

If you think you are due more than the £10, I would contact your supplier with your calculations and ask for the adjustment to be done.

Cornwall2000

yes it will be more than £10. with a 20% increase in prices. it would be hard for it not to be.
and eon didn't credit it to my account, it was their standard offer after they had been caught out.

my problem with them is that i am sure they will have got away with overcharging a lot of people.
as for compensation, that would be a dream! unfortunately we have to pay for their time, but not vice versa.

Helena_-_E.ON wrote: »

When customers change supplier due to prices increase the period you are with the original supplier until the change is charged at the new prices.

If I understand you correctly, you are saying I should be charged the increased prices until i transfer to another supplier? Those aren't the rules laid down by the regulator. But obviously your employer doesn't like them and chooses to ignore them.
Remember I was notified of the price increase 3 weeks after it came into effect!

E.ON_Company_Representative:_Helena

I'd go back to E.On with your calculations and how much the difference should be and ask for the adjustment to be done.

If you'd like me to loo k at your account for you, private message me your post code and house number and I will do so.

Cornwall2000

i will let e.on do the calcs until they are right - it will be good practice for them.
actually it would be easier to charge for all supply at the old price, than charge for some of it at the increased prices then refund the difference (or not) wouldn't it?
the question is - why are eon not abiding by the regulator's rules on backdated price increases?

thanks for your offer of help, but the people on the phone (including a "manager") yesterday should have sorted it out. I am going to pursue this now in writing.

E.ON_Company_Representative:_Helena

They should have offered to sort this on the phone, if you have any problems come back to me and I'll take a look for you:)

Cornwall2000

maybe you could make sure your customer advisors know the correct billing procedure for when customers transfer out due to backdated price increases?
also the people /computers that generate the bills?

Premier_2

squowse wrote: »

I switched away from Eon when they put up their prices 22 Aug (I was notified on 12th September).
I told them I was switching away and they agreed that I would not be charged at the new rates. (in accordance with the rules)
Just checked my final bill and they DID charge me at the new rates.
Then they tried to fob me off with £10 which i was variously told was
a) more than i was entitled to, b) what eon had agreed (with who?) c) the national average d) what they were offering end of story.
what a bunch of cynical con artists! i wonder how many others they have overcharged this way. they made it sound like the £10 offer was standard issue. i am taking it further needless to say.

This is exactly what happened to me too - it's their standard approach. :mad:

Don't bother wasting your time with the call centres - they don't appear to have the access rights to their computer to change the charge rates.

Don't bother working out the bill yourself - just dispute it saying it is wrong. They've already acknowledged it's wrong.

Then either invite them to take you to court without delay because that's what they'll threaten you with and there's no point in them amassing further collection costs if you have no intent on paying an obviously incorrect bill, or write to their MD and explain it is wrong as it has been charged at the increased rate (at least in part) contrary to their terms & conditions.
The director's office staff have the access rights to change the billed rate and can produce a correct bill for you.

But expect the heavy handed collection mob to try and intimidate you to pay via threats of legal action - as I said, tell them you have no intention of paying as the bill in clearly incorrect which they have acknowledged and that if that is their intention, court action should commence without further delay to avoid building up unnecessary charges on the account.

The judge would have a field day if they ever decide to take someone to court over this clear breach of their own terms & conditions. Fortunately for them, their legal team will never allow it to get that far. Empty, intimidating threats.

... and that's why after almost 20 years as their loyal customer, I will probably never be their customer again.

Cornwall2000

unfortunately it's already collected by direct debit. i'm sure i will get i back soon though.
i worry about those who are not savvy enough to realise when they are being misled. people are getting used to swapping for a lower price but may lack the wherewithall to make sure they are being charged correctly.

Premier_2

Yeah - they did that to me too dispite having already disputed the amount. :mad:

That's where the DD guarantee comes in - contact your bank and ask for an immediate and full refund of the amount incorrectly collected.