Are E-ON allowed to do this? Help!

Emma23_2

My mother has been paying by direct debit for her electricity bill with E-ON, they recently doubled the amount they were collecting without and warning or permission, so she rang the bank and cancelled the direct debit as she couldn't get it put back to the agreed amount. This resulted in her getting bank charges.

She has just got a letter through her door saying they are wanting to disconnect her electricity and are demanding £500 within the next 24 hours. The letter is dated the 14th but only arrived today.

The last bill she had was for £148. (That was only couple of weeks ago. She hasn't even had a reminder.) Which she couldn't pay, as she is ill with clinical depression and is still awaiting her benefit to come through, having lost her job.
A additional charge of £30.00 was added to the bill to cover a cost of the visit they wish to make, and they say they will charge £230 for a warrant to disconnect and fit a prepayment meter. And add that on top of the £500, making it a total of £760.

Are these costs they are adding legal? Given that the original bill is £148?
I also feel the amount of time they have given is unfair too.
I'm trying my best to support my mother in this, and things like this aren't helping.
Does anyone have any advice on what we should do?

Magentasue

They should have informed your mother that her DD would be increasing. She wasn't wrong to cancel the DD if she was prepared to pay the bill, but I think it was wrong to cancel and not clear the outstanding balance as it then becomes due immediately.

I suspect the costs are legal if she has made no attept to set up a repayment plan - essentially she has left them with no other way to recover the debt.

If your mother, or someone acting on her behalf, has negotiated a payment plan, paid some of the bill or asked for for time to pay and been told the account was on hold, that's different.

A prepayment meter isn't ideal but will allow the debt to be repaid over an extended period. I would suggest CAB or similar and contact eon with details of what has happened and see if a goodwill rebate can be negotiated. If your mum has copies of letters sent and payments made, this will make her case stronger. If she hasn't, I would emphasise her financial and medical difficulties and ask for some of the charges to be refunded.

CAB would be a good idea whatever the case.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi Emma23

Very important your mother talks to us about this straight away.

If she would prefer you to deal with this for her give us a call and ask your mother to give you authority to discuss her account.

Sounds as though the original Direct Debit may not have been covering the energy actually being used. Was there a debt building up on the account before the Direct Debit was increased?

Check previous bills. They will show if a debt was building. The Direct Debit increase will have been stated on the front page of the bill prior to the first payment at the new rate.

Also check these bills were to accurate meter readings and not estimated.

It takes quite a time to reach the warrant stage. We are usually talking months rather than weeks. Letters will have been sent chasing the balance well before this. Phone calls will also have been attempted. Has your mother received any correspondence or phone calls previously?

Fitting Prepayment meters under warrant is a last resort. When was the last time your mother made any payments?

Once the warrant stage is reached we pick up extra costs and these will be passed on to the customer.

As I say, talk to us to see if a payment plan can be set up which your mother is comfortable with. This needs doing before the warrant is actioned.

Given the circumstances you describe your mother may be classed as vulnerable. If this is the case, she needs to go on the Priority Services Register. This will make her eligible for benefits which may help her situation.

We have a Vulnerable Customer team who will be able to advise about this. Give them a call on 0800 056 3050 and tell them the circumstances.

It is vital you or your mother talks to us.

Hope this helps a little.

Malc

Premier_2

Emma23 wrote: »

My mother has been paying by direct debit for her electricity bill with E-ON, they recently doubled the amount they were collecting without and warning or permission, so she rang the bank and cancelled the direct debit as she couldn't get it put back to the agreed amount. This resulted in her getting bank charges....

Under the terms of the Direct Debit Scheme, the DD mandate your mother originally agreed to would have been variable.

However, it can only be varied on giving the required advance notice - normally 10 working days plus postage unless otherwise agreed.

If the required advance notice was not given, your mother could have asked her bank to provide a full & immediate reimbursement of the amount collected under the terms of the DD guarantee.

Obviously this would still mean your mother would owe the money to the supplier and this isn't the same as cancelling the DD mandate which appears to have happened on this occasion. The cancelling of the DD mandate could have put your mother in breach of the terms of supply with the supplier as presumably she receives some kind of discount/preferential tariff for agreeing to pay monthly by DD.
Unfortunately the cancelling of the DD instruction usually means that any consumption already occurred becomes immediately due (once billed).

With regards bank charges incurred due to the collection of funds without the required advance notice, again your mother should contact her bank and request these are also refunded. The bank will make an indemnity claim on the supplier for these costs and your mother should receive the refund as soon as the supplier settles the indemnity claim with the bank.