Eon and Economy 18 help please!!!

karenb9911

Can any one help please, we are with Eon and a year ago were told that as we have a new electical wet system heating we should convert to economy 18. So I called Eon and was told it would be £50 so i agreed, i was told to call back in 1 month, which I did, I was told again it would cost £50, I agreed to pay, then I was then told I needed a new Mpan number and to call back in 1 month while they organised it, I did this, to be told the previous person I spoke to hadn't done it, I was then told I don't need a new Mpan but a new meter, they will call me, they didn't so i caled them, I was told they were being held up and to call back in 3 weeks, I did to be told that I have been given the wrong information and a complaint has been made on my behalf, I then receive a preprinted, not personal, letter saying they take all complaints seriously. I then spoke to someone else who said they can't guarantee a date for the change over as the department are difficult to pin down to committing to a time!! this was 3 weeks ago and still no economy 18! Our bills are astronomical as we have to elderly mothers living with us who need the heating on, we had the electrical central heating for 2 reasons, we don't have gas available here and we were told it would be cheaper and more efficient than storage heaters as economy 18 is available.
many thanks for reading this.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi Karen

Sorry your request for Economy 18 metering is still up in the air.

This type of meter provides 18 hours of lower cost electricity per day for dedicated electric space and water heating equipment.

It is only available with us in the Eastern area. This is for properties whose 13 digit Meter Point Administration Number (MPAN) begins with 10.

Economy 18 is a dual MPAN tariff but only requires one meter. However, your existing meter will need to be changed.

This type of metering is definitely non-standard and it may be you have spoken to agents who are not familiar with it. I would recommend talking to our metering people rather than a call centre. They are much more specialised.

The agent dealing with your complaint will be doing this for you so I would wait for their comments before contacting this number.

Once installed, the 18 hours will be made up of three separate periods. In addition to the 18 hours for heating there is also a five hour period of lower cost electricity for general domestic use. You can take advantage of this by setting high load appliances to come on during this period.

Hope this helps.

Malc

karenb9911

Malc, Thank you for your reply, we do live in the eastern area, I also spoke to Tracey in your energy efficiency department who said she would get it sorted out.....in March!!!! I am so disappointed in the service provided with mixed messages and clearly what appears to be a lack of training. The reply to my complaint was impersonal and did not resolve anything... perhaps you would be so kind as to speak to someone on our behalf please... or should I go to an energy ombudsman?

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi karen

Really sorry nobody has sorted your complaint out before now. :sad:

Economy 18 is a specialised meter for a specific type of heating set-up. As such, people in our Energy Efficiency team would probably have limited knowledge as this is not their area of expertise.

The best people to talk to would be our Metering Services team.

Malc

karenb9911

Thankyou for your help, Tracey called this afternoon and the new meter will be fitted next month.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

No problem Karen. Glad it is being sorted :j and thanks for letting me know.

Malc

crownpassage

I have an economy 18 meter and a separate supply for lighting and cooking.

As my bills have risen dramatically in the last 3 years I asked Eon for a list of price changes over that period and have discovered that I appear to be being penalised for having the E18 service.

Whereas my standard service has risen around 50% for primary use but 22% for secondary use, an average of probably 35% for me (but obviously much lower for homes where all supply is through standard service and the secondary usage would be a greater percentage of the total) my E18 service has been increased an average of 47% across all usage. I have tried to get a justification for this today, only to be told it was a business decision to increase this service by a much higher average rate. As I was sold the service 4 years ago as an economical way of running an all electric house with a wet heating system, I feel very unhappy about this apparent attempt to discourage or penalise use of the service.
I am just about to try using the Eon complaints procedure and emailing the Director of Customer Services and will report back.

Premier_2

crownpassage wrote: »

...
I am just about to try using the Eon complaints procedure and emailing the Director of Customer Services and will report back.

Best of luck, but as you were informed it was a commercial decision - one which they are free to make in a free, competitive market ... even if there aren't any alternative suppliers prepared to offer you that particular service.

crownpassage

I disagree, there has to be a comparative fairness element when applying pricing to any service that has been sold. I don't believe the cost of supplying E18 against standard services can have increased by a significantly different factor.

Premier_2

crownpassage wrote: »

I disagree, there has to be a comparative fairness element when applying pricing to any service that has been sold. ....

I disagree.

In a competitive market and so free of any price controls, suppliers are free to offer their goods & services at any price they decide.

crownpassage

I agree that in the greedy market trader culture that has caused the economic problems that we are all experiencing, that may be an acceptable approach. Where a supplier is providing essential services, I believe there is a need for a more consistent and reasonable approach to pricing.