Eon overcharged? Please help!

ravernoloo

Hi there, me and my boyfriend have moved into our first flat 2 months ago (April) and obviously we have never had to pay gas and electric etc. We had to sign up with Eon as that was the previous supplier. They told us we were on Economy 10 as we had storage heaters...although we didnt which i tod, them. I recently asked when my bill was due as i knew it would be a bit as it was quarterely and me and my partner are currently out of work. They said they could give me a bill online up till the 24th june but could not tell me what it would be in july 14th when my bill is due. I was fine with this until yesterday when i saw it....£208! And thats not the final price either! It works out as we are spending £20 a week on electric. We live in a 1 bed flat have a washing machine we use maybe 3 times a week, dont have storage heaters as we have gch, use gas for our boiler, have a mini electric oven until we can get a gas one (its not full size) and have a tv and pc and games consoles which we hardly play but the pc is on a lot. Can someone tell me if i have been overcharged? My mother in law spends £10 a week on electric and has a partner and 2 young kids and she is on a pre pay meter! What do i do if i think i have been overcharged. Hope someone can help! Thanks Emma x

Magentasue

You need to read your meter. You will have submitted a reading when you moved in - check this is correct and make sure the closing ones are close to what you read on your meter. If different because it was estimated (E), you need to submit the correct reading. You may then find that your bill is less than £208.

You need to get rid of Econ 10 and switch to the cheapest single rate tariff eon have - I don't think they charge you for changing the meter, they just add the readings together.

We are a family of six and high users. We spend about £45 a month on electricity.

Premier_2

Check the amount recorded as consumed by your meter matches what is on the bill.

Check the amounts on the bill are actual readings (not estimated readings)

Check the unit costs on the tariff you are on match the unit costs on the bill.

You can even check the calculation if you wish, but computers are seldom wrong. Don't forget to take account of any discounts you may be entitled to.


I suspect you have been charged correctly, although perhaps on estimated readings.


If you wish to see if you can get a better deal, contact your supplier to enquire if it's possible to switch to a more beneficial tariff. Unfortunately as you obviously have an E10 meter, you will experience difficulties changing supplier unless you have the meter changed (for which you will be charged)

ravernoloo

hi, its not an estimate as i rang them up with a meter reading and so it is an exact bill. We are being switched to economy 7 on weds as they still thought we had storage heaters and apparently they said it looks as if they have been used, something about stored heat? But we dont have any at all! We estimated we would spend £40 a month on elcetric, not £80! What do i do when the bill comes in july thought and it is for nearly £300? Can i9 refuse to pay it because i believe they are overcharging me?

ravernoloo

Rate
Previous reading
Current reading
Total
Day
35 C 14/04/09
951 C 24/06/09
916



Night
75 C 14/04/09
1016 C 24/06/09
941



Stored Heat
980 C 14/04/09
980 C 24/06/09
0







Charges
Day primary units used
546 kWh at 13.5p each

73.71

Day secondary units used
370 kWh at 13.5p each

49.95

Night units used
941 kWh at 7.06p each

66.43

Stored Heat units used
0 kWh at 7.06p each

0.00

Standing Charge
71 days at 23.36p per day

16.59








This is what the bill says...but does the night units mean im using as much electric at night as i am in the day? when im asleep and everything is off?

Premier_2

ravernoloo wrote: »

...Can i9 refuse to pay it because i believe they are overcharging me?

Don't be silly. If it were that easy we'd all claim we believe our suppliers were overcharging us so that we don't have to pay.

You need to come up with some evidence first.

The supplier not putting you on the tariff you can see would have been better for you after the event is not a case of overcharging.
When you join a supplier, they usually contact you welcoming you as a new customer and confirming which tariff they have placed you on - that would have been the time to say you wanted to be on a different tariff, not after you have been billed.

ravernoloo

but i dont see how we have used so much electric when there is just 2 of us...and all we use all day is the pc and tv! who do i contact to appeal or something?

Premier_2

If you believe the meter is not recording your consumption correctly, you can ask for it to be checked.

The supplier will charge you for this check (but you'll be refunded if the meter is proven to be faulty)

Or get yourself an owl monitor (or similar product) and see just how much electricity is being used.

ravernoloo

Premier wrote: »

The supplier not putting you on the tariff you can see would have been better for you after the event is not a case of overcharging.
When you join a supplier, they usually contact you welcoming you as a new customer and confirming which tariff they have placed you on - that would have been the time to say you wanted to be on a different tariff, not after you have been billed.

As i said before we had moved into our first flat...i had no idea what economy 7 or 10 meant! I didnt even no the property used to have storage heaters as the council told us there was never any heating in the property before as there was no gas and we had to wait for gas to be put in...and when i contacted eon to register they gave me some rubbish saying they cant supply my electric until i have gas installed?! Even though my gas was with british gas. I asked them to explain over the phone what the economy 10 meant and the woman told me i wouldnt understand and hung up lol great customer service!

dogshome

Hi Ravernoloo - If EON say you are on an ECO 10 tariff but you have gas CH, it could be that a previous occupier of your flat did a conversion but never bothered to sort out the Electric account - If your night rate meter is showing use it could be that they retained overnight elect. to heat the water and perhaps had a power socket off the Storage Radiator circuit to run the W/machine overnight on cheap rate. Probably worth while trying to contact the previous owner to ask.
Good Luck

ravernoloo

thanks dogshome...the owner is the council but the previous occupier was an old lady who has now gone into a home. We have a switch for the washing machine which i switch off after use and we have a new switch for our boiler as the old one was taken out and replaced. Where would the swicth for the storage radiators be? Our elec box is high in a cupboard and is quite hard to get to.

Forgot to mention the gch was installed after we had moved in, before it was installed we had no heating. And no hot water for a few weeks. As the previous boiler didnt work.