Eon are ripping me off.....surely

janewebb

Ive had problems with Eon for the last 7 years - they always estimate my bills despite supplying them with meter readings. Even when they installed a new meter last year, they claimed they still could not understand why there had to be three readings to the meter as their records only show 2. There is Rate 1 & Rate 2 which show the day and night rates on my Economy 10 tariff and then Rate 3 which shows Storage Heating and hot water usage - its not rocket science is it? My Direct debit has soared to £118 per month although currently it has been set back to £94 at their request - now I am behind again! I know storage heaters are expensive to run but I live alone and am out of the house all day so my usage should not be that high. I use about 160 units of electricity per month not including the heating and hot water which can be 1000 units in the winter. When i go on the comparison sites they estimate my current usage at around £450 per annum....I wish!! I am sorely tempted to switch providers but dont know if they will support an economy 10 meter and if so, may have to pay to change it. If I stick with Eon I can switch to Economy 7 but they are asking £50 to change it. My bill is a minefield as it shows a breakdown of day units primary then secondary units then night units followed by stored units plus a standing charge and the rates seem to differ each quarter.
Several years ago Which magazine helped my cause and I was given a dedicated account manager to answer all my problems. An appearance on TV did the trick! That account manager has gone and hasnt been replaced so Im stuck in no man's land again. Can anyone help? Please?

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi Jane

Sounds like a real nightmare. You certainly shouldn't be receiving a stream of estimated bills when you are providing meter readings.

Do you receive an estimated bill then call in with the readings? If this is the case it may be we are not receiving readings from the meter readers or the reading cycle is out of synch with the billing dates.

Are we reading your meter or is access restricted?

As you say, Economy 10 meters have three readings. If our agents are saying our records only show two then there could be a mis-match between your meter and our system. This will need putting right.

Are we sending you corrected bills when you advise your readings?

I understand your frustration as this has been going on for a long time but I feel it is important you keep talking to us.

Economy 10 is a specialist meter/tariff designed for properties with storage heaters. Therefore, it is important you speak to our meter specialists rather than a call centre where the agents may not be too familiar with your particular set up.

You can call our metering people. Have your meter serial number to hand. Ask for a complaint to be raised and escalate to a manager if you are not satisfied.

Hope this helps a little. Let me know how you go on.

Malc

janewebb

Thanks for your reply. Mostly, I read my meter and I phone the readings in as I am usually at work when the meter reader calls. Every so often i get an actual bill based on my readings and then it slowly slides down to estimated bills again. I am constantly trying to catch up. I have spoken to the metering people before and we usually agree on the readings but its when I speak to the usual customer services section that they respond with the '2 readings quote'. I will keep in contact with them.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi Jane

It definitely sounds like the call centre is mis-understanding the metering set up.

You are doing the right thing keeping in touch with our meter specialists. As I said in my earlier post, Economy 10 is a specific meter/tariff for storage heaters which our specialists will have a better understanding off.

If the bills you have received after giving readings are accurate then it seems the problem is a lack of knowledge at the call centre rather than an actual problem with the meter.

Malc