Eon con

scoobysi

E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc wrote: »

Hi scoobysi

As a business, Monthly Direct Debits are the most cost effective payment method currently open to us. Admin costs are reduced and this allows us to offer better discounts for customers paying this way.

However, I do understand this method of payment does not suit everyone and this is why we offer a range of payment options.

You can pay each bill as you receive it. Provided this is paid in full within 14 days of the bill date a discount is given off your next bill. If the bill is not paid then this discount is not given.

The prompt payment discount will not be as much as the discount given to customers paying by Direct Debit. This reflects the cost of handling the transaction in this way.

Hope this answers your question scoobysi. Give me a shout if you need more info; will be happy to help.

Malc

Cost effective in that companies can hold onto money that they're not yet due and gain interest on it.

Why not just take the amount of the bill via Direct Debit?

BT do this with my phone, Sky do this with my TV, Water companies manage it yet Gas/Electricity companies don't. IMHO the Energy Watchdog needs to look into this.

Si

DirectDebacle

E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc wrote: »

With Monthly Direct Debits the aim is to achieve a zero balance by the time of the annual review in the spring.
Malc

This is an example of energy companies abusing the D.D. system. It was introduced as a means of evening out bills over a year to avoid the shock of a large winter bill, amongst other things.

For it to work correctly the usage has to be averaged out over a year from the time the customer joins the company, i.e. the anniversary date. It also requires that during the customers year there will be times when the account is in credit and times when it is in debit.The aim of achieving a zero balance (or as close as possible) by the end of the customers year is the target.

By arbitarily setting an anniversary date in the spring the energy companies are aiming to be in credit throughout the year. This is against the spirit of the D.D. scheme and can lead to customer detriment.

Joining a company, with such a policy, in September, for example, will mean paying for almost a full years energy in the space of six months if a zero balance is to be achieved by the end of March.

I am not a customer of E.ON. I know my annual usage. Would E.ON inform me if I were to switch to them (in September) that my D.D. would be x% more than with my present supplier even though E.ON prices were cheaper (the only reason I would consider switching).

Would this show up on a comparison site? Or would the site work out the cost of my kWh over a year and divide by 12 to show me the monthly D.D.?

Not surprising there are so many complaints about D.D. when companies move the goalposts to advantage themselves.

Consumerist

moonrakerz wrote: »

You imply that regular posters on this site spout hot air.

Whereas you may have inferred what you have said, I actually implied that a recognisable feature of the destructive criticism which abounds on this site is the high number of posts by the perpetrators.

This does not mean that ALL contributors with a high number of posts are destructive.

The evidence of your post which drew the criticism would suggest, however, that you fit the decription of a destructive contributor. That does not mean that you aren't helpful when another contributor happens to agree with your point of view.
.

Consumerist

DirectDebacle wrote: »

This is an example of energy companies abusing the D.D. system.

I entirely agree with you.

I challenge the representative from E.on B]Company Representative: Malc[/B to give us the ratio of the average amount of customer debt to the average amount of customer credit over the year (ignoring those in financial difficulties, so as not to unreasonably skew the figures). One would expect the ratio to be about 50:50 but I've never heard of anyone on direct debit being in debt (except perhaps in their first year).

This is certainly a question that the Regulator should be asking. And we should be asking the Regulator for the figures.
.

Colin_London

The 'annual review' used to be in the Autumn - I have old Powergen bills that had a little graph on the back that illustrated that in the spring they expected you to be well in debt in the spring, but make that back over the summer such that in the Autumn you were well into credit ready to support the Winter Bills.

What has happened in the last year or two is that E.on have moved the goalposts, and now state that they expect you to have a £0 balance in the spring, and have adjusted DD's to support this.

I have actually managed to get an E.On call centre representative to admit that this has been a deliberate policy in a phone call.

So now, to get the best rates you are expected never to get into debit, and yes, this means that you are giving the energy company your money (to sit in their bank account, and not your own) which they use to support their financial position.

Consumerist

It is likely that this will become common practice.

I notice, for example, that Ovo Energy make the point that this is their way of keeping their tariff rates low. Although this is clearly a bit of spin on their part, their rates are about the best around at the moment.

I guess the question for customers is whether the saving in energy costs is worth the price of the credit balances on their energy bills.

Perhaps the comparison sites should start to add info about "the Average Credit Balance of their customers" to the comparison statistics. We should be so lucky !
.

mikey72

They're a business, we use them as they're the cheapest, so if eon has say 1 million customers, do you really think they want the customers to be at 0 credit, even worse, in debt, or £50 to £100 in credit?
Would you like a free £50,000,000 loan. They obviously do.

Consumerist

The question, I think, is - are the energy companies being fair and reasonable.

If not, are they likely to replace the banks as Public Enemy No. 1.

My feeling is that public anger has started to switch.
.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

scoobysi wrote: »

Why not just take the amount of the bill via Direct Debit?

Si

Hi scoobysi

You can do exactly this. One of the payment options I referred to previously is by Variable Direct Debit.

This allows us to claim the full amount of the bill directly from your bank 10 days after the bill is issued.

Give us a call if this is your preferred payment method. It can be set up very quickly. You can also discuss our other payment options to make sure you are on the one that best suits your needs.

Malc

scoobysi

E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc wrote: »

Hi scoobysi

You can do exactly this. One of the payment options I referred to previously is by Variable Direct Debit.

This allows us to claim the full amount of the bill directly from your bank 10 days after the bill is issued.

Give us a call if this is your preferred payment method. It can be set up very quickly. You can also discuss our other payment options to make sure you are on the one that best suits your needs.

Malc

Do I still get the cheapest deal/tarrifs if I move onto variable direct debit?

My whole issue is that to get the cheapest deal I'm forced to be on fixed monthly direct debit, if this is not the case then great. I suspect this isn't the case though

Si