Eon Prepayment meter - Want to switch to a credit meter - help!

wornoutmumoftwo

I'm with BG, forced into a Prepayment meter through debt but I am going to change back to credit meter. I have to pay a £200 deposit (in case I default again I believe), but my financial situation has changed and that isn't likely to happen again. The problem with credit history is that it is something that happened in my past, for the last two years we've had no problems with debt at all.

I get the £200 back after a year of good paymenrt.

I would really love to move to EON but they don't seem to do a social tarif for under 60's (didn't last time I checked anyway). We qualify through child's DLA, so for now I'm staying with BG as they have the lowest tarif for us (E7).

PNPSUKNET

landlords cant force anyone to change the meter, they are owned by the meter operators and not them. They are rented by the energy suppliers. Just make a disability up like most, then call them and keep complaining but the fos cant rule over payment methods.

MartinPC_2

PNP,

The debt has long since been paid off but, it seems, Eon have a policy that if there is a history of debt then they will NEVER remove the PPM whilst it is in that account holders name, a history lasts for a lifetime, I guess this is Eon's German way of doing things!

SwanJon,

My landlord deems a change of meter to be necessary, it is not defined in Eon's T&C's which party may deem it as necessary or unecessary, if a visit is unecessary then there should be a method for changing meters without a visit ..... but, a visit is necessary to change meters however I stand to be corrected!

There isn't a next tenant, the next occupier is the landlord who wants things, upon the end of my tenancy, put back to normal.

SwanJon

Martin, (sorry for playing devil's adovocate)

Someone needs to pay the engineer who is coming round to swap the meter. Someone needs to pay to have the various databases updated. Someone needs to pay to source the new meter etc.

Options are the supplier or the bill payer. Is it not fair that whoever requests the change pays for it?

(By tenant I meant person responsible for the bill - sloppy shorthand sorry)

MartinPC_2

SwanJon,

Just to clarify this situation, and admittedly it did come about by a previous cashflow problem I had, Eon dispatched one of these debt collectors to my home, no doubt these debt collectors have a financial interest in achieving results, he proposed a PPM telling me that it wouldn't be a problem to have it removed once the arrears were cleared and there would be no charge for removing it.

Accordingly, Eon got that PPM in to this property by deception, that debt collector lied because Eon's policy is that whilst I remain the account holder they will NEVER remove the PPM, and years later they introduce a £50 charge that, not me but, the next (innocent) occupier must pay!

You point of costs involved is taken on board however there were costs involved in installing it in the first instance that were met by Eon, it was their wish to install the PPM, but were they to adopt a policy of honesty with their customers, from the outset, such misunderstandings, unhappy customers, unpleasantness could be, so easily, avoided.

Let us say I am happy to pay the £50, Eon are refusing to accept my money, it is the next (innocent) occupier that they demand pay this money!

One only has to speak with Eon's prepayments department to realise what a bad attitude Eon have, PowerGen had an appalling reputation and it is PowerGen that Eon took over, it is the same appalling outfit!

I can only recommend to others to avoid Eon like a plague and to refuse to have a PPM installed because once it is installed you will NEVER have it removed whilst you remain the account holder.

I suggest, if one is in arrears, to either propose paying the arrears off at X amount per month, that is what a PPM does, they set the meter to overprice the gas/electricity to pay these arrears off, and if they insist on taking one to court then go to court and propose, as much as one can afford, paying these arrears off at the same X amount per month that one proposed to Eon in the first instance.

PPM's are expensive gas/electricity, one is committed to paying a standard tariff rather than these discounted tariffs so all the while a PPM remains one is being 'ripped off' for full price gas/electricty.

Premier_2

MartinPC wrote: »

Hi Malc,

Thanks for your reply.

Actually there isn't going to be a new tenant as such, my landlord has told me he is to move in here himself to renovate the property and put it up for sale....

You landlord may wish to consider his strategy very carefully here.

As Brian (Eon) have said , it's unlikey they will agree to remove the PPM whilst you are the account holder.

What they didn't say, was that it would also be unlikely to accept your removal as the account holder whilst you are still living there.
If the LL moves in, (that will affect your tenancy rights too) Eon may accept the landlord as an additional account holder as well as yourself, but that won't affect the decision not to replace the PPM.
Your landlord would then also be 'financially associated' with you, which is perhaps the greatest risk of all.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

MartinPC wrote: »

Hi Malc,

Thanks for your reply.

Actually there isn't going to be a new tenant as such, my landlord has told me he is to move in here himself to renovate the property and put it up for sale.

But, when I agreed to this PPM in 2005 there was no charge for removal and the debt collector, from a debt collection agency, under questioning, gave me the distinct impression that once the arrears were cleared I could revert back to a normal meter and without charge.

Had it been made clear to me, in 2005 and by the debt collector, that it could never be removed whilst the account remains in my name then I would never have agreed to have it installed in the first instance.

Would I be correct in my assumption that sub-contracted debt collection agencies are less than fully aware of Eon's terms & conditions pertinent to metering?

This puts me in a difficult situation, I had assured my landlord that it could easily be removed and without charge, under those terms he agreed for the meter to be installed and,now, it seems, I have to tell him that not only did the debt collector lie to me, to achieve his objective no doubt, but since that time Eon have introduced a £50 removal charge which I have never, previously, been informed of.

So if my landlord, as the forthcoming occupier, contacts Eon to confirm that I am moving out, and he is moving in, are Eon likely to agree to remove the PPM and, if not, for what logical reason?

Another questions, as I try to need to sweet talk my landlord regarding this, can he, once he is the occupier, instruct for the meter removal but Eon bill me for the £50?

Why should he be required to pay £50 when it is my debt that caused this situation, he is innocent and, I understand, all he wants is a regular supply of electricity and without a PPM?

Thanks again
Martin

Hi Martin

This is different. As the landlord is the property owner, it is unlikely we will require 12 months account history before agreeing to change the meter, particularly if they have previously been an E.ON customer with a good credit record.

However, a credit check will still need to be carried out. If this is ok and the landlord agrees to set up a Direct Debit to cover future usage, we will usually agree to change the meter.

As I said previously, though; every case is judged individually and your landlord will need to talk to us once responsibility for the electricity reverts back to him.

The cost of £50 per meter will still apply. This will need paying in advance by Credit or Debit card. You can pay this if you wish.

Our prepayment policies, along with many other areas of our business, have changed considerably since 2005. What was relevant then may not be so today and this is certainly the case with replacing meters.

Since 3 July 2008, all non-essential meter changes, both prepayment and credit, carry a £50 charge.

Similarly, we have tightened up our policy of replacing prepayment meters where they were fitted because of debt.

In 2005, our representative would have advised you based on the situation as it was then. This changed in 2008 and our reps have been updated accordingly.

Again, I need to stress, each case is looked at individually and it's important customers talk to us.

Hope this answers your questions Martin. Give me a shout if I've missed anything.

Malc

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

MartinPC wrote: »

My landlord deems a change of meter to be necessary, it is not defined in Eon's T&C's which party may deem it as necessary or unecessary, if a visit is unecessary then there should be a method for changing meters without a visit ..... but, a visit is necessary to change meters however I stand to be corrected!

There isn't a next tenant, the next occupier is the landlord who wants things, upon the end of my tenancy, put back to normal.

Hello again Martin

As others have said, the meter is the property of the meter operator for your region. It doesn't belong to the landlord and, as the current supplier, we determine whether a change is classed as essential or non-essential.

Essential changes cover things like a faulty meter or a statutory upgrade. Generally, situations which affect the supply of energy to the property or the ability to accurately measure usage. These are done without charging the £50 fee.

However, requests for a change outside of these guidelines are usually seen as non-essential and do incur the £50 fee.

Hope this explains the difference Martin.

Malc

Pincher

If the power suppliers swap the meter for anybody who asks, you will have an apartment swap season every March.

Shifty tenants will move into a new flat in March,
and request a swap to a credit meter. The meter is swapped in April, and the first bill comes in July, followed by October. They pay these because they are low, and the meter reader can read the meter.
From October to March, they just submit low readings, and are never in when the meter reader calls.

March comes, they move out, leaving no forwarding address, and leave behind a massive winter fuel bill unpaid.

If I was a power supplier, I will only replace meters for households that have paid for actual usage for a whole winter.

Like I posted before, the only way is to put in smart meters, which can be managed as either prepay or credit centrally. Hardship cases can be handled by quotas, so they get 10kWh a day for cooking and washing, and a bit more for cold days.

MartinPC_2

Hi again Malc,

You say that in 2005 Eon's representive would have advised me of the situation as it was then.

Well that reprentative (debt collector) informed me that I could have the PPM removed once the arrears were cleared.

Can you clarify if, in 2005, that representative was telling me the truth and, in 2005, Eon had no such policy whereas they will not remove a PPM if the account holder has a history of arrears on their account?

Thanks
Martin