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

MartinPC_2

E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc wrote: »

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

Malc,

In your previous post you say that I, the tenant, can pay the £50 charge so why, when my landlord is telephoning Eon, are Eon's staff, including a manager, insisting, refusing to budge, that my landlord, not I, is responsible for paying this £50 charge, that he must pay it and this is not negotiable whereas I could be considered responsible for the charge?

Thanks
Martin

Premier_2

MartinPC wrote: »

Malc,

In your previous post you say that I, the tenant, can pay the £50 charge so why, when my landlord is telephoning Eon, are Eon's staff, including a manager, insisting, refusing to budge, that my landlord, not I, is responsible for paying this £50 charge, that he must pay it and this is not negotiable whereas I could be considered responsible for the charge?

Thanks
Martin

I can only presume you have misunderstood somewhere along the line.

Usually, the supplier will only discuss an account with the account holder. I'm not sure how the LL has managed to discuss the account?

Anyway, it's the account holder that requests a change of meter and, if such change is agreed by the supplier, it will be the account holder that will have to pay the appropriate charge to the supplier for such a change.

The charge is irrelevent whilst the account is in your name. The supplier has indicated it probably won't agree to a credit meter whilst the account is in your name, so no charge will apply.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

MartinPC wrote: »

Davidfmmafan

Eon's 'Malc' signiature reads:

"I am an official company representative of E.ON. MSE has given permission for me to post in response to queries about the company".

However I have, it seems, determined, that Eon's official company representatives are somewhat selective regarding which queries they opt to respond to or not.

My specific query is if Eon's sub-contracted debt collection agencies, indeed all individuals debt collectors countrywide, are fully briefed, indeed trained, regarding Eon's terms and conditions regarding prepayment meters or, more to the point, do they merely bullsh1t, indeed bully, Eon's customers on the doorstep in to accepting prepayment meters?

I believe we all know the answer to this but let's, please, establish if an Eon official company representative has the stomach to admit the truth or not!

Hi Martin

I'm sorry you feel we're being selective in our choice of posts we reply to. This is certainly not the intention.

My colleagues and I try and respond to every post where a question is raised or comment made about E.ON. However, we only work office hours and may not always reply immediately.

Recently, for various reasons, there has only been one of us on the forums and some of our replies may have been delayed because of this. This situation is currently being addressed.

I do accept there may be posts we have missed but this is not intentional. If you, or anyone else, is aware of a particular thread or post we have not replied to, please let me know.

I'm aware, there are a few posts in the last couple of weeks which have not been replied to yet. I'm gradually working my way through this back log, though, and will reply to them soonest.

We aim to be as accurate as possible with the info we provide and I acknowledge that sometimes this may not be what people want to hear.

The policies/processes we mention are the ones relevant at the time of posting but these are subject to change as the industry/company changes.

In respect to your specific question, as I have already posted, some of the guidelines we followed in 2005 are not applicable today. This is certainly the case with prepayment meters.

There are a number of payment arrangements open to customers of which prepayment is one. Our agents are briefed and updated about the various options regularly so they can advise customers of the arrangement best suited to their particular circumstances.

I do understand the policy changes we have made since 2005 are not to your liking but hope I have at least explained them adequately. If not, as ever, give me a shout.

Malc

MartinPC_2

Premier wrote: »

I can only presume you have misunderstood somewhere along the line.

Usually, the supplier will only discuss an account with the account holder. I'm not sure how the LL has managed to discuss the account?

Anyway, it's the account holder that requests a change of meter and, if such change is agreed by the supplier, it will be the account holder that will have to pay the appropriate charge to the supplier for such a change.

The charge is irrelevent whilst the account is in your name. The supplier has indicated it probably won't agree to a credit meter whilst the account is in your name, so no charge will apply.

Premier,

I have not misunderstood, I telephoned Eon, I am the account holder, asking them to change the meter and they have refused stating that my LL (the next occupier) needs to instruct the change, my LL telephoned Eon and they demanded that HE pay £50 for the change.

He has argued that this is ludicrous, that the tenant, the account holder, is responsible for payment under the tenancy agreement, who does it matter who Eon bill and/or receive the payment from as long as they receive it but Eon refuse to budge, display the slightest iota of common sense, Eon insist that my LL pay.

I received an email from my LL yesterday, if Eon cannot accept that I am responsible for this charge then it falls outside of the terms of my tenancy agreement whereas I am responsible for paying MY utility charges, if this remains a charge in his name then he cannot ask of the payment from me, he cannot deduct it from my security deposit nor, indeed, can he sue me for it.

I agree with him, Eon are being absolutely ridiculous, Eon are not being instructed to change the meter whilst I am resident, they can schedule the job for a later date, but they will NOT even consider that I be responsible for the payment!

MartinPC_2

Premier,

To further clarify this, under my tenancy agreement, and this is a standard tenancy agreement, I am responsible for utility charges including any reconnection charges.

Whilst I accept the terms of my tenancy agreement it is Eon that will not accept the terms of my tenancy agreement and Eon's failure to display any common sense in this matter is causing this bag of worms.

As I say, my tenancy agreement is standard, probably the same, in this respect, as 99% of the tens of thousands of tenancy agreements in existence and Eon have a policy that contradicts every single one of these tenancy agreements whereas it is not the tenant, but the next occupier, that is responsible for such charges!

maddipops

It seems to be a common misconception or a mis-guided belief that we all are entitled to a credit meter and we deserve one, and why should we have the inconvenience of paying as we go for gas and electric?

Look at this from the suppliers point of view.

Millions of pounds are written off every year because of non paying customers by Eon.

We go into a supermarket - we load up the trolley - we get to the checkout - WE HAVE TO PAY

Why should it be any different for your gas and electricity?

You pay as you go for your petrol in your car, would you expect to fill up at the pump, drive off and just tell them to put it on your tab?

the public need re-educating when it comes to gas and electricity. It is your most important utility next to water.

The only thing I dont agree with is, and this creates the problem in the first place I guess, is the difference in prices for PPM customers and credit meter customers. Prices should be the same across the board, that way I guess many people wouldnt be bothered about having a PPM.

MartinPC_2

Maddipops,

With a supermarket they do not expect us to make a prepayment before we take the products from their shelves nor indeed do I need to make a special journey to make such a prepayment, approx 2 miles each way in my car to prepay for my electricity, I hasten to add that I live directly across the road from a large Tesco's which I walk to/from.

Furthermore supermarkets, besides not demanding us to prepay, do not prevent us from taking advantage of their special offers, special tariffs in the case of gas/electricity, as these prepayment meters prevent us from taking advantage of.

If it costs money to uninstall a meter then it costs the equivalent amount to install it in the first instance, do Eon charge the previous occupier, the occupier before the debtor, or indeed any occupier, for the installation of the prepayment meter ..... and if not, then why not, I keep hearing "we have to pass on our charges"?

So why will Eon not accept the debtor, the account holder responsible for the arrears, responsible for the installation of the prepayment meter, being responsible for the cost, the charge, of subsequently removing it, why do Eon insist the the next (innocent) occupier be financially penalized for anothers bad credit history?

It's a straightforward enough question but trying to get a straightforward, a honest, answer seems to be like getting blood out of a stone.

maddipops

I would assume that this is the reason - however I am not speaking on behalf of Eon, this is my personal opinion:

Eon's costs are low for servicing a PPM customer, so they will happily install a PPM for free as long term Eon will save money. The costs involved of chasing up bad payers who have a credit meter is huge.

You have to make a special trip to the supermarket, regardless of where you live, to get your food. IF you want your food delivered you will have to pay the company to do this. You prepay for your food, you buy it before you eat it - same with PPM's. you buy it before you burn it. No difference.

What you have to realize is that not all customers want to pay their gas and electricity bills. Gas and electricity companies are painted as criminals in the media and hence people have a chip on their shoulder and dont want to cough up when the bills come in.

I agree with you completely that PPM prices are unfair and they should be the same as credit meter prices. Eon's gas PPM prices are the same as credit meter prices, however you cant earn extra discounts.

Eon charge the debtor a warrant fee if they have to apply to a court to fit a PPM, so in effect the cost is passed on. But like I say, if a customer agrees to a PPM without the need for it being forced upon them, Eon are happy to fit this for free as a PPM customer is more profitable than a credit meter customer. That's your honest answer, in my opinion.

MartinPC_2

Maddipops,

If I shop at my supermarket I pay by cash or card at the checkout, if I put fuel in my car I pay by cash or card at the pump or the kiosk, i.e. I pay for what I receive at the point I receive it, if a PPM offered all tariffs of gas/electricity and could accept cash or card, or even if we could telephone a freephone number, or online, to top up our account by card, them I'm sure a lot more people would have little, if anything, to complain about.

But my question still remains ..... Why do Eon refuse to accept, to even consider, that it is the debtor responsible for the PPM removal charge, why do Eon insist that it is the next occupier responsible for this charge despite the debtor having telephoned Eon regarding the matter?

echoecho_2

Ok, unless I am missing something here, the easiest thing would be as follows, on the day you move out

- landlord calls to arrange meter exchange.
- when asked for payment advise that it is someone elses (your) debit card payment is being made from
- they will ask to speak to you to confirm you are ok with this
- payment is taken and appointment booked.

I understand why eon will not change the meter for you, it was put in for debt reason so you i guess they would class you as high risk. Harsh of them maybe, but it simply protects them from you running up a debt again (what guarantee do they have that you will move out etc). Btw, this is me playing devil's advocate.