EoN Big Error - Please Help

hellow_2

Hi All,

I rang EoN today to change my direct debit amount as well as provide a meter reading.

I live in a large flat block so we have thermal store. There are three sets of meter readings you have to give. Shortly giving the reading over the phone EoN customer services rang back to say that the account has to be under investigation as the peak and off peak figures are the wrong way round so the billing has been incorrect since 2005. I have only lived in the flat since June 2009.

They have said it is a techinical error appareantly they say its down to the people they employ to come to the block and read our meters. But i am not sure how much is true.

What is worrying me is that EoN will try and charge me and give me a big bill for their mistake.

I asked the lady on the phone to confirm that i wont pay anything for this mistake but she could not confirm this until investigation is complete

They have stopped a direct debit and requested i give a reading and pay £40.

Has anyone has the problem before and what has been the outcome.

Thanks

J

Cardew

Lots of people have reported on MSE that their off-peak & peak readings have been reversed so wrongly charged. The usual position taken by the companies is that you have to pay for what you used.

There seems to be an impression that if a company(any company - not just utility companies) makes a mistake in the customer's favour then they cannot reclaim the money. However if the error is to the customer's detriment then it should be put right with additional compensation!!

In any case in the 'small print' there is a requirement for the customer to check their bills.

That said, in cases like this, many companies use common sense and will make a goodwill payment or even write off anything owing - but it is not a right.

In your case of course any action will only backdate to June 2009.

Andy_WSM

hellow wrote: »

What is worrying me is that EoN will try and charge me and give me a big bill for their mistake.

Eon are likely, rightly IMO, to want to bill you correctly for the energy you have used. They have the readings from since you moved in, so it's a simple job to recalculate your bills correctly for the actual energy consumed and bill you accordingly. The problem may have existed since 2005, but if you have only lived there since 2009 you will only be expected to pay for the energy you have used since 2009.

hellow_2

the worst thing about it is as well they never send us any bills even though we have rung them so many times again they put it down to a system error.

hellow_2

how do you know they are telling the truth that the readings are the wrong way round?

E.ON_Company_Representative

Hi hellow,

The re-bill you’ll receive will be a corrected invoice for electricity used since the day you moved in. As the readings have been transposed since 2005 all previous accounts will be corrected in the same way.

Energy suppliers are obliged to correct billing mistakes when identified, and the general view is that you need to pay for the energy you have used (when correctly billed), however we would take into account that responsibility for the error is not in your hands.

As a result negotiations are encouraged and goodwill will be shown when resolving the issue of any underpaid amounts. Remember you will only be faced with a correct bill from June 2009 not earlier.

You say you haven’t received any bills? Is this in the whole time you have been in the property? Are you registered for an online account?

You should be able to take your own readings and compare these with your usage patterns, for example, which rates move during the day and which rates don't, the same during the 'night' period. All you own readings can be cross referenced with the corrected bill when it arrives.

Brian

hellow_2

Hi Brian,

1. I think i have recieved one or two bills after that they stopped even after ir requested them from EoN many times. Not registered on online account wasnt aware of one.

2. Its not really my problem if EoN engineers got the readings the wrong way its theirs, yes i agree i need to pay the electricity i used but technically i have under what EoN thought was the right calculation. I cant sell something to a buyer on a regualr basis at a price and then realise after 5 years i made a mistake in the costing and on the previous sales and ask for the rest of the money to be paid back.

3. How do i know that your caluclations will be correct now if they werent in the first place for all i know i maybe entitled to a refund but you wont tell me this. Your customer services dept couldnt even expalin the issue themselves.

Hellow

hellow_2

Also if EoN do expect me to make a one of bulk payment for their mistake they need to understand that i may not have that cash at the time, they need to take into account people financial situations.

E.ON_Company_Representative

Hi hellow,

Two bills isn’t far off the right amount as you haven’t been supplied by us for a year yet, if you were quarterly I’d have expected three bills so far.

We are obliged by to correct any incorrect charging whether in or against your favour.

These transposed issues work both ways and if the re-calculation put your account in credit the money would definitely be refunded to you. This probably happens as often as accounts being left in arrears after transposed readings.

As I mentioned earlier you can check the readings used on the new bill against the meter to see if the readings are corrected the right way round. The calculations will be displayed on bill we send when this is corrected and if you are unsure about anything please ask and we will go through it with you.

With regards for the underpayments, we wouldn’t ask you to make the payment in full; your circumstances and the responsibility on E.ON’s part would be considered. A payment plan
is certainly going to be an option and of course this will be agreed and based on the exact details of this case.

Make sure you discuss this and all the points you make with the agent dealing with the account, and if you aren’t happy with the resolution please follow the complaints process.

If you’d like me to look into this for you, I have an email address you can reach me on in my profile page. I’d be happy to help.

Brian

hellow_2

thanks Brian so far you have been the most helpful person, i ll get the readings etc and try and work out this issue.

Kind Regards

hellow

dogshome

Hi hellow - With dwellings that have all electric services with a multi rate meter, it is expected that the higher reading will be the off-peak use, and the lower reading the day-time use.

However, if the occupier is not using the off-peak to it's full capicity and it has a lower reading than the day-time use, the supplier will assume the higher reading is the Night use and without reference to the customer, swap the figures over when billing.
Carefully check your meter to see what it is recording and when