E.on £3600 bill please help

manicminer1

Hi can anyone advise on my problem with Eon, We moved into a new build house in December 2007,we cancelled our gas/elec supply from our previous address and rang Eon with our details, as its their meters fitted to the property.

Meter reader came a month or so later,but no bill arrived so rang again with details,this bit repeats every 3 to 4 months,the meter has been read by Eon every quarter, I have spoke to them and let them in.

In august 2009 the elec meter broke???? rang again no one seemed to know what to do but said someone will call to fix it.

Late September Eon phoned to see if we would take gas and elec from them,said we was with them and told him of the problem,he checked our address and told us the bill is being paid!!!

A new meter was fitted in Feb 2010 !!we then received our first bill

December 07 to Feb 2010 total gas used ZERO,but the bill has my original reading of 0038 on it.

December 07 to Feb 2010 £2351

Rang Eon told them it was totally wrong gave them my readings and was told a revised bill will be sent 5 days later it arrived. it was for £3109 !!! rang again and the bill was stopped while they tried to sort the problem.

Then end of march the second revised bill arrived £3631 with elec charges of £472 for 12 days added on.

The lady handling the problem has solved nothing,Eon say they have read the meter even when it was broke,one bill even has the old meter number on it.

From my readings over 12 months I know we use 300 units of elec per month on average,in 27 months I have used about 8100 units of elec NOT 23000 I have been billed for.

I just cant understand why a simple problem with a bill is not sorted out they have been on to it from Feb 2010 and nothing is happening,except the bill goes up.

Can anyone advise us what to do next,as we have been told by the lady sorting the problem the billing code wont apply and she has opened a complaint on our behalf.

Also the citizens advice say I can only be billed for 12 months use.

i have just been on the phone again and have been told a stock meter manager will call sometime tomorrow.

Thanks, hope someone can help.

spiro

Hopefully one of the E.on reps will come along shortly are point you in the correct direction to get this resolved quiickly.

Cardew

manicminer1 wrote: »

Can anyone advise us what to do next,as we have been told by the lady sorting the problem the billing code wont apply and she has opened a complaint on our behalf.

Also the citizens advice say I can only be billed for 12 months use.

i have just been on the phone again and have been told a stock meter manager will call sometime tomorrow.

Thanks, hope someone can help.

Welcome to the forum.

Without getting into any detail of the figures involved, I suggest you get hold of and read the billing code about the 12 month back-billing rule.

The rule applies when you have not received a bill and the company are at fault for not sending a bill.

The rule specifically excludes situations where people move into a property and don't take action to contact the supplier.

Customer’s responsibilities

Customers should pay for energy used and the Code is not intended as a means for avoiding payments. Customers have an obligation to assist suppliers and can
expect to pay for all energy consumed if they:

• Have been using the supply but have made no attempt to contact the supplier to make or arrange payment, including moving into a property and making
no attempt to let a supplier know they are the new tenant.

• Have wilfully avoided payment.

• Have not co-operated with attempts to obtain meter readings or resolve queries requested by the supplier, including allowing access to the premise or
failing to respond to requests for meter details or meter readings.
In the event of billing problems, customers should be encouraged to pay a reasonable estimate of their consumption with the understanding that once an

accurate bill is produced, suppliers will use payments or credits to offset any additional charges or allowances.

The test will be if you made reasonable(recorded) attempts in over 2 years to contact E-ON and pay your bills.

I assume you didn't write or email E-ON?

E.ON_Company_Representative

Hi manicminer1,

This all sounds very confusing, it’s difficult to evaluate the situation accurately but to me it sounds like there are multiple issues here all of which add to the problem.

I think I’d really struggle to give you any useful advice due to the complexity of the case, so I think the best thing to do is contact our Directors’ Office and raise a complaint as per our complaints procedure. This will ensure the best possible team will be dealing with what sounds like a very complex complaint.

Brian

mattcanary

As this was a new-build when you moved in, I would suggest that the electric and/or gas meters have been mixed up with another house/flat in the development. Unfortunately this often happens with new builds.

In addition, the fact that the electric meter was changed in Feb 2010 has probably complicated things yet further. It is likely that Eon are billing you based upon the meter that they thought used to be at your address before it was changed (if you see what I mean!)
They often claim a meter has been read when it hasn't on the bills. Possibly because they have got the meters and addresses mixed up.

Like Brian has stated, I would raise the complain direct to the Directors Office. Just thought I would give you a bit of background to what might have gone wrong!

manicminer1

Thanks everyone for the advise,

we will raise a complaint Directors Office and i will let you know how we get on.

the problem is proving we have contacted E.on,its funny how they replaced the meter when informed but cant send the correct bill.

cheers manicminer1

E.ON_Company_Representative

Hi manicminer1,

mattcanary has given a good insight to what may be wrong here, and it really drives home how complicated this situation could be.

You’ve done the best thing by contacting the Directors’ Office, and I’m sure you’ll receive contact from your complaint handler shortly.

Give me a shout if you need any help or you need this chasing up.

Brian

CharlesWW

I too have a £3694 overestimated bill from Eon (it should be about £70) which they refuse to amend even though they admit it is a 'computer generated' estimate! I have phoned at least 10 times over the past few months with actual readings and posted their reply cards with readings ("it can take up to 4 weeks for those readings to be input") but they still insist on demanding the full amount.

I have now requested a meter reader visit to verify the actual readings and have taken a day off work.

Is it worth complaining to the ombudsman? HELP!!

CPJames19

@Charles WW - Sounds to me like you also need to contact E.on's Directors’ Office and raise a complaint.

Premier_2

CharlesWW wrote: »

...Is it worth complaining to the ombudsman? HELP!!

Unless you've already followed and exhausted the supplier's own internal complaints procedure, the ombudsman will simply tell you to first do so.

http://www.eonenergy.com/At-Home/Contact/Complaint/

Personally I would be inclined to await the visit of the official meter reader (enjoy your holiday - you could have requested a time window for the reader to call or even asked for them to call on a Saturday) and take it from there.

CharlesWW

Thanks James, I have just complained to the Director's Office and will post the reply when it arrives. Cheers!