Problems with e-on. can any one help

blueshoepixie

hi
well my brother who i live with usually pays our quarterly gas/electricity bill but didn't this time so i've received a letter saying that they had now passed the debt of £176.77 to a external debt collector who will be visiting and i will be charged an extra £30.00, well i called eon and was met by a very rude representative for the company who said that i had obviously been evading paying the bill and that i would have to be put on a pre-pay meter, even though i told her i would be paying the bill on the 1st of the month in full. i explained that my flat is rented which i don't have the authority to have a meter installed and i really didn't want one either she said i had no choice. she also said i hadn't had my meter read recently even tho an engineer had called. (without warning and while i was at work)and that i had to call them with the readings before she would accept any payment from me as my bill would probably be higher and they would want that paid too immediately too.
Can they do that?
I'm very disillusioned with the company and think i may change with the very helpful eon rep said i couldn't do that as no one else would take someone who is evading bills. this is the first bill i have been late paying with the company:( Does anyone have any advice ?

Premier_2

You won't be allowed to switch supplier until you've cleared the debt ... at least not with the current credit meter installed.

If you are now being asked for £30 extra and being told they will want to install a pre-payment meter, your brother has avoided paying and their follow up demands for a long time, so you probably do owe them a lot more than the £176.77 already billed by now. Is that why you are reluctant to provide them the current meter reading?
(If you've not checked the meter, it could be they billed you on a vastly over-estimated reading so perhaps you don't owe the full amount previously billed)

If you really can't have a PPM fitted, and you fail to pay what is owed, they'll have no choice but to apply to cut you off.

foxglove666

Send in proof that the property is not yours and a Pre Pay meter can't be enforced. Also they can't turn your electric off. A supplier must try everything first before they enforce any warrents of entry. Also a supplier can't block a change of supply for an amount of debt less than £500. (although not sure if this is adopted in all suppliers). I would set up a payment plan with them although they will probably need and initial payment of 30% - 50% and will need to bill your account up to date so provide a meter read.

DVardysShadow

blueshoepixie wrote: »

... i've received a letter saying that they had now passed the debt of £176.77 to a external debt collector who will be visiting and i will be charged an extra £30.00, well i called eon and was met by a very rude representative for the company who said that i had obviously been evading paying the bill and that i would have to be put on a pre-pay meter, even though i told her i would be paying the bill on the 1st of the month in full.

.... she also said i hadn't had my meter read recently even tho an engineer had called. (without warning and while i was at work)and that i had to call them with the readings before she would accept any payment from me as my bill would probably be higher and they would want that paid too immediately too.

As I understand it, they cannot enforce anything until they have produced a bill with a reading. Just pay them off. Don't wait for the 1st.

As for the rude rep, did you ring eon or the debt collector? Generally, it is advisable to deal with debt collectors only in writing. You will understand that once a debt is in a debt collector's hands, they will often get a substantial amount of evasion - so the debt collector is rarely minded to accept anything as true.

Premier_2

foxglove666 wrote: »

... Also they can't turn your electric off. ...

I'm afraid they can, and they will, where all other attempts to secure payment for a debt relating to energy already supplied have failed.

There are very limited circumstances relating to when they cannot disconnect in such circumstances explained here:
http://cfe.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/cfe.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=5086&p_created=1210076544&p_sid=f5TyoU2k&p_accessibility=0&p_redirect=&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX3Jvd19jbnQ9NTksNTkmcF9wcm9kcz0wJnBfY2F0cz0wJnBfcHY9JnBfY3Y9JnBfcGFnZT0xJnBfc2VhcmNoX3RleHQ9ZGlzY29ubmVjdGlvbg**&p_li=&p_topview=1

spiro

foxglove666 wrote: »

Send in proof that the property is not yours and a Pre Pay meter can't be enforced.

The meter in the property is under their control and if they want to swap it to a ppm then they can, at worst they have to get a warrant if you wont let them in. The owner of the property doesn't get a say unless there is something in their T&Cs which allows them to evict you in the event of failure to pay third party bills on time.

specialsparky

Hi Spiro is right, if you don't pay then they will apply to your local magistrates court for a warrant (you will be notified of the date) to enter your premises whether you are there or not and fit a PP meter. The contract is between you and the supplier and the Landlord is not involved and the supplier will takes no notice of this.
I think you may have spoken to the debt collection company, phone Eon and talk it through with them and mention your treatment and lodge a complaint.
ANd pay the bill or set up an agreement to pay this will stop all action.
The number to call is on your bill, use that one not the one on the letters.

Good luck hope this helps

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi blueshoepixie

I'm sorry the E.ON agent you spoke to was rude.

The £30 fee you mention will be the cost of a visit to your premises to check if it is practical to fit a Prepayment meter.

It takes a long time to reach this stage. This visit is preceded by a series of bills, reminders, phone calls and letters. Following this, if we remain unable to contact the customer or set up an appropriate payment arrangement, we will look at fitting a Prepayment meter.

As spiro says, the meter is our property and we are able to replace it if necessary, although this is usually as a last resort.

If you are able to clear the outstanding balance or set up an appropriate payment arrangement, it may still be possible to stop this process. It depends on where the account is now at.

However, as others have posted, it is essential the account is billed up to date to accurate meter readings. It could be we are asking for too much as a result of over estimating your usage.

I would have a chat with our Credit Management people. They will be able to see where the account is at and advise accordingly.

Hope this helps point you in the right direction blueshoepixie. Give me a shout if you need further advice as will be happy to help.

Malc