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E.ON billing me a big whack for my empty property!
Situation:
My commercial property tenant went into bankruptcy after failure to pay approx 9 months rent and then he left the premises wishing to surrender the lease. So to start with I am already at a heavy loss.
I've been checking the property now and again and checking the post etc..
I come across correspondence from E.ON welcoming a random company to the property as a new customer. So to tie all loose ends I called them and gave them the news of the readings the day the tenants left and asked them what I need to do.
E.ON rep notifies me that they could put me on their cheapest tariff with a standing charge of 23.55p/day and 8.28p/kWh - ideal for an empty property. But to do this they need to complete a credit check. Alarm bells start ringing and I said we'll leave it for now and I'll call back as I was optimistic in finding a replacement tenant very soon and I did not want to commit myself to a contract immediately as the landlord.
Over the period I had been liaising with my solicitor to recoup loss of rent as well as trying to get new people in. Sorting out the electricity was the last thing on my mind.
It took me 11 months before a tenant moved in and so obviously the new tenants took the meter readings etc..
Over the period E.ON have now billed me a whopping £1,828.71!!!
Stupidly I had failed to suss out the storage heaters which were programmed to turn on during the night - meter readings are therefore correct, However E.ON had charged me on their standard tariff comprising of a standing charge of 61.32p/day, day units at 16.4p/kWh and night at 8.71p/kWh.
1. How can they default to the standard tariff without my say so? ie shoud they not have welcomed me as the landlord with the details of the tariff and not that random company? therefore is the tariff enforcable?
2. E.ON rep says that he cannot retrospectively put me on the cheaper quoted tariff as I didn't obtain the credit check back when I called at the begining of the vacancy period. But, the tariff I was on before I had my first tenant in (whilst the property was empty initially) was on a cheaper tariff than the default one with a standing charge of 49.23p/day, day units at 12.2p/kWh and night at 5.73p/kWh. Can they not assume my previous tariff which was credit checked?
What can I do? What rights do I have?
How can they expect me to pay this bill especially as I had not received any further correspondence from E.ON to prompt me to pay a bill or sort out the contract out in the interim. If bills had been produced or meters checked I could have flagged that the storage heaters were left on in the building. The heaters themselves were installed by the tenants and I had no knowledge of how they worked so could not have known of the energy being used.
Loss of rent and almost a year of replacing the tenat coupled with ongoing court proceedings for failure to pay rent has left me very constrained financially - I cannot afford nearly another £2k that E.On are demanding.
I feel that E.ON will adopt a 'computer says no' atitude and so I need some advice before going back to them.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions
My commercial property tenant went into bankruptcy after failure to pay approx 9 months rent and then he left the premises wishing to surrender the lease. So to start with I am already at a heavy loss.
I've been checking the property now and again and checking the post etc..
I come across correspondence from E.ON welcoming a random company to the property as a new customer. So to tie all loose ends I called them and gave them the news of the readings the day the tenants left and asked them what I need to do.
E.ON rep notifies me that they could put me on their cheapest tariff with a standing charge of 23.55p/day and 8.28p/kWh - ideal for an empty property. But to do this they need to complete a credit check. Alarm bells start ringing and I said we'll leave it for now and I'll call back as I was optimistic in finding a replacement tenant very soon and I did not want to commit myself to a contract immediately as the landlord.
Over the period I had been liaising with my solicitor to recoup loss of rent as well as trying to get new people in. Sorting out the electricity was the last thing on my mind.
It took me 11 months before a tenant moved in and so obviously the new tenants took the meter readings etc..
Over the period E.ON have now billed me a whopping £1,828.71!!!
Stupidly I had failed to suss out the storage heaters which were programmed to turn on during the night - meter readings are therefore correct, However E.ON had charged me on their standard tariff comprising of a standing charge of 61.32p/day, day units at 16.4p/kWh and night at 8.71p/kWh.
1. How can they default to the standard tariff without my say so? ie shoud they not have welcomed me as the landlord with the details of the tariff and not that random company? therefore is the tariff enforcable?
2. E.ON rep says that he cannot retrospectively put me on the cheaper quoted tariff as I didn't obtain the credit check back when I called at the begining of the vacancy period. But, the tariff I was on before I had my first tenant in (whilst the property was empty initially) was on a cheaper tariff than the default one with a standing charge of 49.23p/day, day units at 12.2p/kWh and night at 5.73p/kWh. Can they not assume my previous tariff which was credit checked?
What can I do? What rights do I have?
How can they expect me to pay this bill especially as I had not received any further correspondence from E.ON to prompt me to pay a bill or sort out the contract out in the interim. If bills had been produced or meters checked I could have flagged that the storage heaters were left on in the building. The heaters themselves were installed by the tenants and I had no knowledge of how they worked so could not have known of the energy being used.
Loss of rent and almost a year of replacing the tenat coupled with ongoing court proceedings for failure to pay rent has left me very constrained financially - I cannot afford nearly another £2k that E.On are demanding.
I feel that E.ON will adopt a 'computer says no' atitude and so I need some advice before going back to them.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions
{Signature removed by Forum Team - if you are not sure why we have removed your signature please contact the Forum Team}
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Comments
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On a change of tenancy the new bill payer is deemed to have moved on to the standard tariff. This has happened for a very long time and most people are familiar with it. You chose not to - you explicitly refused to let them offer you a more suitable tariff. I am not sure why it is you think that E-on have adopted a 'computer says 'no' - it is you who said 'no', an expensive 'no' that you will have to chalk to experience.0
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What can I do? What rights do I have?
You had the right to a credit check and a cheaper tariff and you declined it!
Sorry, if you've consumed the energy (which you admit you have) then you have to pay for it - otherwise, I, as an Eon customer, will end up paying a share of it...and I don't want to, thanks, I struggle paying my own.0 -
I am no fan of Eon but they offered you a lower tariff and you refused. What did you think they would do ? It is hardly their fault the boiler was left on and it is not their fault you did not want an account opening in your name when they offered.
Like Andy above, I have to pay my bill even though I don't want to and can little afford it but that is life and as a owner of a property it is down to you to get to grips with the responsiblities of ownership.There is a race of men that don't fit in; A race that can't stand still;
So they break the hearts of kith and kin, and roam the world at will.
Robert Service0 -
I hadn't declined the cheaper tariff intentionaly - I just didn't want an unecessary credit check being performed on me thinking I could get a new tenant in quickly as that would've meant paying for a 12 month period min standing charge even if I got a new tenant in the next week.
It then just slipped my mind to get it sorted and nor did E.ON prompt me via meter reading or by means of a bill be it monthly, quaterley or bi-annually.{Signature removed by Forum Team - if you are not sure why we have removed your signature please contact the Forum Team}0 -
Hi LOST
You did the right thing at the start by contacting us and telling us of a change of responsibility.
This allows us to close the old account and set up a new one using accurate meter readings/details.
As well as this, we are able to discuss a suitable tariff going forward, which we appear to have done here.
We offer many types of arrangements for commercial properties. These are based on a number of varying factors like usage thresholds, fixed prices, different lengths of time, payment arrangements, metering set ups, etc.
Before entering into a formal agreement, we will carry out a credit check. As you declined this, we will not have offered any form of agreement but put you on to a deemed contract instead.
As Kim says, this is an established form of arrangement whereby we continue to supply your property but without any formal agreement.
Properties supplied in this way will be on a standard tariff only. Consequently, prices will be more expensive than our formal agreements. They also have no tie-ins so customers can change supplier/tariff without any constraints.
Customers on deemed contracts continue to have their meters read, provided we can gain access, and receive bills. If you have not been receiving bills, I would contact our Business Services team and ask where they have been going.
As you confirm the electricity has been used and the meter readings are correct, then you are liable for this balance.
I would ask for a payment arrangement to spread the balance over a more manageable period. Again, our Business Services team will be able to advise about this (contact details will be on your bill).
I do understand the concern receiving a large bill like this can cause but hope this points you in the right direction. Give me a shout if you need any more info as will be happy to help.
Malc“Official Company Representative
I am an official company representative of E.ON. MSE has given permission for me to post in response to queries about the company, so that I can help solve issues. You can see my name on the companies with permission to post list. I am not allowed to tout for business at all. If you believe I am please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com This does NOT imply any form of approval of my company or its products by MSE"0 -
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ha ha - very helpfultalulahbeige wrote: »it slipped my mind to pay my bill too, I wonder if I can find a "legitimate" way to not pay it?{Signature removed by Forum Team - if you are not sure why we have removed your signature please contact the Forum Team}0
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