Please help me!! What do I go for?

hannahpryor_xx

_pale_Hello, I'm completely 100% confused about what to do and would appreciate any help at all. To be very honest and at risk of sounding very silly I do not understand the 'technical' lingo and anything in English is helpful to me.

I am moving into my own house - rented.
Its a 2 bedroom medium sized property and will be used by my partner, our baby due in January and I.
We have no gas supply and have electric storage heaters - Economy 7.

I have found out the current supplier is e.on. I have called them and been spoke to like I'm a complete fool. I have been told by a very charming lady (:() that I have to stay with them and that I have to set up a £25 a month direct debit - and have my usage estimated for 3 months and then I will be sent a new monthly payment plan.

HELP? Is this set standard for all companies?

I really would prefer to have a set standard bill every month so I can budget and no where I stand?

Please can someone explain to me in English whether what I'm told by the lady at E.on is correct or not? and what exactly I should do to get the best deal?

I would appreciate ANY help at all.

Thanks so much.

Hannah

vuvuzela

You don't have to stay with them, and £25/month is way way too low for an electrically heated house, possibly £125 might be more appropriate.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi Hannah

I'm sorry the response you received when you called in was not particularly helpful. If I might explain.

When you take responsibility for a property, the existing provider continues to supply the energy without interruption.

You become responsible for the usage from the day responsibility transfers. This is known as a deemed contract.

Therefore, it's important to make sure you advise us of the meter readings for the day in question as this will ensure the bills accurately reflect your usage.

You are free to change supplier as soon as you wish. However, this process can take between 4 to 6 weeks to complete. During this time we will continue to supply the property.

There is no need to set up a Direct Debit if you don't wish to. Other payment arrangements are available. However, the tariffs with the highest discounts are for payment by Monthly Direct Debit and for managing your account online.

These tariffs generally have tie-ins like cancellation fees, though, and you need to be aware of such restrictions, particularly if you intend to change supplier.

I suspect the monthly amount the agent referred to was based on details you gave her about the property as there will be no usage to go on. This will have been a rough estimate at best and you certainly don't have to agree to this.

I do understand the difficulty of using the independent comparison sites when unsure of your usage. However, I would suggest entering estimates based on Ofgem's recommendations of average usage per year (these are 3300 kWh for single rate electricity; or a combination of 2970 kWh day and 3630 kWh night usage for Economy 7). This will give you an indication of the best deals for your circumstances, both with us and the other suppliers.

Again, I'm sorry for the poor treatment you received but hope the above provides a bit of clarification. Give me a shout if I can help further as will be happy to do so. Drop an email to the address in my Profile if you prefer.

Malc

t0rt0ise

E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc wrote: »

I do understand the difficulty of using the independent comparison sites when unsure of your usage. However, I would suggest entering estimates based on Ofgem's recommendations of average usage (3300 kWh electricity/20500 kWh gas per year). This will give you an indication of the best deals for your circumstances, both with us and the other suppliers.

The OP said it was an all electric house so I'd suggest that 3300 kWh would be nowhere near enough.

Edit: E.ON has now edited his post making my comment redundant.

Garz

Correct but all depends on how often you use/abuse those storage heaters, I would say 3000 kwh is about right without O/P heating but adding this is can blow that figure up.

sasha0802

When we rented somewhere we weren't allowed to change suppliers of gas and electricity.....Check with the landlord to see if you are allowed. As for the 3 months estimate...basically they take into account how many of you live in the house, what your hours of work are etc and go on average of how much you use....after 3 months they will send a meter reader round to check the meters and give you a real price for exactly how much you use.
Hope this helps!!

mattcanary

It would be wise to read the meter yourself on a regular basis (eg: each week or fortnight) to see how much you are using. Eon can tell you what the price per unit of electricityy you use is.

This will help ensure the Direct Debit amount is realistic (if you wish to pay by this method, that is)

dogshome

Hi hannahprior_xx - Whoa I'm afraid you have been mis-informed by E.on's Customer Service Desk, and also Malcs reply referring to gas, who usually gets things right.

A 2 bed house relying on ECO7 Electricity for heat and power, will produce Annual Bills of approxiamately £1,200 - £100 a month Direct Debit required
Most of the cost will be over the winter months - More than £100 a month - So if you were to accept Eons suggestion of a £25 D/Debit to be reviewed in 3 months, you would by March find yourself in Debt to the tune of appx £255

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

dogshome wrote: »

Hi hannahprior_xx - Whoa I'm afraid you have been mis-informed by E.on's Customer Service Desk, and also Malcs reply referring to gas, who usually gets things right.

Many thanks for pointing this out dogshome. I've amended my post to reflect an all electric property.

Sorry for any confusion caused.

Malc