Am I on track?

Dawning

I sent a meter reading to eon yesterday, to cover the period September 30 to December 28. My last reading in September was also an actual meter reading, not estimated.
I pay £54 a month DD. When my bill came back yesterday it shows that I am now £56 in credit. I am very relieved as for the past two weeks the heating has been on almost constantly! Anyway, bearing i mind that we have at least another two months of winter ahead, does it seem like my payments are on track being in credit now, or should I be prepared for them to hike my DD at some point? I think my review is in April.

Dave_save

I'm in the same position as you. Eon review accounts during April to June. If you're in debit or credit at the review, they will adjust your payments to ensure that at the following review (April to June 2012) you achieve zero balance. They take the credit/debit amount into account and add that to the estimation for the following year and adjust your DD payments accordingly. They won't adjust your DD payments before the review date provided you are making the agreed DD payments.

Airmike23

Depends how much credit you were in on the sept 2010 bill, and as Dave Save says will only adjust in April if behind (in debit) on that bill or credit significant to warrant a decrease. Bearing in mind elevated gas usage for next 2-3 months minimum, possibly more than you would anticipate also depending on weather we get for remainder of winter, may find Credit on December bill does not cover Dec-March cost, only time and meter reads will tell.

Dawning

Airmike23 wrote: »

Depends how much credit you were in on the sept 2010 bill, and as Dave Save says will only adjust in April if behind (in debit) on that bill or credit significant to warrant a decrease. Bearing in mind elevated gas usage for next 2-3 months minimum, possibly more than you would anticipate also depending on weather we get for remainder of winter, may find Credit on December bill does not cover Dec-March cost, only time and meter reads will tell.

Thanks. Just checked and I was £105 in credit on the September bill.

When I originally moved to this house two years ago, my DD was £84 a month. They then reduced it last April to £54 a month which surprised me, to say the least....
I'm just trying to work out my budget for the year ahead and get an estimate of how much they are likely to set the DD at.
I've used a lot of gas since the end of November and can only anticipate that if cold weather like we had does come back, then my usage is going to be high again Jan/Feb/March...

I can handle a relatively small increase in the DD, eg up to £75 a month but any more than that and I'm really going to struggle.

Joyful

If you can pay £75 per month I would suggest putting the difference aside now. Then when they reassess at April if there is a debt you can clear it. You will then only have to pay the consumption at whatever amount is decided.

Dawning

I could pay £75 at a pinch,I'm very worried in case they want even more when my review comes up.
I do have some debts I'm paying off and I try to prioritise them because of the interest charges when I have a little bit of extra money, but I will put aside a little for the gas and electric.

victor2

It also depends on the timing of your direct debits. I put my reading in on Jan 1st and it told me I was £3 in credit, having been £140 in credit after my last bill at the end of November. Even though it has been cold, I couldn't see how I had used £140 worth of gas on top of my DD payment. I hadn't, the payment goes through on the first of the month and wasn't registered when I put the readings in. So, I'll have a month's payment in hand by the time the banks go back to work.

E.ON_Company_Representative:_Helena

Hi Dawning,

It does sound like you are on track so far, but we just don't know how cold it is going to be over the next few weeks/months, so your future usage is just an estimate.

If you feel unsure, I would contact E.ON and ask for the figures for last year, see how much you used and ask for your future forecast.

This should help you check if your payments are going to be enough.

As others have said, E.ON will review your account around April time and the payments, credit/debit will be adjusted accordingly.

But there is no problem speaking to E.ON now and getting things sorted.

If you need me to help you, I will be more than happy to do so, just contact me using the email address in my profile page.

Helena

legalfreak22

Hi Helena,

I wonder if you could confirm something for me. I took out SaveOnline 3 in October 2010.

I was informed in writing when I joined the plan that the direct debits were 'fixed' and that the first review would be in April. How come, then, has my new direct debit been increased by £14? If you say 'April' then this should mean 'April', not January! And why has the word 'fixed' not been given its plain meaning?

E.ON_Company_Representative:_Helena

legalfreak22 wrote: »

Hi Helena,

I wonder if you could confirm something for me. I took out SaveOnline 3 in October 2010.

I was informed in writing when I joined the plan that the direct debits were 'fixed' and that the first review would be in April. How come, then, has my new direct debit been increased by £14? If you say 'April' then this should mean 'April', not January! And why has the word 'fixed' not been given its plain meaning?

Hi legalfreak22,

Accounts are reviewed in April, but if after a bill has been produced it appears that the account is falling in to debit or accumulating a large credit our system can amend the payments.

This is to stop customers building up a large debt over a long period of time, as a lot of people would then struggle to clear this in one go.

If you think the calculations are incorrect for your payments, I would contact E.ON and ask how the figures have been worked out.

Helena

legalfreak22

Thanks for the explanation, Helena. I can see the rationale for what you are saying.
However, at the same time I believe that the wording on your documents given to the customer (in this case myself) at the time of joining is slightly ambiguous (being kind). As to the reasons for this, I wouldn't like to speculate...
A simple solution to this ambiguity would be to incorporate what you've just written into the final paragraph of the confirmation letter. With so much information being absorbed, not everyone is able to draw the correct conclusions from ambiguous language.