Duped by EON???

vonvonvon

I had a letter in December from EON to tell me my fixed plan was coming to an end in Feb 2011 but there was very little difference in cost with the new plan they were going to put us on so we didn't change anything.
Today 10th Feb we have received a letter from them saying that they wrote to us in December etc but quote "however, since we sent you this letter, we've raised our prices. These....are effective from the 4 February 2011."

My hubby has done a quick calculation this morning before going to work and this new plan (WHICH CAME INTO EFFECT, UNBEKNOWN TO US, A WEEK AGO) is working out at a lot more expensive - have we been duped???

Surely, this is not good practice - lulling you into a false sense of security in writing two months before the plan ends, only to put up the prices and tell you AFTER, they have done it!!!

Hmm, not sure where to go next with this, any ideas welcome please.

Thank you.

Premier_2

All the major suppliers have now raised theiir prices, so use a comparison site to see what is the best deal for you. when your current deal finishes at the end of this month.
As any switch of supplier will take at least 4 weeks, switch now (if there's a cheaper supplier)
and ensure the taiff you go onto between end Feb and the switch date does not have any early exit fees.

If the current supplier offers the best deal, but a different tariff, contact the supplier and ask to go onto that at expiration of current deal.

macman

They have 65 days after the increase to advise you, ludicrous though that may seem.

dogshome

Hi vonvonvon - You have 10 days from reciept of the letter advising you of the new prices, to tell Eon that you reject the new contract with higher prices and that you intend to Switch supplier. DO THIS BY EMAIL with a snailmail confirmation
In the meanwhile Eon have to charge you the old prices

So asap search the Switch sites for something better

MillicentBystander

Again no mention of the fact that Eon charge a never ending exit fee by granting no discount on the final bill! If you want away you need to try and time it so as to minimise this 'penalty', certainly be careful after the winter usage months.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

vonvonvon wrote: »

I had a letter in December from EON to tell me my fixed plan was coming to an end in Feb 2011 but there was very little difference in cost with the new plan they were going to put us on so we didn't change anything.
Today 10th Feb we have received a letter from them saying that they wrote to us in December etc but quote "however, since we sent you this letter, we've raised our prices. These....are effective from the 4 February 2011."

My hubby has done a quick calculation this morning before going to work and this new plan (WHICH CAME INTO EFFECT, UNBEKNOWN TO US, A WEEK AGO) is working out at a lot more expensive - have we been duped???

Surely, this is not good practice - lulling you into a false sense of security in writing two months before the plan ends, only to put up the prices and tell you AFTER, they have done it!!!

Hmm, not sure where to go next with this, any ideas welcome please.

Thank you.

Hi vonvonvon

Sorry for the late reply - only just spotted your post.

Sounds as though you're currently on one of our Fixonline tariffs. If this is the case and unless you tell us otherwise, your account will automatically be transferred to EnergyOnline when the fixed product ends.

EnergyOnline is our basic online account. It's based on our standard rates with a flat discount of 10 per cent regardless of the region. As such, it will be considerably more expensive than the Fixonline tariffs.

Like all our online products, this plan requires payment by Direct Debit and management through our website. However, there are no cancellation charges and you can change tariff/supplier whenever you wish.

I would follow Premier's advice and pop your details on to one of the comparison sites. This will list all the options open to you, both with us and the other suppliers.

Unfortunately, the ending of your current product has coincided with our price increase. Therefore, the letter we sent advising of the EnergyOnline rates has been superseded by the new increased prices as outlined in the second letter.

You will continue to receive the prices relevant to the fixed tariff right up to the product end date regardless of our price increase.

After that, though, the new prices as outlined in the second letter will kick in.

There is an agreement in place throughout the energy industry which gives customers the opportunity to change supplier following a price increase without being affected by the new prices. This needs to be done within a set period.

Basically, we need to know within 20 working days of receiving the letter about the new prices that you wish to leave. We then need to receive the notice of transfer from the new supplier within 15 working days of you letting us know.

This is detailed on page 2 of the letter advising of the new prices.

If you follow the above, you will continue to receive the EnergyOnline prices as per the first letter from the date the fixed deal ends until the account transfers.

Just a quick heads up vonvonvon; we don't give discount on final bills when changing supplier. Therefore, you might want to time a move away to lessen the impact of this.

However, this will not apply to your fixed tariff provided you have completed the full term of the contract.

As it usually takes between 4 to 6 weeks to change supplier, I suspect your current agreement will have ended by the time the account switches. In this case, you will receive all the discount applicable to the fixed tariff even if part of this falls within the final bill.

Hope this is useful vonvonvon. Give me a shout if you need any more details as will be happy to help.

Malc

ward1958

Hi Malc,
I have been an eon customer for a very short period and following the recent price rises am considering switching to another supplier.
I telephoned eon last night to inform them and mentioned the fact that they should keep me on the old rates while switching, provided this is done within the timeframe you already mentioned. The customer services rep. said they have been told that customers will still be charged the new rates, but anyone leaving will be given a £5 flat rate payment. This will not equate to the saving I would make during the switchover if I were charged at the old rates. This is the first I have heard of this £5 payment and certainly goes against all the other advice I have read. Do you have any knowledge of this proposed change to the agreed procedure?
Thanks, Peter.

backfoot

Malc,

A couple of questions for clarification please.

If I am an Saver Online customer of Eon and Eon put up the price. If I decide to reject that price increase under the Ofgem rules and elect to switch, I should be billed on the pre increase price.

Do you still then disallow the 8% DD Dual Fuel Discount in those circumstances? Surely that falls foul of the Regulations, even if you have it in your T&c's?

Secondly, if a fixed tariff ends and the customer wants to stay with Eon, on say a new fixed tariff or your best online variable rate, do you automatically switch them over on consecutive dates or do they have to wait till their application is fully processed?

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

ward1958 wrote: »

Hi Malc,
I have been an eon customer for a very short period and following the recent price rises am considering switching to another supplier.
I telephoned eon last night to inform them and mentioned the fact that they should keep me on the old rates while switching, provided this is done within the timeframe you already mentioned. The customer services rep. said they have been told that customers will still be charged the new rates, but anyone leaving will be given a £5 flat rate payment. This will not equate to the saving I would make during the switchover if I were charged at the old rates. This is the first I have heard of this £5 payment and certainly goes against all the other advice I have read. Do you have any knowledge of this proposed change to the agreed procedure?
Thanks, Peter.

Hi Peter

Yes, this is correct.

The new prices have now been installed on our systems and have been in operation from the date of the price increase. Therefore, it is no longer possible to issue bills for energy used since the price increase but based on the old prices. All bills from 4 February will be based on the new prices.

Consequently, a business decision has been taken to give customers changing supplier as a result of the price increase a flat ex-gratia payment in respect of the difference between the old and new prices.

Payments differ depending on whether the switch involves Dual Fuel, gas only or electricity only.

The amounts are based on Ofgem average consumption and our standard prices, averaged across all regions.

Hope this answers your question Peter. Let me know if I can help further as will be happy to do so.

Malc

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

backfoot wrote: »

Malc,

A couple of questions for clarification please.

If I am an Saver Online customer of Eon and Eon put up the price. If I decide to reject that price increase under the Ofgem rules and elect to switch, I should be billed on the pre increase price.

Do you still then disallow the 8% DD Dual Fuel Discount in those circumstances? Surely that falls foul of the Regulations, even if you have it in your T&c's?

Secondly, if a fixed tariff ends and the customer wants to stay with Eon, on say a new fixed tariff or your best online variable rate, do you automatically switch them over on consecutive dates or do they have to wait till their application is fully processed?

Hi backfoot

After a price increase and provided we're informed within the required time frame, we'll ensure customers are not affected by the new prices whilst a change of supplier goes through.

However, this refers to the unit prices on their plan. Discounts are not part of this.

Consequently, unless a product has been completed, no discount will be applied to the final bill when switching supplier.

With regard to your second question, when a contracted agreement ends we will write to the customer advising this and suggesting they contact us to discuss their options. We also direct them to our website to see all the E.ON tariffs available to them at that time.

After this, if the customer doesn't contact us or switch via the website, their account will automatically be placed on the tariff closest to their previous agreement provided there is one available.

Where a similar tariff isn't available, their account will go on to standard prices.

The tariff we intend to put customers on at the end of an existing agreement, unless told otherwise, is advised in the letter I mentioned above.

Where a customer contacts us and selects a particular tariff, this can be timed to start the day after their existing agreement ends.

Tariffs switched via the website take effect immediately.

I hope this answers your questions backfoot. Give me a shout if I can help further as will be happy to do so.

Malc

backfoot

Malc,

Thank you for the reply.

Don't like the discount treatment in the first scenario but then you knew I would say that.