EON Warrant

Jim2000

My daughter accrued a £2000 debt having had estimated bills for 2yrs. Came to light Sep 2010. Have tried talking to EOn for a reasonable repayment plan. Their "offer" pay half now and clear all within 12months or accept Prepayment meters. She is a student and simply cannot afford that. She has offered to cover current usage and additional £50 pm.
She has not previously defaulted on an arrangement, although was slapdash in prompt payment of previous bills. Has no CCJs etc.
Since the debt came to light the overall amount owing has reduced.
Ended up talking to local rep who then failed to get back to us despite a number of calls, she now has a notification of warrant application next week for entry to fit prepayment meter.
I thought they could only do this as "last resort" and want to know whether to go and contest it (and if we lose pay additional £238).
Suggestions?

WhiteHorse

Jim2000 wrote: »

My daughter accrued a £2000 debt having had estimated bills for 2yrs.

That's a lot.

Their "offer" pay half now and clear all within 12months or accept Prepayment meters.

It is a reasonable choice.

She has not previously defaulted on an arrangement, although was slapdash in prompt payment of previous bills.

So there is some element of blame.

...she now has a notification of warrant application next week for entry to fit prepayment meter.

They have a point - she has a bad payment record and has admitted that she can't repay any faster.

I thought they could only do this as "last resort" and want to know whether to go and contest it (and if we lose pay additional £238).

Don't contest it - you will lose. Just ensure that the repayment level is set at something reasonable.

mattcanary

Don't listen to the White Horse - he's a right-wing fascist.

I think the first step is to work out whether the bill is actually accurate.

Has the meter been changed since your daughter moved in?

Was the start reading on her first bill based upon a proper meter reading and not an estimate?

Even if the bill is correct, the supplier's actions can certainly be contested in court.

The key thing is for your daughter to turn up to the court hearing. Normally, the customer does not turn up and the warran just gets rubber-stamped by the judge (without even being checked for accuracy). If your daughter turns up, the warrant application will be withdrawn by the supplier as they so not have the relevant paperwork, etc with them to prove the debt. The supplier may then apply for a warrant at a later date. However:

If the debt is being gradually reduced, that will look good. In particular, if payments are being made regularly to a set pattern. The judge wouldbe very unlikel to grant the supplier a warrant. Especially so if it can be demonstrated by your daughter producing a statement showing all her income and expenses, that she is making a real effort to clear the arrears

DirectDebacle

Under these circumstances, under-estimated bills leading to debt, energy companies will often allow the debt to be repaid over the same period of time that it took for the debt to accrue.

In this case approx £2000 over 24 months = £83.33 per month.

Her offer of current usage plus £50.00 is probably a little short for E.ON to accept. Try increasing this and see what they say. If they refuse to accept then the court may well find, under the circumstances, that E.ON are being unreasonable demanding half up front and 12 monthly payments. Worth a try and I go along with mattcanary suggestions.

BoltonGirl_2

I'm with White Horse. Every bill that is estimated clearly shows that (regardless of which company it comes from) and asks the customer to call in/text/email a correct reading. If this came to light in Sep 10 that is why its now at warrant stage (as she has not agreed to anything for 6 months). Its not going to go away so encourage her to try to increase her offer one last time and if not agree to a prepayment meter - the longer it stays as a debt, the worse her credit score will be affected!

Jim2000

Thanks everyone. The meter reading is right. She initially overpaid, hence no bill to pay for about a year until estimates caught up with her credit. She accepts some blame on her part for the accrual but she was only 21 at the time. Just for clarification, overall usage indicates about £70 a month. Since October she has paid £550 off so a net reduction of about £200.
Can I ask if any of the posters to this thread actually have knowledge of the process?

moonrakerz

mattcanary wrote: »

Don't listen to the White Horse - he's a right-wing fascist.

Don't listen to mattcanary - he's a left wing commie.

Quite what one's political leanings have to do with paying what you owe escapes me though..............

spiro

Your daughter has three options:

1) Find middle ground with Eon on a repayment plan but this is likely to be about £90pm on top of useage.

2) Wait for them to get a warrant and fit a ppm which will add about £250 in 'costs' to the debt but she can then provide a statement of income/outgoings (out excludes things like Sky, mobiles) so that a weekly debt recovery rate can be agreed. The lowest would be about £3.50/week but would depend on in/outs.

3) Phone them up and ask them to fit a ppm which avoids the £250 'costs' being added to the debt but she can then provide a statement of income/outgoings (out excludes things like Sky, mobiles) so that a weekly debt recovery rate can be agreed. The lowest would be about £3.50/week but would depend on in/outs.

In terms of the "statement of income/outgoings" dont be economical with the true as most supplier now check with various ratings agencies so they may know more about you that you think.

E.ON_Company_Representative:_Helena

Hi Jim2000

Already some excellent advice.

As a couple of the other posters have said, E.ON would normally allow this sort of balance to be paid back over the length of time it has taken to build up.

However, this does depend on the individual circumstances.

This means the debt will be paid back each month on top of the usage.

If the pre-payment meter is fitted on a warrant, extra charges will be added to the account as spiro has said, if this is requested before the warrant does go ahead the charges will not apply.

Just a couple of questions, has this been raised as a complaint on the account? and is someone at E.ON actually dealing with this to come to an agreement?

If you need any further info, just let me know.

Helena

undaunted

I agree with Mattcanary & Direct Debacle. I t would be reasonable to repay over the period the debt accrued (so about £83 p/m + usage). Suppliers do need to consider affordability of payment plans & a pre payment meter does not help her or in any way overcome that fact hence I see little benefit to anyone in this unreasonable insistence on a warrant / new meter if she is willing to make a fair arrangement (it may also prevent access to certain tarrifs, cost money to have removed later etc).

She must attend court & contest it if the hearing goes ahead.

In the meantime I would suggest contacting Consumer Direct & asking if they can refer you onto Consumer Focus who may be able to assist in negotiating a payment plan.
http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/

Jim2000

E.ON_Company_Representative:_Helena wrote: »

Hi Jim2000

Already some excellent advice.

As a couple of the other posters have said, E.ON would normally allow this sort of balance to be paid back over the length of time it has taken to build up.

However, this does depend on the individual circumstances.

This means the debt will be paid back each month on top of the usage.

If the pre-payment meter is fitted on a warrant, extra charges will be added to the account as spiro has said, if this is requested before the warrant does go ahead the charges will not apply.

Just a couple of questions, has this been raised as a complaint on the account? and is someone at E.ON actually dealing with this to come to an agreement?

If you need any further info, just let me know.

Helena

Thanks Helena.
Eon have not given any flex at all. I expect my daughters credit rating is not great, would that have played a part in EONs decision? Is there an option for the Direct Debit to come out of my account - my credit rating is good, or I have also read about some sort of deposit/bond.

I have complained to EON (daughter gave permission for me to speak to them) as I think they have been inflexible. I did ask them to record a complaint, but I am not sure anything actually happened, on the phone the rep just said "Yeh I 've done that".

As for where we are now, I spoke to them on Thursday and it was as originally posted, there appears to be no further scope for negotiation. What frustrates me is that a meter will take longer for EON to get its money, I have pointed this out and they are insistent that it is not about them getting the money, its about ensuring their position does not deteriorate. If this is the main issue, why are they so concerned when the debt has reduced since it came to light and we have offered a repayment plan - given that she has not defaulted on one before!!.

Thanks for any advice.