Electric bill after moving out of the house

vchand123

Hi,
I lived in an apartment for a year from Jan to Dec. Around midway, the electry city bill generated was low ( Apr - July) and the last few months ( Aug - Dec) was almost negligible. I received letter from Eon sometime in the August that they want to check to see if the meter is working correctly. I received an appointment for an engineer to look at it only by Dec, by which time I was moving out of the house and so did not get it checked.

I provided the final meter reading and closed my account with the Eon. I got a letter confirming that the account is closed in January. Now after 5 months they have come back and said that the meter was not working properly (though it was not confirmed by any engineer during my stay) during the last 5 months of my stay there. Therefore I need to pay a random calculated amount of 300 pounds.

I am not sure what to do. I was staying all alone in that residence as a bachelor with not that great amount of usage of electricity. I dont believe I should be paying that much. And more over it is not my mistake that the meter may not have worked properly and they did not have the time to come and check the property at the earliest when they thought the meter may need a check.

Could you please advice how I go about this situation and whether I am entitled to refuse to pay any amount as I have already closed the account?

Many Thanks.

sabretoothtigger

I'd say its their fault and their bill to pay unless its proven you somehow altered the meter

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi vchand

This sounds like a stopped meter. This is where the meter register/registers are not moving even though electricity is being used.

Before the low April - July bill, were previous bills what you would have considered consistent with your level of usage?

If they were, it looks as though the meter stopped somewhere between this April - July period.

As electricity was being used whilst the meter was stopped, we are allowed to make a charge for this. The question is how much.

Did meter readers visit the apartment during your occupancy? If they did, the data they provided will help us come up with a date when we believed the meter stopped.

We will then calculate what we think you would have used between this date and the end of your occupancy. This calculation will be based on the average consumption, with seasonal adjustments, before the meter stopped.

If this isn't possible, we would usually look at ongoing usage and calculate from there.

However, this wouldn't be possible in your case as you left the apartment before the meter was fixed. In these circumstances, we would need to calculate using other factors like the type/size of property, heating arrangements, number of occupants etc.

None of the above is set in stone. You can dispute our findings at any time. Ask for a complaint to be raised if necessary.

Contact us if you think the calculations/timings are wrong. We have a specialist Stopped Meters team who deal with these matters. Talk to them and see how the billed amount was reached. Let them know of any factors which may have affected the usage whilst the meter was stopped.

Once a final total has been reached, ask for payment arrangement. We'll be happy to spread this cost over a more manageable period.

Sorry for this inconvenience vchand 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

t0rt0ise

Surely he'd have known if the meter had stopped as the final reading would have been the same as a previous one. So presumably the meter didn't stop but slowed. Who's to say how much it slowed and whether it was slow all the time or varied. So OP be very careful and don't let them bamboozle you into paying their made up amount. If it were me I know what I'd be saying.

vchand123

Thanks for the responses so far.

I am not convinced by the Eon reply from Malc. Obviously it is a company view to extract as much as possible from a customer.

I am wondering how EON would have worked if the situation reversed and I had a high bill for the last 4 months with the meter working incorrectly. Would they reduce the amount and say it was their mistake if I was not living in that property anymore and my account is closed.
How would anybody find such a thing out after 5 months!

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

t0rt0ise wrote: »

Surely he'd have known if the meter had stopped as the final reading would have been the same as a previous one. So presumably the meter didn't stop but slowed. Who's to say how much it slowed and whether it was slow all the time or varied. So OP be very careful and don't let them bamboozle you into paying their made up amount. If it were me I know what I'd be saying.

To be honest t0rt0ise, stopped or running slow, the meter was still faulty and any readings wouldn't have reflected the actual usage. Therefore, we'll still need to follow the route I described above to estimate usage during this period.

Anyone in these situations can talk to us at any time if they disagree with or don't understand the estimates proposed. We'll be happy to explain how we've reached the figures used.

If we can't reach agreement they can then refer the matter to the Ombudsman for an independent assessment.

Hope this makes our policy a little clearer t0rt0ise. Let me know if still unclear as will be happy to expand on the above.

Malc

dogshome

Hi vchand123 - You don't say if this was an All-Electric apartment with ECO 7 heating, an All-Electric on a Standard meter, or an apartment with Gas CH & Hot water - The type it is will make a big difference to the Elec. billing and knowing the consumption from Jan to April will help in estimating the annual bill.

However do not accept E.on's Estimated figures until they have supplied you with a copy of the report of the meter's performance by the Independant laboratory.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

vchand123 wrote: »

Thanks for the responses so far.

I am not convinced by the Eon reply from Malc. Obviously it is a company view to extract as much as possible from a customer.

I am wondering how EON would have worked if the situation reversed and I had a high bill for the last 4 months with the meter working incorrectly. Would they reduce the amount and say it was their mistake if I was not living in that property anymore and my account is closed.
How would anybody find such a thing out after 5 months!

Hi vchand

I'm afraid, where a meter is faulty, we have little alternative but to use estimates to charge for the electricity used whilst you were at the apartment.

These will be worked out along the lines I described earlier. You can talk to us at any time about the calculations used and we'll be happy to explain how we've arrived at the proposed amount.

Let us know about any contributory factors which may have affected the usage.

Our aim is to estimate as close to the actual usage as possible. If this turned out to be below an existing high bill then, yes, this would definitely be re-billed to a lower amount.

Ask for a complaint to be raised if you disagree with our calculations. Escalate this through our management structure if you think our estimates don't reflect the amount of electricity you believed was used.

If, after 56 days, you remain unhappy with our actions then you can refer the case to the Ombudsman for an independent ruling.

I do understand how confusing this must be, particularly now you're no longer at the apartment, but hope the above is of use. Let me know if you need any more info as will be happy to help.

Malc