help needed !!

celicanige

hi .

we are with e-on for our gas and electricity and have been since we moved into our house 4-5 years ago and just kept with the supplier the last owner had . (it is our first house and unsure about gas/electricity charges etc ??)

we have had no problems at all till now ......

we have just had a letter from e-on stating they want to up our standing monthly direct debit .

we were paying around £90 a month last year then had a letter last year stating they were putting our standing order down to £72 a month.

now we have just had a letter stating they want to put it up to around £110 a month ... more than £40 a month more ...

im so annoyed and the wifes on maternity pay and really cant afford that ... and to leave they say we owe them £190 .....

also why over the winter months nov - feb i was paying £72 a month .. but then the quarter of march - june they say ive used more ??? and want to up the direct debit ??? confused and frustrated

can anyone help with this ...

spiro

Suppliers review DDs on a regular basis (once or twice a year) at which time they may increase or decrease it so that it balances to zero at the annual review date.

My guess is that £90pm put you into a credit balance so they reduced it to £72. That will have brought your balance back down to zero so it will need increasing and coupled with the fact that your wife is on leave probably means you are now using more because she is at home all day. That will take is back over the original figure of £90 up to £110.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi celicanige


Accounts are now reaching their annual reviews and are being adjusted for the next 12 months. Thought it might help if I gave you a brief outline of our Direct Debit policy.

Our aim is to achieve as near to a zero balance as possible by the time of the next annual review in 2012.

To do this, we look at the past usage and calculate how much we expect you to use over the next 12 months. Additionally, any debit balance on the account will be included in the calculation and similarly spread over the next 12 months.


Is your latest bill based on actual meter readings or estimates? If estimates, let us know the correct readings and we'll re-bill the account accurately. Your Direct Debit can then be re-calculated.


If the bill is based on actual readings, it looks as though you've not been paying enough to cover the energy previously used. This has resulted in the debt of £190 you mention.


As above, this debt will be included in the new arrangement. This is intended to re-pay the outstanding amount and cover the ongoing usage so as to avoid a similar situation arising in the future.


Has your usage increased since the Direct Debit was last reviewed? If it has, this may explain why payments were lowered but have not subsequently covered the usage.


Also, have previous bills been estimated and you've now received a large catch up bill? This can lead to an increase in the monthly payments.


Sorry for all the questions celicanige. Just trying to build up a picture of your particular circumstances.


Hope this helps give you a general idea of what happens. Let me know if you need any more info as will be happy to help.


Malc

celicanige

one of the readings on my review says its a estimate !!

yes i agree we might have used slightly more due to maternity leave but not enough to go from credit to £196 debit in 3 months .,.

and being unable to afford the increase they are asking or the debit of £196 to be paid off i feel stuck and un-helped by our supplier .. we have never missed a payment or had a direct debit unsent and feel that e-on should never have lowered it in the first place ....

what options do i have to try and help us through this sticky period .

vuvuzela

celicanige wrote: »

one of the readings on my review says its a estimate !!

yes i agree we might have used slightly more due to maternity leave but not enough to go from credit to £196 debit in 3 months .,.

and being unable to afford the increase they are asking or the debit of £196 to be paid off i feel stuck and un-helped by our supplier .. we have never missed a payment or had a direct debit unsent and feel that e-on should never have lowered it in the first place ....

what options do i have to try and help us through this sticky period .

First option is to see how accurate the estimate is and go back to them if it is out.

celicanige

how do i work that out though ... as they are saying the reading taken in march is an estimate ...

do i look at the last review letter that was in in febuary and look at the 2 figures and see if they have jumped up too much from 5 feb to 5 march ??

thanks guys

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi celicanige

Have you had a bill since the March one? If you have, is this to an accurate reading?

If not, let us have readings. We'll bill your account up to date and review your Direct Debit based on this. This could make a difference to your monthly payments.

Given your last post, I do understand paying off the balance is an unlikely option. However, would it be possible to pay off part of the balance? This will also allow the monthly payments to be lowered a little.

It's important payments cover the ongoing usage. Anything less will only make your situation worse.

Make sure the balance is spread over the maximum period and you're on the best tariff for your circumstances.

Pop your details on to one of the independent comparison sites. This will list out all your options, both with us and the other suppliers. Choose what's best for you, although please be aware we may block a move whilst there's an outstanding balance on the account.

Sorry I can't offer anything more positive celicanige but hope this helps a bit. Give me a shout if I can help further as will be happy to do so.

Malc

celicanige

ok thanks

part payment of the debit may be an option ..

in a way of keeping the monthly cost to under £100.....

i would prefer not to move as very unclear about the market out thare and other companies ...

has anyone with eon got the tv power down plugs ?? or the digital display unit that shows what your using ?? are they worth gettin ?

thanks

spiro

If your last bill was in March and the end reading was an estimate, read the meter(s) today and submit the reading to Eon over the phone and ask them to review the DD payments in light of the reading(s). If the estimate was too high the DD may come down, it it was too low it will increase but you are better off sorting that out now rather than latter.