Vent: Eon Energy Raise Monthly Payment

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Aginoth wrote: »

I usually check my Energy Account Monthly, but mangaged due to several family events to forget to do this in June.

Sod's law therefor came into play and as a result I missed Eon putting up my Monthly Direct Debit for my Energy....

From £81 pcm to £129 pcm !!! an increase of 59.3%

This is despite the fact my energy usage at home year on year has fallen 7% in cash terms.

Perhaps they thought I was going to run all the street lights on my road for the rest of the year?

or that I had decided to allow the council to run teh Xmas lights in town from my house?

or maybe they are about to hike their fuel and energy prices by 59.3%?

No, surprisingly it was none of the above...

what it turned out to be was that a meter reader had reported my house as unoccupied...strange as there is always a car on the drive or my mobility scooter parked at the side of the house, net curtains up, furniture in the rooms, kids running around, and someone actually in 99% of the time out of me my wife and 4 children.

Because of this they had done an arbitrary reassessment of the energy use of the house based on their own average data for teh area and property type, and ignoring the fact that a) we hadn't moved out b) the bill was still being paid from the same account as it has been for 8 years c) their records of the previous usage at the property.

I've contacted them today and to their credit they have reduced the payments back to their original amount, but this shouldn't have happened in the first place on the say so of one contracted meter reader who couldn't be bothered to get his facts straight.

Hi Aginoth

I'm really sorry this happened. Why the meter reader should've reported your house as unoccupied is difficult to understand given your description of the property.

Once this type of report goes in, it sets in train a sequence of events and this looks like what has happened to you.

I'm pleased to see we sorted it quite quickly but if you still have concerns I would suggest contacting our Director's Office (contact details are on your bills) and raising a complaint. They will investigate the circumstances behind the 'unoccupied status' report and give you a full explanation.

Sorry again this happened Aginoth but hope all is now ok.

Malc

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Aginoth wrote: »

Other than this I have been happy with them, and they have never been bettered on the comparison sites for me, I agree their online system is generally very good.

We're on Eon SaveOnline2 which gives 6% direct debit discount plus a 2% dual fuel discount and an additional 17% online discount, but it has no end date. Not sure if it is still available to switch too though.

Sorry Aginoth; missed this question.

Saveonline 2 ends on 31 August 2011. It hasn't been available to switch to for quite a long time now.

When Saveonline 2 ends and unless you tell us otherwise, you're account will automatically be switched to EnergyOnline. This is our standard online product with a total of 10 per cent discount regardless of what region you're in.

There are no cancellation fees with EnergyOnline leaving you free to switch tariff/supplier if you wish.

Hope this helps Aginoth. Give me a shout if you need any more info as happy to help.

Malc

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

wdw2003 wrote: »

Aginoth, I'm on the same deal as you, so you'll have an end date at some point. Their letter suggested the EnergyOnline tariff which has the same rates but a much smaller discount, but when I went on to Uswitch it said Eon's SaveOnline 8 would be cheaper. It has lower rates and only the basic 8% discount, but the lower rates more than offset the extra 2% of the other tariff. You need to have your wits about you in this game.

Hi wdw

EnergyOnline is our default product for online accounts. It's what customers coming off an online deal automatically go on to unless they tell us otherwise.

There's no cancellation charge so you can change tariff/supplier at any time.

Saveonline 8 is our current online product but there are other tariffs available with different terms/prices. Full details are available on our website.

You're doing the best thing in using the comparison sites. These list all the tariffs currently available, both with us and the other suppliers.

Hope this helps wdw. Give me a shout if you need any more info as happy to help.

Malc

Aginoth

Thanks Malc.

looked at uswitch and your SaveOnline 8 does appear to be the best for me when the current SaveOnline 2 Ends.

Is there an end date for switching to SaveOnline 8 ? Or am I going to be OK to wait until just before the end of the SaveOnline 2 Deal?

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi Aginoth

At the moment, Saveonline 8 is available. However, I can't guarantee it will still be there on 31 August.

I'm afraid, we agents are only told about tariff changes/price increases at the same time as the public; sometimes afterwards.

Sorry I can't be more specific Aginoth but hope this helps. Give me a shout if you need any more info as happy to help.

Malc

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

carolineb23 wrote: »

We've had a few issues with them sticking the DD up a ridiculous amount, and every time we call them they try to say it's due to the usage. I think last time we ended up £50 in debit over the winter, so they wanted us to put up the payment by £17 a month or something stupid. We just told them we'd pay the £50 and said that surely if we were £50 in debit over the past 12 months they should only be putting the DD up by £4.17 a month. They didn't have an answer for that. To be fair to them though, whenever we call up and say we don't agree with the new DD they change it back down again.

The_mangler wrote: »

Eon put up my DD from £53 to £88 three months ago. I rang and told them no way could we manage that so they reduced it to £64. Now theyve contacted me again to say its going back to £99!!

peter_the_piper wrote: »

They keep reducing mine. I know that I pay 100 a month and that gives me security against a sudden freeze so why do they reduce it to 85?

Hi guys

Thought it might help if I gave a brief overview of our Direct Debit policy.

The aim is for accounts to have as near to a zero balance as possible by the time of the annual review in the spring.

To achieve this, we calculate how much energy we think will be used before the annual review. This is based on previous usage at a property. Any debt on an account is also included in the calculation.

This amount is then divided into equal monthly payments.

We expect customers to build up a credit during the summer months ready for the expected higher winter bills.

To make sure we stay on track for a zero balance, accounts are also reviewed after each scheduled bill. If necessary, Direct Debits are adjusted up or down at this stage.

At the annual review, any credit over a fiver is automatically refunded. Should an account be in debit at this time, we'll calculate the Direct Debit for the next 12 months and include the outstanding balance.

I'm afraid, these calculations are not an exact science and can be influenced by things like changing lifestyles which effect usage at a property. Consequently, we're always happy to listen to customers who think our calculations are wide of the mark.

Ultimately, the closer we are to a zero balance at the annual review the better for all concerned.

Hope this goes some way to explaining our approach to Direct Debits. Give me a shout if you anyone needs any more info as will be happy to help.

Malc

***cupcake***_2

My DD shot up too in May despite my a/c being in credit. £35 a month to £64 a month. I'm now in credit to the tune of £110 and my bill is only £33 a month on average. I've tried to change it, I keep doing regular online meter readings, but no joy.

The result? I'm switching. xx

KxMx

Utility companies are not your friends; they want your money, as much as they can get away with and Direct Debits enable them to do this. BT let my Nan& Grandad get over £200 in credit, and would have gone higher had Nan not asked us to look at the bill so we were able to figure out what had happened.

Switch to quarterly bills and load money onto a Post Office Budget Card so when the bills comes in you have a fair whack already paid (and once money is on card, it's not cash in your pocket to spend). And you pay for exactly how much you have used; not what you might use, or how much you used last year in the bad winter etc.

Honestly it amazes me seeing the amounts in DD's people pay.

Aginoth

Well done E.on you've done it to me again

I negotiated a change to SaveOnline 8 from SaveOnline 2 as discussed previously and a consequential increase in my DD to £90 (not set by E.on I told them what the paymet would be) in July, whilst in Credit by £90. I have been in credit with them for 4 years but never by more than £100 by managing my own DD amounts.

Today received a notice of DD increase, not unexpected given the 18% hike in fuel prices, but they want to raise the DD from £90 to £161.

So an 18% rise in prices requires a 79% increase in DD payment apparently.

I have been straight on the phone to them and told them the highest I will pay is £120 a month in light of the price rises which has been accepted. I will, as always, be keeping a close eye on any credit level on the energy account as I will not accept a utility company making excessive profits through interest gained on customers money. This still means I have seen an increase of 50% on my DD for energy in the last 4 months, but that's down to changing from a discounted deal and a simultaneous price rise on the basic unit costs so I have to live with that. Still far better that the 100% rise that E.on were trying to force upon me over the same period.

Consider, E.on supply 26 million customers mostly in Europe, potentially they are holding billions in reserve through in credit accounts and earning a nice bit of interest on that money I bet.

If you receive a notice of DD increase don't meekly accept it, go through your old bills, work out your real usage and what you think you will use in the coming year...then tell the Energy Company what you will pay. Don't let the Utility companies profit from excessive DD payments.

Padz_2

They tried to double mine a few years ago for absolutely no reason so i cancelled it and just pay bills when they come now. It ight not be the best deal but at least I choose when I pay within a couple of months or so. Sometimes I make them wait. <evil grin>