E-On advice please - going to court tomorrow !!

sarahk100574

Hello kind folk,

Does anyone on here know if E-On actually turn up at court when they say they will for obtaining a warrant to gain entry to a property to fit a PAYG meter??
They have sent me a letter saying the time and place, and I intend to be there to argue my case against this action....

Anyone have any experience or tips about what will happen when I get there? Its tomorrow, so if anyone does i'd be most grateful if you'd share your experience with me!!

many thanks.

p.s Although I did get behind over the summer, my account is now up to date with £84 outstanding which is not due until 19th November (Bill produced 5th November). It was an earlier bill I got behind with ...

rogerblack

Pay it now, online, if you can, even though it may cause you some hardship.

It's a much stronger position to be able to say 'I have no debt' - rather than 'yes, I'm in debt', when questioned.

You're going to need the extra over the winter anyway, so getting caught up is a good plan.
Especially if you can then switch to a cheaper deal.

sarahk100574

Thanks Roger - I have already paid the 'debt'... I received a 17 week 'quarterly' bill in september - was way higher than i'd anticipated (yes, my fault - but am struggling due to a lowering in income - wasn't defaulting or ignoring etc!) so took me a few weeks to get paid.

Then they (E.On) seemed to switch my 'gas & electric' dual fuel account onto two separate bills, which just confused me; then i called to ask why this was and the next week when I went to check my account - they had blocked my on-line access...grrrr!

So i called to ask why, and it appears that while I was making some pretty hefty payments - they were all being allocated to the newly formed electric account, none to the gas! So the following week (mid October) a man came round and said that as I had x £'s o/s in gas 'arrears' (it was only 5 weeks after my 17 week 'quarterly' bill for goodness sake) - they would be applying for a warrant etc etc...

In the meantime (since 17th sept) I have recived no fewer than 4 more gas bills, and another electric..... what a bloody shambles they are at E.On!! Quarterly billing....my a**e!!

Was really looking for anyone who has actually turned up at the court... I'm quite looking forward to showing someone else the mountain of confusing paperwork I have here!

Will it defo help that I have in fact cleared the arrears, and also have only approx £84 to pay from a bill issued on 5th November (due for prompt payment by 19th ??)

Does anyone know how it goes at court for these type of things??

many thanks for replying!

molerat

I don't know how it works in court but if you have a well made up portfolio of the paperwork from them, laid out in chronological order, showing that they have made a pigs ear of the billing and a timeline of the events you have stated above then they should be in for a bollocking from the judge. Also by blocking your on line access they have hindered you in managing your arrears and at a time of financial difficulty forced you onto a dearer tarriff.

bengasman

Energy suppliers are supposed to offer reasonable terms to people in financial trouble that are doing their best to settle things; they did not.
They changed your T&C to a more expensive option against your will, I doubt that is allowed.
Do they have ACTUAL meter readings to confirm it is a REAL debt and not an estimated one?
If you bring evidence of the above to the hearing, you have little to fear, irrespective of whether the supplier turns up or not.
Contacting the energy ombudsman for help and claim for harassment damages would be a good idea too.

sarahk100574

Well, I've put my paperwork in order - I have my 'case' ready, so lets see how it goes... the court can't tell me if E.On still actually have my name on a list, apparently they just turn up with a list, but if they are applying for a warrant for my property then I will get a chance to speak to the magistrate!
Am very nervous - but hey ho! Its very MSE of me I think.... the PAYG meters cost more per unit, so I think they are being massively unfair! I'm sure none of the E.On family went without while they waited for me to pay my bill.... sharks, the lot of em! Hope I get a friendly magistrate!!

rogerblack

Good luck!

sarahk100574

Quick update: E.On send a representative to court, and I got to sit down with her before she went in to court to ask the magistrate to sign the warrants.
She had a look at my paperwork, admitted there are faults in their system and apologised. She told me that their 'system' does not/ cannot distinguish between those of us who sometimes struggle to pay, and those that simply don't pay...
She also admitted that the field rep who visited me should not have said the things he did... and that they have a lot of failings in their call centre customer service.

She agreed immediately that she would not be applying for any warrant ... phew!!

She was a nice lady, and understood my position... if only all their staff could be like this, instead of the heavy handed approach they are currently taking!

My tie-in contract ends on 15th Jan and after being with E.On for years I will be voting with my feet and moving! All this silly April year end etc etc... complete codswallop from a company that quite frankly don't deserve the customers they have!!

undaunted

I'm glad to read that you got this sorted - though based on what you've said & having dragged you to Court I might have insisted she go in & put her case (it would have cost them £50 or so & probably got thrown out / criticism for wasting the courts time.

Perhaps you should now ask for compensation for loss of wages & the unnecessary distress they've caused you, pointing out that you feel inclined to leave in January? :rotfl:)

sarahk100574

D'oh I missed a trick there! I did consider saying that I would prefer to put my case staright to the magistrate, but to be honest I was nervous - and not wanting to waste too much more of my time getting this sorted! Think I will defo ask for mileage etc though!

And another idea I thought about is sending payments to E.On in amounts of £1 a time... maybe 3 or 4 times a day!! It doesn't cost me, but I'm sure it will probably cost them!! Maybe all of us who have been 'done over' by their ridiculous methods, or backed into a corner by them should do this?!! Imagine their bank charges if they were reciving 3 payments a day from a few hundred thousand customers...:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

bengasman

sarahk100574 wrote: »

She was a nice lady, and understood my position... if only all their staff could be like this, instead of the heavy handed approach they are currently taking!

She was not being a nice lady, she simply suckered you into showing your cards and thereby avoiding looking like a complete moron before the court.

Fact 1: The company failed to bring a case.
Fact 2: She had failed to prepare her case properly, or she would have told her boss to cancel the hearing.
Fact 3: If you had not been nervous about the court case and told her to get lost, she would have looked like the looser she is. You did her a big favour, not the other way around.

My supplier (BG) have threatened me at least 4 times with court now, and every time I asked them politely to please let me know when the hearing is, and that I am very much looking forward to it. No surprise, no hearing has been scheduled, and so far the demand has been lowered by the best part of a grand. Morons.