E.ON press the re-set button

E.ON_Company_Rep_Chris

jalexa wrote: »

If I was customer I'd be looking for my "bespoke calculation" but as an informed commentator I am not sure a telephone discussion between a possibly pressured but nevertheless "trained" adviser and a possibly financially challenged layperson is fair or satisfactory. There are some quite complicated factors which really need to be seen and considered at leisure.

I agree Jalexa, I much prefer things in black and white. If it's hard to follow over the phone, we can certainly provide a written breakdown by letter or email with the figures we've used to calculate the monthly payment amount.

It's just that our systems can't include the breakdown in the letters we send out automatically at the time of review. This means that currently, we’re only able to provide the full breakdown on request.

This is something that’s still being looked at and we’ll certainly keep you posted

backfoot

Amanda,

Thank you for the information, which I of course welcome and is vindication of the way MSE posters have combined to produce the right outcome for customers.

I am not going to get too carried away until all the detail emerges in practice. For instance,it concerns me that you appear to be saying that you can only provide a bespoke calculation on request.

As you know,such a calculation is required to be produced at the time of any DD amendment. To openly admit that Eon are still not complying with a License Condition is alarming.

If I were Eon, I would be fast tracking that functionality. It's not just an academic point it is important to understand any change and will be productive for Eon as it will unblock the call centres.

I am currently on EDF's case with venom for not supplying the required information.

It is also worth noting that Eon had to be dragged to this position and that many customers will have sufferred the spring aligning at the time of some of largest price increases on record. Eon's first reset was a smoke and mirror exercise which was rumbled by this group of MSE posters. That didn't go down well.

I sincerely hope that Eon and in turn other Suppliers have learnt the lessons that real customer service and fair customer policies are in the interests of all parties.

Lets see what other resets emerge and I may be signing up

E.ON_Company_Rep_Chris

backfoot wrote: »

Amanda,

Thank you for the information, which I of course welcome and is vindication of the way MSE posters have combined to produce the right outcome for customers.

backfoot wrote: »

I am not going to get too carried away until all the detail emerges in practice. For instance,it concerns me that you appear to be saying that you can only provide a bespoke calculation on request.

As you know,such a calculation is required to be produced at the time of any DD amendment. To openly admit that Eon are still not complying with a License Condition is alarming.

If I were Eon, I would be fast tracking that functionality. It's not just an academic point it is important to understand any change and will be productive for Eon as it will unblock the call centres.

I am currently on EDF's case with venom for not supplying the required information.

It is also worth noting that Eon had to be dragged to this position and that many customers will have sufferred the spring aligning at the time of some of largest price increases on record. Eon's first reset was a smoke and mirror exercise which was rumbled by this group of MSE posters. That didn't go down well.

I sincerely hope that Eon and in turn other Suppliers have learnt the lessons that real customer service and fair customer policies are in the interests of all parties.

Lets see what other resets emerge and I may be signing up

Thanks as always for your comments Backfoot, there is still work to be done and I’m pleased that the switch from the original Reset plan of postponing the spring review to the following year, to an anniversary review - helps demonstrate that we’re listening.

Of course, ensuring that we comply with licence conditions is a major concern and Reset is all about making things clearer for our customers and building a better relationship. We’re not happy that despite the information we may have provided by phone, on our website and in the letters we send, our customers were still often confused about why their payments were changing.

We’ve already made some improvements to the letters we’ll send in future and the information provided on our bills. We’d like to provide a more tailored explanation for each customer and I agree that this would certainly reduce the demand on our call centres, which can only be a good thing for our customers

meggsy

Thanks Amanda but I am not seeing anything which would make me switch from Co-op Energy. At the moment my account is £80 in credit and we will be using less energy from now.

It's very simple, one DD payment x 12, as it always used to be
Although you say you are now to do this I'm afraid that my trust evaporated long ago. There is also an online payment system if I do need to top-up.

I think the Big 6 have made a huge mistake with their confusion marketing and in so doing have probably confused themselves as well

Interesting read here ...
http://www.heraldscotland.com/mobile/comment/columnists/why-confusion-marketing-is-clear-on-diddling-customers.17288260

Blackdog

Thanks Amanda for your update and explanation.
I would like to add my support to the view that direct debit calculations should be in writing and would add that they should be supplied within a short timescale. I am still waiting for a detailed explanation of my direct debit calculation which I requested two months ago.

jalexa

E.ON_Company_Rep_Amanda wrote: »

http://pressreleases.eon-uk.com/blogs/eonukpressreleases/default.aspx

Amanda

Thanks for the heads up on that. Looked at the press release and I have a question...

"Completely overhauling E.ON's Direct Debit approach to reduce payment shocks. From the summer, customers joining E.ON's Direct Debit scheme will have their Direct Debit payments reviewed one year after joining."

So is the policy that "one year after joining" there will be a review and the Direct Debit will be adjusted to achieve an account balance in a further 12 months time and during that next 12 months there will be no further reviews unless requested? Will submitting a customer reading implicity trigger a review (a la Edf) or will it need to be explicitly requested?

backfoot

Amanda,

I note that the 'reset' contains the following:

Making an enduring promise of fair prices and product accessibility for all. Since 2nd April 2012, all E.ON products have been available through all channels so that customers have access to the same offers - whether they buy on the phone, on the internet, face to face or through collective switching initiatives;

Does this change include the practice of discriminatory pricing identified and reported to Ofgem in the thread below? (Post 22)

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3427487

backfoot

jalexa wrote: »

Amanda

Thanks for the heads up on that. Looked at the press release and I have a question...

"Completely overhauling E.ON's Direct Debit approach to reduce payment shocks. From the summer, customers joining E.ON's Direct Debit scheme will have their Direct Debit payments reviewed one year after joining."

So is the policy that "one year after joining" there will be a review and the Direct Debit will be adjusted to achieve an account balance in a further 12 months time and during that next 12 months there will be no further reviews unless requested? Will submitting a customer reading implicity trigger a review (a la Edf) or will it need to be explicitly requested?

Amanda et al,

Jalexa has asked a specific and very important question here. I would have thought that the answer would be readily available.

I actually favour a less intrusive approach to DD management than many, but I am somewhat surprised if there was no review, say, after six months. I have advocated information to be supplied as advisory, in another thread, so that a customer could discuss payment adequacy with the Supplier.

So what is the 'reset' policy now on this?

For example, if Eon repeated their alarming 18% price increase,soon after starting a contract,what would Eon do?

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

jalexa wrote: »

Amanda

Thanks for the heads up on that. Looked at the press release and I have a question...

"Completely overhauling E.ON's Direct Debit approach to reduce payment shocks. From the summer, customers joining E.ON's Direct Debit scheme will have their Direct Debit payments reviewed one year after joining."

So is the policy that "one year after joining" there will be a review and the Direct Debit will be adjusted to achieve an account balance in a further 12 months time and during that next 12 months there will be no further reviews unless requested? Will submitting a customer reading implicity trigger a review (a la Edf) or will it need to be explicitly requested?

backfoot wrote: »

Amanda et al,

Jalexa has asked a specific and very important question here. I would have thought that the answer would be readily available.

I actually favour a less intrusive approach to DD management than many, but I am somewhat surprised if there was no review, say, after six months. I have advocated information to be supplied as advisory, in another thread, so that a customer could discuss payment adequacy with the Supplier.

So what is the 'reset' policy now on this?

For example, if Eon repeated their alarming 18% price increase,soon after starting a contract,what would Eon do?

Hi Jalexa/backfoot

Amanda's not here at the moment so hope you don't mind if I stick my oar in.

Very fair and pertinent questions guys.

To be honest, we've not fully fleshed out the new policy yet. What we've announced are basically the principles we'll work to.

I've taken your questions away and passed them to the people fine-tuning the new policy ready for when it launches in the summer. Once they've sorted out the detail I, or one of the others, will answer your questions.

Sorry for the delay but don't want to give anyone a wrong steer.

Malc

brewerdave

After reading Malc's reply ......Couldn't find a smiley of headless chickens :rotfl: