Eon prepayment

flashrabbit

I live in a two bedroomed flat with storage heaters as my main heating source and have economy 7.

I am currently paying 17.27p day rate and 6.08p night rate with a 27.17p daily standing charge.

My only income is DLA and incapacity benefit due to severe and long lasting mental health problems. Unfortunately several years ago I became very ill and didn't manage my finances the way I should have and accrued a large debt with EON. They have been very accomodating and allow me to repay my debt through my meter at a nominal weekly rate.

Between April and September this year I am spending approximately £60-£70 per month which is not much less than my friend who is with another energy company, has a credit meter and lives in a large 3 bedroomed house with 2 other adults. It seems I am paying almost double what he pays.

I contacted EON today after seeing on this site that energy companies are obliged to help customers in hardship. I asked if I was eligible for their warm assist plan which gives a 15% discount if you're over 60 OR at their discretion according to medical needs and if you're spending at least 10% of household income on electricity.

They told me that I wasn't eligible because I wasn't over 60 and there was nothing they could do to help me reduce my costs.

I fear there is little I can do because I cannot change supplier due to my debt with EON (not that I've tried but have read they would block a transfer request if in debt)

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi flashrabbit

I'm sorry you were told there's nothing we can do to help reduce your costs.

We've a team called Caring Energy who specialise in helping vulnerable customers with things like energy saving measures and advice on how to affordably heat their homes. I'd recommend talking to this team.

With prepayment meters, our prices are very similar to the standard tariff but without the benefit of discounts for paying with a Monthly Direct Debit or for managing the account online.

I'm afraid, if you're under the age of 60, Warm Assist will not be available to you.

You say you're re-paying the debt on the meter at a nominal weekly rate. Given your circumstances and depending on what the meter is currently collecting at, it may be possible to reduce this even more. Ask about this.

It's still possible to change supplier even though there's a debt on the meter provided the debt is less than £200. This is through a mechanism called the Debt Assignment Protocol (DAP).

The DAP is an Ofgem requirement and allows a customer to transfer any debt of £200 or less to another supplier.

Sorry again for the lack of help when you called but hope this is of interest. Give me a shout if you need any more info as will be happy to help.

Malc

flashrabbit

Thanks for your reply Malc, much appreciated.

Unfortunately my debt is larger than £200 so moving probably isn't an option. I currently repay £3.00 per week towards my debt, which is already very reasonable, I think.

Do you have a number for the team you mentioned? It's just that I called the 0845 number on my statement 3 times over the last couple of days and gave up after waiting 10 minutes to be answered on each call.

Also, I wonder if you could confirm the times when economy 7 should be active. I was told today that it's between 22.30 and 00.30 then 02.30 to 07.30, is this correct?

E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc wrote: »

Hi flashrabbit

I'm sorry you were told there's nothing we can do to help reduce your costs.

We've a team called Caring Energy who specialise in helping vulnerable customers with things like energy saving measures and advice on how to affordably heat their homes. I'd recommend talking to this team.

With prepayment meters, our prices are very similar to the standard tariff but without the benefit of discounts for paying with a Monthly Direct Debit or for managing the account online.

I'm afraid, if you're under the age of 60, Warm Assist will not be available to you.

You say you're re-paying the debt on the meter at a nominal weekly rate. Given your circumstances and depending on what the meter is currently collecting at, it may be possible to reduce this even more. Ask about this.

It's still possible to change supplier even though there's a debt on the meter provided the debt is less than £200. This is through a mechanism called the Debt Assignment Protocol (DAP).

The DAP is an Ofgem requirement and allows a customer to transfer any debt of £200 or less to another supplier.

Sorry again for the lack of help when you called but hope this is of interest. Give me a shout if you need any more info as will be happy to help.

Malc

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi flashrabbit

Sorry you've had a long wait when calling. Our call centres have been very busy recently.

MSE don't like me posting phone numbers on the forum but if you drop an email to the address in my Profile, I'll be happy to let you know.

Economy 7 switching times differ depending on the region and metering set up. Again, if you drop me a line with your details I'll gladly tell you the times.

Hope this helps flashrabbit.

Malc