Consumer Focus response to MSE posts on E.On 'Spring review' DD scheme

JohnLong

"In days of old
When Knights were bold
And Direct Debits weren't invented
We paid our bills by Standing Order
And suppliers had to be contented"

Apologies to poets everywhere but this is the way it used to be.

Bills were paid by a fixed amount each month and if there was a risk of a deficit at the anniversary of the agreement, then the firm would suggest paying an increased amount to cover it. Usually the firm would quote an excessive amount and I would phone up and negotiate a sensible figure or simply acknowledge that their may be a bill to settle at the anniversary. Simples tsch!

With "progress" the Direct Debit was invented by our wonderful caring sharing Bankers that allowed the beneficaries of these wonderful instruments to slip their hands into the back pockets of their customers, extract their wallets and help themselves to the contents, provided that they had given prior warning. This we are told is a GOOD THING as not only the firm has removed control from the customer of how much they pay, but also provides a revenue stream for the billions of pounds charged by Bankers for returned Direct Debits and unauthorised overdrafts. The customer has to rely on breaches of the Direct Debit Guarantee for redress.

Now firms such as E.ON are taking the process further with Annual Review dates that are not anniversaries but dates at various times in the Spring and Fixed Direct Debits where "fixed" means they are processed on the same day each month (I am reliably informed).

Also E.ON, amongst others, charge extra if you do not sign up for a Direct Debit. (If a discount is offered for Direct Debit but not for Standing Order then thats an extra charge) It would appear that some deals are only available for payment with Direct Debit.

These are all facts that can verified. They are obvious. This is not "anecdotal". We are supposed to have consumer protection and regulation. What we get is as useless as a politicians smile at election time. Am I cynical - oh yes! Am I mad about it - you bet!

If you require evidence of the way E.ON treats it's customers I can provide details of E.ON quoting excessive payment levels, being told "You don't have to accept our offer" and declining to provide calculations when asked. All recorded. I can also produce correspondence demonstrating the points made above.
Just PM and let me know where to send it.

JohnLong

snowcat53

backfoot wrote: »

The lack of provision of data and explanation of reasons for DD increases at the time of those increases breaches the SLC.

....

It is a sorry state of affairs where the ordinary customers and interested amateurs are having to first advise and then make the running over and above the 'professional' Regulatory bodies who should be representing us.

Well said.

I am with EDF not Eon but exactly the same issue there. EDF's formal reponse to my complaint again failed to give any figures or calculation of the new DD amount. So I have just formally raised a complaint with Consumer DIrect. How CF get involved and the relation between CD and CF is a mystery to me.

DirectDebacle

Just PM and let me know where to send it.

JohnLong, PM sent.

poet123

I am not sure if this is in the right place but I could really use some help in trying to make sense of what EON are telling me.
We joined EON from EDF in October 2010. I had input the monthly payment figures for dual fuel as £200pcm. Uswitch (who EON are now blaming) calculated a saving of £600pa by a switch to EON. So we moved over and DD was set at £141 pcm.

By November 2011 debit balance was around £450, increased DD was worked out to cover that and from December we began to pay £207.

New bill arrived today and we are £949.60 in debit.

I have been on the phone and they say figures from Uswitch must have been wrong and my complaint is with them. I feel that they missold their product as they clearly could not meet my usage on the DD they set. We do use a lot of energy, according to them usage alone is £230 pcm, so why did they set the DD so low? They have no answer.

I have a manager ringing me back tomorrow to try to sort out this issue. I know I will have to up the payments, but as the summer months are approaching, how do I calculate what will clear the debit, as they seem incapable of doing it for me.

I want to complain about the misselling, how do I do this, is it the fault of Uswitch or EON? Where does the buck stop when you go via such a site but then go through to the EON site?

It is not the amount owing, although it galls me to have to pay when they set the rate, it is how I feel mislead, I feel it is sharp practice. Has anyone any advice or suggestions of how to take this case forward and indeed whether it is worth bothering.

dude89

poet123 wrote: »

I am not sure if this is in the right place but I could really use some help in trying to make sense of what EON are telling me.
We joined EON from EDF in October 2010. I had input the monthly payment figures for dual fuel as £200pcm. Uswitch (who EON are now blaming) calculated a saving of £600pa by a switch to EON. So we moved over and DD was set at £141 pcm.

By November 2011 debit balance was around £450, increased DD was worked out to cover that and from December we began to pay £207.

New bill arrived today and we are £949.60 in debit.

I have been on the phone and they say figures from Uswitch must have been wrong and my complaint is with them. I feel that they missold their product as they clearly could not meet my usage on the DD they set. We do use a lot of energy, according to them usage alone is £230 pcm, so why did they set the DD so low? They have no answer.

I have a manager ringing me back tomorrow to try to sort out this issue. I know I will have to up the payments, but as the summer months are approaching, how do I calculate what will clear the debit, as they seem incapable of doing it for me.

I want to complain about the misselling, how do I do this, is it the fault of Uswitch or EON? Where does the buck stop when you go via such a site but then go through to the EON site?

It is not the amount owing, although it galls me to have to pay when they set the rate, it is how I feel mislead, I feel it is sharp practice. Has anyone any advice or suggestions of how to take this case forward and indeed whether it is worth bothering.

Just a quick thing regarding using comparsion websites. Always use Kwh's and not ££££s when comparing deals.

Using a monthly figure is unreliable as it may include a debit or credit from the most recent direct debit calculation.

Unfortunatley i think the buck does stop with yourself on this. Definatley not Eon. You should have monitored your bill and realised if there wasnt a signifigant credit before winter. Having a debit balance of £450 before winter is quite bad.

Also, Eon have only been supplied figures via uswitch that you have supplied. They would then not being able to predict your annual consumption until you have been with them for a year.

Another thing to remember is that there have been two price rises since you have joined eon, so your prices would have increased by at least 20%

JimmyTheWig

My guess would be that uSwitch had you down as originally being on a more expensive tariff than you were. Maybe that was their mistake or maybe you gave them the wrong name (sometimes the tariff names can look very similar). So they thought your £200 a month was getting you less than it really was.

Or maybe you were paying £200 a month over the summer, which doesn't give an accurate idea of year-round usage?
Or maybe the £200 a month was based on having a healthy credit balance to start with the last time they recalculated?

As dude89 says, for next time and for others reading, it's best to compare with annual kWh usage.

poet123

I take your point, but we were on schedule (no debit balance) with our previous supplier on the DD of £200, and we had been with them some time.

Ultimately, we have used the fuel and we will have to pay for it, but EON had admitted they did not do a review of the account when it should have been due, and the increase to £207 was their calculation, given in November with the intent to clear the balance.

Given all that it does seem as if the Uswitch figures were wrong, EON made a mess of it, and I was too quick to believe such a big reduction in DD was possible. Should you not be able to rely on Uswitch figures?

jalexa

poet123 wrote: »

Should you not be able to rely on Uswitch figures?

In my personal experience I have always found uSwitch (and TheEnergyShop) to be very reliable on calculation. The issue has to be the *exact* form of the data input and the *exact* recommendation for that data.

It is rare (now) for competitive tariffs at the top of a comparison to vary much in headline cost (only "non-switchers" or from standard tariffs show big savings). I would say a much more likely explanation is E.ON's failure to manage the required payments.

poet123

I have just clicked back through to Uswitch to see what info is asked for and the drop down boxes ask for either monthly spend or kw. Monthly spend is actually the top option. Obviously, when doing it online it is much easier to put in your monthly spend (by checking current DD info) than it is to dig out all your past bills and add up yearly usage. If using the monthly spend is not reliable enough, then they should not give the option. I know I put in accurate monthly spend figures because I checked them against my DD's via online banking.

jalexa

poet123 wrote: »

If using the monthly spend is not reliable enough, then they should not give the option

I agree wholeheartedly with that, however that is allowed (or required?) by the Consumer Focus confidence code.