Case with E ON; Ombudsman intervened then...

Citizen_Kanes_Abel

Hi, I am trying to deal with a particular case for my Mother and i've came to this forum in hope some people here have precedent or advice.


Basically E On have been taking incorrect meter readings for many years, their methods and bills are out of control. this case was forwarded to the ombudsman, the ombudsman agree'd E On "were in the wrong" several paragraphs confirm what they've done wrong and what they need to do to rectify the situation.

She was offered to routes to accept, however we have two properties, a small annex and a main house (two cases) she forwarded acceptance to the Omb stapled together, they only processed the case for the annex. They acknowledged that probably an admin error and gave her a "re-opening" period of grace to forward in a 2nd acceptance on the main house. She did this and they have acknowledged they've received this.

However they are saying that they did not receive this in time (though they have confirmed they received it and only days after they acknowledged receipt of the 1st batch)

Therefore they never forwarded their conclusions onto E On, this past week instead of reviewing the situation E On with a warrant forced a top-up meter into the property.

It seems today my Mum has made phone calls to the Omb and they have basically fobbed her off saying "case close" you never accepted the conclusions in time and it's over.

This has been confirmed on record that's not the case. I was hoping that someone could confirm to me;

1; who regulates these guys? I know my mum has a poor phone manner and loses her temper very easily but basically it sounds like they are denying her callbacks from managers, any facility to rectify the situation.

2; is this really the case, they cannot re-open the case and allow her to re-accept? to be quite honest, they've admitted several times E ON are at fault and have been savage in their critique, why the heck are they being so ignorant now?

any other advice would be superb.

chanz4

They are correct, once the period ends you loose the right to the resoloution

Citizen_Kanes_Abel

so it cannot be re-opened? or can we not re-submit the case?

they confirmed the received the acceptance and had already re-opened this is unusual surely

dogshome

So far as I'm aware, because the Ombudsman is part funded by the industry the legal rules that deny you recourse through the courts if the Adjudicator, (Ombudsman), fails to deiliver a decision in favour of the complainant, dont apply.

You can run Eon through the Small Claims Court for zero cost at the start - Fill in the SC court forms online and print them out, then send copies to to the Company Secretary of Eon, (who has a legal duty to reply), together with a copy of your cheque to the court for it's fee - £80 the last time I looked.
Eon should reply pretty smartly and remember that your £80 cheque costs nothing till you send it to the court for them to cash it

Citizen_Kanes_Abel

tbh it's not a small claim the arrears are quite high, but then i don't know what quantifies as small claims.


the appropriate actions were outlined by the Omb, your first paragraph implies it cannot continue if it gets to court stage but stops? or have i misunderstood

dogshome

OK - Sorry I misunderstood and thought the case was one of purely overcharging, rather than one of a disputed level of debt.

Bear in mind that the Ombudsman is funded by the industry so that the dirty laundry is washed in private and not in public - The harsh light of publicity shining on a system failure by Ombudsman service is the last thing they need - Write up the file as concisely as you can and send it to the press, I would suggest Jessica of the Sunday Times. ( You may be surprised at the result if you also send a copy to Eon )

Citizen_Kanes_Abel

to be honest the actual problem I don't have great knowledge of. I believe basically the meter was set incorrectly and they basically ignored the facts for quite some time. Even their manual workers who visited the home admitted they have no idea how the reading has got to what it has. However they follow the orders of the main office without repent!

I am hoping I can get more sense out of them tommorow, I am concerned they won't speak openly at all, I believe my mother has been rude. They promised a 48hr callback from a higher up. She seems to tell me they just say "case closed" now. All we want is them to forward their advices to E ON. I will just forward our copy via scan to E ON and see how that goes.

I will also follow your advice regards to Jessica

jalexa

Citizen_Kanes_Abel wrote: »

I think you need to quit immediately any further disussion on the adjudication. From what I think you say this is (now) a process issue. Research the role of the Independent Assessor mentioned on the Energy Ombudsman website.

Citizen_Kanes_Abel

below is the site, i am unsure where to look to find the independent assessor

ombudsman-services.org/energy.html

jalexa

Citizen_Kanes_Abel wrote: »

i am unsure where to look to find the independent assessor

I think it is hidden (why?) in the service standards section.

http://www.ombudsman-services.org/standards-of-service-os.html

I stress you must not stray into the merits of the "case", however IMO the points made about the "process", that is the administration of the correspondence by the EO, in particular the timings, may be relevent to the IA.

One other clarification, in relation to entitlement to legal process, if the "process" has the complainer as not having accepted the adjudication on the main house, then in respect of the main house legal process remains possible.

chanz4

Eon are unlikely to re-enter into the dispute as they have already given you there final response.