E.on cheap DD...am I going to get a shock?!

MissDVL

Hi all

I've been living in my first property for 11 months and up until November I had been paying £40 a month for dual fuel. (I live by myself with my two year old son, I work full time and he spends half the week with his dad, so I guess our consumption is pretty low).

In November E.on wrote to me saying they were DROPPING my Direct Debit to just £28 a month, based on what my consumption was and what they estimated I would use over winter etc etc.

Reading other people's posts and also looking at Comparethemarket and other comparison sites just to see if I could get it any cheaper (free?!) it seems I am paying a ridiculously low amount!

I'm just a bit concerned that once winter is over they will write back to me and say 'Oops, our bad, we should have been charging you £100 a month!' and I'll be stuck with a massive debit on my account!

Does anyone have any advice on this matter or am I just better off speaking directly with E.on?

Thanks in advance

jrrowleyws

Are your bills from estimated readings or actual readings?

If in doubt call them up, give current readings and ask for a bill to be generated. Then you will know!

MissDVL

That's going by actual readings, taken the day before the date of the letter.

But if they are going by what is effectively my summer usage then surely it's going to rocket up when they do my annual review?

jrrowleyws

Possibly it will. Only getting a bill generated or some maths is going to solve your query!

jalexa

MissDVL wrote: »

Does anyone have any advice on this matter or am I just better off speaking directly with E.on?

Well yes and yes and in answer to your posted question, probably yes.

In 11 months you should have received 3 quarterly statements (assuming you are on a tariff where the terms and conditions specify quarterly statements). The first question to ask of E.ON is what has happened to the bills (or statements). Next you need to establish what *exactly* triggered the notification of a DD reduction. According to the E.ON rep on another thread "we only review Direct Debits after a bill has been produced".

Don't "guess" your consumption is low, get a handle on your consumption by taking daily meter readings for a week, then weekly readings for the rest of the month. Unfortunately you will have missed measuring the peak winter consumption. Always check estimated readings on statements.

lithopsian

11 months. Close enough to a year. You'd better be in credit by an awful lot to justify this drop.

Please post the sum total of your bills covering nearly a year, the period thpse bills actually cover, and the amount by which you are currently in credit. We don't have access to E.On's supercomputers but people will give you some opinions on whether that is a stupid DD amount or not.

MissDVL

lithopsian wrote: »

11 months. Close enough to a year. You'd better be in credit by an awful lot to justify this drop.

Please post the sum total of your bills covering nearly a year, the period thpse bills actually cover, and the amount by which you are currently in credit. We don't have access to E.On's supercomputers but people will give you some opinions on whether that is a stupid DD amount or not.

I've only ever received one statement from them, in November, which I didn't really understand because it said I had paid £40 a month for 6 months = £240 credit, I'd used 940 kWh electric, 2338 kWh gas over that period, I had a £22.57 DD discount and then it said I was £36.82 in debit? But it also said on that same statement they wanted to drop my Direct Debits?!

It might sound like I'm a bit ignorant on the matter...I am! I'm 21 and this is my first property so never had to deal with this kind of thing before!

jalexa

MissDVL wrote: »

I've only ever received one statement from them, in November, which I didn't really understand because it said I had paid £40 a month for 6 months = £240 credit, I'd used 940 kWh electric, 2338 kWh gas over that period, I had a £22.57 DD discount and then it said I was £36.82 in debit? But it also said on that same statement they wanted to drop my Direct Debits?!

OK. The calculation has been done on very low (probably impossibly low) consumption. So you need to examine the bill and check whether the readings are actual or estimated. If "estimated" is there any obvious guidance on the bill about providing actual readings and if so what action did you take?

This issue can't be addressed without actual readings. That said E.ON have a Billing Code obligation for estimates to be based on previous consumption or failing that typical consumption for the type of property. The meter readings will be proof but IMO the consumption looks "impossibly low".

For starters look out the November statement and post again for more help.

jalexa

Just to update my last post, the statement consumption seems to me perhaps not "impossibly low" but certainly frugal. I estimate annual gas of 6900kWhrs and annual electric 1500kWrs. If so a typical cost might be £50/month. More worryingly winter gas consumption from November to the "annual review" might be 80% of annual. I don't have time to double check what monthly payment would be "correct" but I very much doubt a drop to £28 from a debit balance can be "correct".

Anyway that is a matter for E.ON not me. Be very careful about discussing anything by phone, the discussion will likely be bewildering to you. If you are not happy, give them one and only one chance to resolve any payment issue to your satisfaction. If not 100% satisfied raise a formal complaint in writing (or by email) strictly in accordance with the E.On complaints procedure.

Good luck but I can't post again until next week.

lithopsian

Check if the bill was based on actual or estimated readings. If they are estimated then you need to find out your actual consumption pronto because it might be a whole lot higher.

Assuming for now that the readings were actual and correct then your consumption is low but not unreasonably (unseasonably?) so for summer. It is of course impossible to accurately predict your winter consumption from those figures but the one thing you can say is it will be higher. I think the original direct debit may have been slightly on the low side, the revised one is just silly. You can sit on it until they realise their error, but prepare for when they bump it up again in a few months. Or if you aren't good at saving for a rainy day under your own steam, phone them and get them to bump it up right now. If you provide them actual readings as of today then they will usually be able to calculate a new direct debit figure on the spot.

Have you considered establishing an account online so that you can track your account position month by month, have a full history of your meter readings, and easily be able to submit new readings?

backfoot

Some excellent advice from the two main posters on this thread. You need to establish the opening meter reading on taking up the supply and at least your current one. Over 11 months it will give you a very good idea of annual consumption.

I am sure Eon will be along soon. The reps will look into it if you give them your details. On this occasion, I would let them help you given your inexperience with energy bills.

What you should know is that on changing your direct debit, Eon were obliged to have provided you with a clear and understandable explanation of the change. On the face of it,the reduction appears nonsensical. Such an explanation is a requirement of their License to operate, and you shouldn't have had to chase it.

Once Eon have looked into your case, it would be courtesy for them to explain here why such an explanation was not provided at the time it was required. (SLC27.14).

It really is a classic case of why such information was made a regulation and it is astonishing that more than two years later Eon don't appear to provide it.

If we don't get an answer from Eon it will be helpful if we put you in touch with the Regulatory bodies who are already looking for such live cases of customers impacted by Eon's DD policy.This being more a case of no information rather than just their unfair spring zero balance policy.