11 year utilities mistake.

jalexa

macman wrote: »

But a layperson can assess when their billing is unrealistically low.

I don't agree that £65/month is necessarily unrealistically low. The OP mentions being out all day and a low level of heating.

dogshome

It's all very well critising the OP, but checking the bill will not reveal a Metric/Imperial c*ck-up and it's about time the Industry & Ofgem made some effort to elimate a problem that's been obvious to them for 10 years.

Every month there is a post from some poor soul who has been massively overcharged for their Gas consumption, or worse, has suddenly recieved a huge demand for a nearly 200% uplift on the bills they have already paid

And yet the soloution is so simple.
Amongst all the bumf that comes with the gas bill, just one clear message pointing out that they are being charged on a Metric or Imperial basis, and how to check the meters face plate would virtually eliminate the problem within 12 months

A rider from Ofgem that suppliers had to re-pay customers who'd been overcharged, but could not demand payment from those undercharged, would concentrate the minds of suppliers wonderfully

t0rt0ise

I would work out myself what the underpayment for a year has been and see if it matches. If it does or my sum is higher then I'd just pay. If my sum is lower I'd ask them how they worked it out. To simply barge in and ask how it's been worked out might result in them saying that in fact it should be higher. So be careful about complaining blindly.

backfoot

johnthunder wrote: »

Do I need to seek legal advice?

No. Employ a calculator.

If Eon haven't already worked out the Kwh consumption for the last twelve months, you should, and mutliply by the unit rate. Knock of any DD discounts and add VAT at 5%.

If they are now saying £91 per month, a £300 bill for a 12 month period seems a fabulously low settlement. Roughly they have credited £100 additional goodwill.

As you have also escaped 10 years charges at an incorrect and much lower consumption level I have to say,you can exercise your 'backbilling opportunity' and I would be snatching their hands off. I believe the backbilling rules are accepted practice rather than statutory (but stand to be corrected).

Using the Kwh consumption for the 12 months above, do a Comparison on an accredited website and choose the cheapest supplier. Eon's £91 per month is impossible to evaluate as it may or may not be affected by their zero spring balance policy.

I would also be very happy, which you don't appear to be

E.ON_Company_Rep_Chris

Hi johnthunder

I’m so sorry that we haven’t been billing you correctly for your gas use all this time.

I share your concerns that our meter readers failed to notice that you had a 4 dial imperial meter and instead just sent us the four digits from your meter and perhaps one of the red digits on the end?

It’s true that this means you have been under-charged for your gas use and that under the billing code you’re only required to cover the last 12 months of this.

It also looks like we’ve offered a reasonable reduction in light of the poor service you’ve received from us. As well as an explanation as to how we’ve calculated what the correct charges should have been.

This doesn’t mean to say that any of this is easy to understand, if we’ve been able to send you an amended bill I can imagine how complex it must be.

If we’ve just corrected your meter details for future use and calculated what your bills should have been, we can certainly provide you with a written breakdown of this and talk you through anything you’re not sure about.

Your complaint handler can do this for you but if you’re not happy with what they’ve done so far, ask to speak to a manager.

If you don’t have a copy of our complaints handling procedure you can find it at the bottom of the Contact Us page of our website.

I hope that you get this sorted soon John, if I can help in anyway just let me know.

Amanda

undaunted

Whilst I am inclined to basically agree with Terrylw1 above - eg why didn't their meter readers pick up the problem? the fact they didn't is their own fault and responsibility not yours - ultimately the fact remains that you've followed that view, had a very good run at it & now they've twigged the problem & offered a solution. I can't say it any better or fairer than this

macman wrote: »

You've saved around £4,000 pounds over 11 years, they're offering to reduce that to £300-and you want to complain or take legal action?
Yes, the error is theirs (though not helped by you failing to check your bills), but that doesn't mean that you don't have to pay for the gas used in the last 12m under the back billing code. Had the billing error been the other way, would you not expect them to credit you?
It's a fantastic offer, I'd accept before the change their minds!
I don't understand why you say that the figures are 'pulling figures out of the air'. Assuming that you have an actual reading from about 12m ago, the consumption should be obvious, it's then simply a matter of reconverting based on cu ft at the relevant unit rates to rebill, and deducting the amount already billed in error.

Refuse the offer and take it to the Courts if you wish - but given the suggested resolution they have made I'd put money on you losing if you do!

Candy53

Bit confused by all of this.

The OP said that it says 'cubic feet' on their meter, making it an imperial meter, as ours is, and which has 4 numbers.

The readings 'were' 4 numbers?

Also Amanda, said that the readers had failed to notice that the OP had a 5 dial metric meter, and instead had sent only the first 4 numbers.
The OPs meter isn't metric?? So they would only need 4 numbers.
Candy

backfoot

Candy53 wrote: »

Bit confused by all of this.

The OP said that it says 'cubic feet' on their meter, making it an imperial meter, as ours is, and which has 4 numbers.

The readings 'were' 4 numbers?

Also Amanda, said that the readers had failed to notice that the OP had a 5 dial metric meter, and instead had sent only the first 4 numbers.
The OPs meter isn't metric?? So they would only need 4 numbers.
Candy

This a good point.

The meter reader/s are blamed by Eon for not spotting the error.(over 10 years :eek:). Looking at the limited detail provided by the OP, all the readings including two by meter readers are 4 digit numbers, which is correct.

It looks more like the billing record is incorrect in applying the wrong conversion rate.

It's probably better for them to blame some anonymous meter reader employed by a third party, rather than accept direct responsibility.

Either way,it's an expensive error. I would be interested to know how it was discovered and why the meter readers records did not match up with the billing record.

[Deleted User]

Yes the meter readers have a five dialer on their handhelds but are faced with a four dial meter.If they just put in four numbers and carry on their merry way it doe snt get picked up.I make sure the customers phone customer services to sort it otherwise it go s on for years.One important point Eon rep, will your company make good the loss of all this money to the grid as you are obliged to do I believe.Its ok your company being free and easy with other peoples loss,Its not your gas to give away so freely.you wouldnt be so keen to offer a derisory £300 if you had to make good the loss.Eon don t imput gas into the grid at all.

backfoot

Shouldn't a simple audit/data enquiry report have flagged this up well before ten years?

The billing record was incorrectly expecting a five digit number. When the meter reading came in with four digits a simple exception report would be produced. This would prompt further investigation and the error detected.

I can't believe such a basic system control report was not in place.If I was Eon's Management I would be very alarmed.

I doubt different meter readers have input an extra digit for 10 years.

I think Sasq also makes a vital point that if Eon don't properly correct the unit sales and in turn the purchased units,the difference gets treated as distribution losses for which we all eventually pay.