Direct Debit Utility Bills - Underpayments

Terrylw1

Bit like a car manufacturer saying it goes 45mpg...it doesn't always mean that it will be that and surely everyone knows they have to monitor the costs. Why different for utilities?

nicknacknick

Well I did not come onto this site to be attacked by you 'friendly' folk!

To Premier - My opening post asked a question from a different angle as the bills were set up by my other half and I am trying to understand the full situation! Is that okay with you? And we did "truely believe" that £25 per month would cover all costs and that if there was a "circumstance" where we were using too much energy, then prices would increase to reflect our usage and not to cover spent costs.

To lithopsian - Your point 'I sometimes think they don't even understand what they're saying half the time' is probably quite poiniant in my situation but there is that, mixed with the sneeky plan of EON! As we were not told that we could accrue debt and not told that it was not a "fixed-price all-you-can-eat buffet" or that "ultimately you have to pay for what you use," after 8 months our monthly payments have almost doubled based on (under)estimated meter readings as we owe EON over £180pounds. To me this seems like EON did not tell us all the facts and now, as we cannot afford to pay EON our accrued debt in one go, we are ultimately tied down with them even though the is no contract term, is it purely ironic that this works out in EONs favour?

To macman - No, they do not teach this stuff at school, that is why large companies eat the misunderstanding and why this website has become such a success. And well done Sherlock, you must be a genius, as this is my first home since moving out of my parents!

To abwsco - What is with this world?! Sheesh... some people, eh? (Premier!)

macman

First home or not, I do find it hard to believe that anyone would be naive enough to think that you not would have to pay for what you used, but could use unlimited amounts for a fixed monthly payment.
Your parents would have quickly explained the folly of this view had you asked them.
You are 'attacking' Eon for your own failure to understand the billing/DD process or to submit regular readings.

nicknacknick

my failure to understand the billing process is not all due to my folly views. EON have misold the billing procedure which has worked out in their favour.................

macman

How on earth has it worked out in their favour? You've been paying for far fewer kWh's than you've actually used over 8 months, and now you've got an interest-free period of ?6 months more to pay back the arrears. So in effect you're getting an interest-free loan for around 14 months. That is in your favour, not theirs.
Eon are not psychic. How can they possibly know what you are using if you don't bother submitting readings? Over 8 months you should have received at least two bills that would clearly have indicated that they were based on estimated readings, yet you didn't submit actual readings to get correctly rebilled. Nor have you yet done so (going by your orignal post-so the latest bil is still incorrect).
How do you get 'mis-selling' from that?

abwsco

nicknacknick wrote: »

Well I did not come onto this site to be attacked by you 'friendly' folk!

To Premier - My opening post asked a question from a different angle as the bills were set up by my other half and I am trying to understand the full situation! Is that okay with you? And we did "truely believe" that £25 per month would cover all costs and that if there was a "circumstance" where we were using too much energy, then prices would increase to reflect our usage and not to cover spent costs.

To lithopsian - Your point 'I sometimes think they don't even understand what they're saying half the time' is probably quite poiniant in my situation but there is that, mixed with the sneeky plan of EON! As we were not told that we could accrue debt and not told that it was not a "fixed-price all-you-can-eat buffet" or that "ultimately you have to pay for what you use," after 8 months our monthly payments have almost doubled based on (under)estimated meter readings as we owe EON over £180pounds. To me this seems like EON did not tell us all the facts and now, as we cannot afford to pay EON our accrued debt in one go, we are ultimately tied down with them even though the is no contract term, is it purely ironic that this works out in EONs favour?

To macman - No, they do not teach this stuff at school, that is why large companies eat the misunderstanding and why this website has become such a success. And well done Sherlock, you must be a genius, as this is my first home since moving out of my parents!

To abwsco - What is with this world?! Sheesh... some people, eh? (Premier!)

My youngest DD (then aged 19) moved out to live with her BF and knew that what they paying per month at first which was £40 might not cover all their gas and electric use so they have submitted monthly meter readings to keep an eye on it and make sure they don't run up a huge bill. They knew to do this because as a parent I'd advised them to do this.

nicknacknick

Well all, to close this discussion, I would say it has worked out in EONs favour as I owe them money and must stay with them until I can pay it all back, I did not ask for an interest free loan.

So lesson learned, there is no such thing as monthly payments which cover unlimited usage with regular reviews, and it would seem that EON do not have to explain how the process works to you as it would be folly to think anything other than what it is....

:T

macman

What about your responsibility to do the most basic research?
A quick Google (or even asking the parents, or any homeowner) would have established that even the tiniest all-electric property cannot be heated and hot watered for £300pa. That would barely cover the electricity bill even in a property with gas CH and DHW.
I'm not attacking your ignorance of this, but rather your assumption that the supplier must therefore be to blame for not explaining it.
It's akin to buying a car, crashing it, and then blaming Ford for not teaching you how to drive.

t0rt0ise

jalexa wrote: »

Unless you are on smart metering, the answer to your question about "actual figures" lies in you eyeballing your own meter daily, weekly or monthly, not E.ON guessing.

Why is everyone so accepting of the change that has happened to this industry in that it's now the customer who has to do all the work and not the company? And no, it's not just because of direct debits and if we want that option we have to do some work.. because we used to have DDs and still not have to read our own meters and keep a watch over everything and keep fighting the company either to lower or higher the payments. It's all out of kilter now and while I may have to put up with that I, for one, certainly don't think it's right.

Torry_Quine

t0rt0ise wrote: »

Why is everyone so accepting of the change that has happened to this industry in that it's now the customer who has to do all the work and not the company? And no, it's not just because of direct debits and if we want that option we have to do some work.. because we used to have DDs and still not have to read our own meters and keep a watch over everything and keep fighting the company either to lower or higher the payments. It's all out of kilter now and while I may have to put up with that I, for one, certainly don't think it's right.

Nothing's changed as far as I'm concerned. My meter is read every six months and the DD changed accordingly. The only time I've read my own meter is when I got an interim bill to check that it was accurate.

The OP was naive but aren't we all when first setting up home, they will learn from this.