Problems with pre-payment

galeforce81

Sorry if this has been answered before but i'm having problems with both my electric and gas prepayment meters.

I've been with Eon for six years and have only had prepayment meters.

The past couple of years Eon have been saying that i owe them money for my electric and apparently they owe me for my gas. (After the first 6m of last year i apparently owed £11 on electric now i owe £71. Even though my bills aren't supposed to have gone up and im using the same amount).

I just don't get how either could've happened when im paying through a meter. Eon aren't very helpful. At first they said that it all was wrong and they would reset it and the last time i rang they said they didn't owe me any money for the gas but i did owe them for the electric (What a suprise.)

Any help or advise would be greatly appreciated.

t0rt0ise

I'd raise a formal complaint following their complaint procedure and say that you arenot receiving a full explanation of how these charges have come about.

chanz4

do you live in emergency credit?

MAYAN65

you can owe money if the unit prices on your meter are diffrent from your contract prices. put the key in the meter and write down each screen. F is your standing charge and I is your pence per unit if these dont match whats on your price change letter then this is how you can end up under or over paying. your provide can send a message to get this updated you have to top up at the same shop to get the message to go from E.on to shop on to your key then on to your meter.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi galeforce81

I'm sorry we've not given you a clear explanation when you've contacted us about this.

Already some good advice on here. Thought I would just add to that.

Prepayment statements can sometimes show a credit/debit balance and there may be a number of different reasons for this.

The statements record how much energy has been used, the unit prices this is charged at and the payments made. They're issued on a set date.

Meter readings are sent through to us electronically each time you top up. If you didn't top up on the date the statement was issued, an estimate will have been used. This can lead to a credit/debit balance being shown on the statement. This will even out, though, when the meter next sends us a reading.

Also, if you top up just prior to the statement being issued, this payment may not have hit the account on the date the statement was issued. Again, this can cause an imbalance.

Another possibility is, as chanz4 says, the use of emergency credit.

Each time the emergency credit is used, the standing charge and any debt re-payments that may be being made through the meter are suspended. This shortfall is then taken back the next time the meter is topped up.

With the gas, we always make sure part of any top up goes towards ongoing usage regardless of how much is owed to the meter.

If a statement is issued whilst emergency credit is being paid back, the difference will be shown as a debit balance.

As MAYAN65 points out, another possible reason for an imbalance is if the prices set on the meter differ from those on the statement. I'd follow their advice and check the settings on the meters. See if there's a discrepancy between the meter and the statement.

From what you've said, it doesn't sound as though there's any debt set on the meter. However, if there were, this would show as a debit balance on statements.

Has either or both of the meters been changed whilst you've been at the property? If they have, we need to make sure the removal and installation readings used are correct. I've known cases where these have been wrong and this has led to an imbalance showing on statements.

The imbalances on your statements might have been caused by any one or a combination of the above.

I know you've spoken to us before but I suspect you may have dealt with a general call centre. They'll only be able to see part of the picture as they don't have the access available to advisors in our prepayment teams.

I'd suggest taking the meter settings and talking to one of our prepayment advisors. They're much better placed to explain what's caused the imbalance. Alternatively, drop an email to the address in my Profile if you prefer. I'll be happy to talk to the prepay guys for you.

Again, sorry we haven't explained the balances properly but hope this helps.

Malc