E-on threatening court action against "The Occupier"

The_Living_Coin

Hi Malc,

I have the same problem (new home, new supplier etc). I tried calling Eon once to let them know it wasnt me but I was on hold so long I gave up.

Yesterday I got a letter threatening collection and credit agencies action if I don't pay by tomorrow. The bill is a bit weird as it is for £96 but states that £24 of this was run up in two days.

What shall I do?!

Thanks
Stephen

GingerBob_3

The_Living_Coin wrote: »

Hi Malc,

I have the same problem (new home, new supplier etc). I tried calling Eon once to let them know it wasnt me but I was on hold so long I gave up.

Yesterday I got a letter threatening collection and credit agencies action if I don't pay by tomorrow. The bill is a bit weird as it is for £96 but states that £24 of this was run up in two days.

What shall I do?!

Thanks
Stephen

Don't forget that E.ON do report to credit agencies on a routine basis, unlike some other suppliers, so it's very easy to end up with a late payment/default recorded against your name, even when you're not at fault. There are many cases where this cavalier action on the part of suppliers has caused great difficulty. They get away with murder, and to date the government has done little or nothing about it. Due to industry-wide incompetence you might think these companies would be banned from reporting to the CRAs, but no, they still do.

In asking what you can do about it; you may get lucky and they'll sort it out for you. Write a letter to their complaints department, and of course you'll now have to spend money getting CRA reports to check they haven't screwed you over on the credit front - there's every chance they will have done so.

When you get it sorted out, move from E.ON to a supplier that doesn't report your account to the CRAs.

Futher points to note: if you move and inherit a supplier, don't under any circumstances furnish them with data such as FULL name and DoB. Such data allows them more easily to report your account to the CRAs (it won't necessarily stop them if they don't have this data, but don't make it easy for them).

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

The_Living_Coin wrote: »

Hi Malc,

I have the same problem (new home, new supplier etc). I tried calling Eon once to let them know it wasnt me but I was on hold so long I gave up.

Yesterday I got a letter threatening collection and credit agencies action if I don't pay by tomorrow. The bill is a bit weird as it is for £96 but states that £24 of this was run up in two days.

What shall I do?!

Thanks
Stephen

Hi Stephen

If we haven't been told of any changes in responsibility, we'll continue to send letters, follow up etc to the address we have.

Is your situation similar to the OP? That is, you moved into a property where we were the existing supplier and then changed provider?

Or, had the supply switched away from us before you moved in?

Either way, I'm assuming we're chasing a debt belonging to the previous occupant/landlord/letting agent etc.

If you can let us have some details we can sort this out for you.

Sight of a tenancy agreement if you rent or the sale document if owned will definitely help. Don't need any personal details except to see proof of the date responsibility changed.

As it sounds like a third party is involved (previous occupant/landlord/letting agent etc), we'll need to see the relevant document as it looks like we'll be chasing this other party for unpaid energy use.

It'll also help speed things up if you're able to let us have a forwarding address for the previous occupant or details of the landlord/letting agent if applicable.

You can email this to our Home Moves team or, if you prefer, drop an email to me at the address in my Profile. I'll be happy to take a look.

Must admit, I'm guessing a lot here Stephen but hope it helps point you in the right direction.

Malc

The_Living_Coin

Hi Malc,
I'll PM you now.

Thanks

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Thanks Stephen. Have just replied.

Malc

RickiKillen96

I pay over the odds with Eon myself however, still after numerous conversations received debt collection letters from the Occupier. Three members of staff at Eon have told me to never open a letter addressed to "The Occupier." I am the Occupier so I found that information bizarre! I was told they cannot stop these letters, surely there must be a way! If this doesn't stop I will change supplier.:(

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi RickiKillen96 and welcome to the Forums.

I'm sorry we're sending you letters meant for someone else. I'm sorry, too, we told you nothing can be done to stop them. Depending on the circumstances, something may well be able to be done. If the letters are from us, there's certain account adjustments that can be made. It may be different if the old account has been passed to a Debt Collector though. Again, it depends on the circumstances.

From your post, I assume you contacted us when you took over responsibility for the property and have your own account from this time? If this is the case, all correspondence about this account will be in your name. Correspondence about energy used before this time would, ideally, be in the name of the person responsible for using it. Often, though, we're not told about changes. Even when we are, details can be somewhat sketchy. In these cases, we'll continue to send letters, follow up etc to the address we have. If you can let us have more information like a forwarding address for the previous occupier or details of a letting agent/landlord if applicable, we can look at re-directing this follow up.

It may be the old account has been passed to a Debt Collector. Sometimes, they do a blanket search to try and locate those responsible for unpaid energy. This, too, can lead to letters going to existing addresses.

I'll be happy to take a look if you drop an email to the address in my Profile. I'm not in now until after the Bank Holiday but will gladly reply then. Hope this helps RickiKillen96.

Malc