EON District Heating mis-quoted

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

Prometheus3k wrote: »

Hi guys, I'm trying to find out more information. I'll post the full indicative usage table as soon as I can.

In the meantime, can anyone tell me, if I pay the due bills (usage + standing charge) is this considered me accepting the service?

Note, there is a separate document which requires my signature (Service agreement) that I'm not going to sign until this is sorted. But surely paying the bills shouldn't mean I accept anything other than money owed?

Just by using the energy, you've accepted the service.

macman

You accepted the service on day one when you walked in and switched the lights/heating on.

Prometheus3k

When I used the hot water for the first time it was on the assumption that the standing charge was what was quoted and before I had even received the agreement to sign.

Surely its wrong to assume a customer accepts a service based on the wrong information being given prior to or at the time of using the service for the first time?

If I paid the bill, just to get the debt cleared, can I still dispute the charges?

Thanks for taking the time to reply guys. Its really appreciated.

macman

No one assumes anything, you are deemed to accept the terms when you start using the service.
You can pay the bill 'under protest'. But Eon have not misrepresented anything-your dispute is with the developer.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi Prometheus3k

Have to admit, I've had relatively little to do with the District Heating schemes so I've forwarded your questions on to the manager of this area.

Either I, or one of my colleagues, will give you an update once we've received more info.

Malc

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi Prometheus3k

As promised, I've more info for you about your heating scheme.

I'm really sorry you were given wrong details by the developer about the energy service charge for your property.

We've actually no part in the sales process the developer gives to customers. We give developers several documents to pass on to customers with details about the costs and services E.ON provide. I'm sorry you weren't made aware of the correct energy service charge before you moved in.

We've taken on board your comments and are working with the sales teams to make sure this doesn't happen in the future.

From your posts, it's clear there are certain costs you need to consider when comparing a Heat supply with gas and these weren't provided.

For customers with a gas supply, there's also the ongoing maintenance cost of servicing and replacing a gas boiler.

For Heat customers, though, we're responsible for the maintenance and replacement of the primary heating system (the Heat interface unit that replaces a traditional gas boiler on a district heating scheme).

If you were to compare the like for like costs then Heat will be seen as probably less expensive than gas. It's certainly our aim that customers should pay no more for heating and hot water from a low carbon scheme than they would with a standard new build property with a gas boiler.

When we set your account up, we'll have sent a welcome pack containing a price comparator. This will have given you the comparable costs. The costs shown are like for like based on the kWh detailed and the total forecast annual charges do include the energy service charge.

As others have said, in the same way that any gas or electricity customer enters into a deemed contract when they move into a property and start using energy, the consumption of heating or hot water constitutes a deemed contract between the consumer and the operator of the heating network.

You can choose to terminate the supply but you would then need to find an alternative supply of heating and hot water.

At the moment, there isn't a regulatory body that covers the supply of heat, although this may change in the future.

Hope this goes some way to answering your concerns. Give me a shout if you've any further questions as will be happy to help.

Malc

DH_pricing_expert

The cost of heat under a DH scheme includes


1. The cost of energy consumed
2. Avoided 24/7 365 day maintenance cover (circa £14 / month under a domestic boiler contract with British Gas)
3. Avoided Boiler replacement cost (say £1500/ 11 years = £11.36 / month




Unfortunately there is no option to avoid items 2 and 3 under a DH scheme so the annual cost will be at least £304 more than the cost of just purchasing gas. This is generally why people feel that they are paying twice as much as they should.


I hope this helps