E.on - Hand Delivered Letter

Ady87

Hi all,

I accept responsibility for not acting earlier but want the best advice on how to resolve my issue.

Moved in rented property June 1st.

Receive bill addressed to The Occupier after about 3 weeks. It was way out on the estimations by about 260%. Tried to call E.on to discuss but gave up after ages in a queue. (Not the best idea)

We then received a reminder and a further bill for usage which was the same initial estimation just extrapolated.

Now I have a letter through the door after a visit with a name and mobile number on to call. I would like to get this resolved and can pay what is accurate and fair. How do I approach this? Get the meter reading off the Estate Agents from when I moved in and call this persons Mobile number (Field Collections) to advise of the old reading and my new one and hope they are fair?

Not only did the original bill have the worst rate E.on offer on it but the readings were way out and the bill was £180 when it should have been about £40!

Nada666

So instead of changing to a sensible tariff you ignored the letter and continued to use energy at that rate for six months.

It is simple to pay what is accurate and fair. Simply contact Eon and get your name on an account. You pay for what you have used (on the expensive standard tariff - your choice) and choose a cheaper tariff for further usage (Eon have some competitive tariffs). Alternatively you can continue to pay Eon on the standard tariff whilst waiting to switch to a different provider.

If you did not want to wait in the telephone queue (did you use the number for new applicants rather than existing customers?) all you had to do was spend money on a second class stamp to set up the account and provide correct readings to receive a new bill for £40.

Ady87

Nada666 wrote: »

So instead of changing to a sensible tariff you ignored the letter and continued to use energy at that rate for six months.

It is simple to pay what is accurate and fair. Simply contact Eon and get your name on an account. You pay for what you have used (on the expensive standard tariff - your choice) and choose a cheaper tariff for further usage (Eon have some competitive tariffs). Alternatively you can continue to pay Eon on the standard tariff whilst waiting to switch to a different provider.

If you did not want to wait in the telephone queue (did you use the number for new applicants rather than existing customers?) all you had to do was spend money on a second class stamp to set up the account and provide correct readings to receive a new bill for £40.

Thanks for the response.

I understand what I did and where I went wrong and do not need a reply to to educate me on these matters. What I do need to know is the best way to approach this.

By contacting E.on, are you referring to the Field Collections Agent noted on my letter, or the New Applicants contact number?

Pending your response or any other, I will probably contact the Field Collections Agent with my two readings and the account number noted on the bill and ask that they send an amended bill. I accept it is fair I pay at the rate that they suggest, though I can't see it doing them many favours, it's obviously a tactic to drive calls in to get names on accounts.

Nada666

Well, the tactic has worked - it has sprung you into action after six months. I know how annoying telephone centres are - but we have alternatives such as mail (and even electronic mail nowadays.)

What's wrong with attempting to get names on accounts? You haven't bothered. You should be grateful you have been prompted to action before the full onset of winter so at least the majority of your first year's usage will be at a decent rate and not just summer.

It does not really matter who you contact - the agent or the supplier directly. You will, however, have the additional cost of that contact to pay for - at least £25, probably £40 or £50.

Andy_WSM

Ady87 wrote: »

Not only did the original bill have the worst rate E.on offer on it but the readings were way out and the bill was £180 when it should have been about £40!

This is ALL entirely your fault, not EONs! How could they provide you with accurate billing when you hadn't even told them you were in the property using their services and when from.

The only way forward now is to provide a copy of your tenancy agreement showing when you moved in, the reading on that date (you'll likely be asked to prove it now) and the reading now. Once an account is set up in your name, THEN you can move yourself onto the most appropriate tariff.

Ady87

Once again, thanks for the response and information, though it does conflict with advice in earlier posts.

Just to put it out there, again, I don't need to be told this is my fault. This much I already know. Can we please keep posts in this thread to just advice on how I can get out of this and on to the right track? That said, I think I know enough now to do just that.

Edit: If it makes any difference, I will be moving out of this property in the next 6-8 weeks so future tarriffs are not particulary important.

Nada666

Ady87 wrote: »

Once again, thanks for the response and information, though it does conflict with advice in earlier posts.

Just to put it out there, again, I don't need to be told this is my fault. This much I already know. Can we please keep posts in this thread to just advice on how I can get out of this and on to the right track? That said, I think I know enough now to do just that.

Edit: If it makes any difference, I will be moving out of this property in the next 6-8 weeks so future tarriffs are not particulary important.

There isn't anything to get out of. All you have to do is contact the supplier and pay what you owe. I don't understand where you think there is a complication.

Naf

Nada666 wrote: »

I don't understand where you think there is a complication.

Then perhaps you should read their posts. OP's complication is that the bill is for incorrect readings (over-estimated ones), not that the tariff is too high. TBH, while its not the best course of action, I can't really say I blame them for not waiting in eOn's queue to speak to someone.

OP: you need to gather proof of the reading when you moved in (unless you have a photo, or the LA took a reading and its in their records, that could be tricky) and take a reading now. Furnish eOn with these details and ask them to call off the collection agent until you have the corrected bill. Then all you do is pay.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi Ady87

As others have said, this can be sorted out quickly if you contact us.

Tell us when you took over responsibility for the property and give us any meter readings you have. As Andy says, sight of your Tenancy Agreement will speed things up.

We're happy to use customer's readings and will re-bill the account to these. In the absence of readings, we'll use estimates.

Where properties change hands and we're not given details, we'll automatically put customers on our standard tariff. This has no tie-ins or cancellation fees leaving customers free to change tariff/supplier whenever they wish without penalty.

All our other tariffs have certain conditions. Consequently, we need to talk to customers before switching them to one of these.

The visit and letter you've received are part of our follow up procedures. These kick in when there's been an outstanding balance on an account for quite a long time.

You can either call the number on the letter or the one on the bills. We'll be happy to sort this out for you.

Malc

Nada666

Naf wrote: »

Then perhaps you should read their posts. OP's complication is that the bill is for incorrect readings (over-estimated ones), not that the tariff is too high.

That is not a complication. And an estimated reading is not an incorrect reading.