honest advice appreciated

andydiysaver

hi all


I used to live in a rental and paid eon direct debit monthly, then moved, they took reading it was 2k over. I disputed the charge and went to the ombudsman but the ombudsman ruled in eons favour and that's that. and the charge is mine to pay - I don't want any sanctimonious "I'd never let that happen to me "/"I told you so" types because it is what it is , I have a job, I'm respectable, and I always pay my bills


...just not fast enough for eon. leading up to and after the shock charge which I just cannot afford, I've been paying them 30 quid a month out of which literally is the max I can afford , and in contract whatever they asked in direct debit , again without fail, moreover, on the advice of debt line I sent in a statement of means which was honest and proved I was paying out more than I was bringing in by paying them


so I've said £30 a month and that's that, and I've never missed a payment, anything more would cause me and family severe hardship


trouble is they now have lodged this 6 month arrears or a "6 " on my file. This is going to shaft me because I can't afford to pay them any more but am paying regularly and am in regular contact


is there anything I can do to stop eon wiping the floor with me like this and trashing my credit file when all along the way I've paid them, and after contract was up after I moved, I've paid them monthly without fail?

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi andydiysaver

When we share with Equifax, we give a true reflection of the status of an account at the time of the share.

If there was a debit balance on the account at the time for the share, we'll have shared this. The '6' means the debt is over 6 months old at the time of the share.

Totally understand you're paying £30 a month on a regular basis but is this as part of a formal payment arrangement agreed with our credit ops guys?

If it is, we'll start to share a '0' and then an 'S' once the debt has been cleared. This will lessen the impact of the '6.' The '6' won't be removed altogether, though, if this was a true reflection of the account at the time of the share.

It's good you're talking to us. Make sure your payments are part of a formal arrangement. If they're not, after a time we'll start to share a 'D' or default notice which wouldn't be good.

Sorry I can't offer anything more positive andydiysaver but hope it helps explain.

Malc

andydiysaver

thankyou malc for your input.


six months ago I told the credit guys that I could afford £30 a month - I have new mortgage, new electric and kids to feed - and more than that I sent them a statement of means to prove it. I have paid that £30/month on the dot each month, religiously, without missing a payment.


it was your guys that refused this offer, so I kept paying it as it was all I could pay. Then, without warning, or being informed at all this black mark shows on my file- I had to check my credit report to see it.


...which is disgusting, sneaky and underhand. I was not informed of this. I had to find out by chance.


I've tried to keep communication open, I'm always on the phone to eon, and I pay all I can each month, I give them more than I can afford, and purely because this is not enough, they still proceed to try and rubbish me - what has happened is that eon has fabricated this breakdown in communication so they can do this, and it is eon's decision not to accept my offer (though they are of course taking my money!)


spoke to them on the phone today, we will call her "Helga". she was belligerent saying there was no way she would remove this marker. I kept repeating I've been in touch, I pay all I can afford and regularly. I've sent a statement of means. deaf ears.


our conversation was a more polite version of this paragraph which basically asks - so what is my option, I pay all I can regularly as I have been doing, I get the shaft. I don't pay, I get the shaft.


When me and "Helga" couldn't agree (Helga wouldn't agree with me and I was told I wasn't agreeing with her), she said she'd put me to complaints as we were at loggerheads. (i.e. put on hold until I go away. ) but I didn't go away, I waited. I know this because the same person picked up as I was dealing with, saying complaints will call me Thursday - she was desperate to put the phone down before I said "do you have my number, when are you going to call me" - she said 9 till 5, I said I work and tried to give hours I could take the call, again evident, she was just trying to get rid of me.


if I am not contacted by eon on Thursday and if something isn't done about this I will escalate this to the media and do everything in my power to see that this underhand, bullying behaviour is publicised. I will write letters, and make calls night and day if this is what it takes to get eon to remove that black mark because I am paying regularly, I sent a statement of means which was binned the second it landed, and I am in regular contact. This company has no morals , uses underhand tactics and they've picked the wrong person to try and shaft. I'm very motivated, very determined, and I'll see to it this case is publicised if they continue to lie to me, fabricate a breakdown in communication etc, when what it really is, is that I cannot afford to pay them as fast as they want me to but not once have I even thought about walking away from the debt.


this is sheer vindictive behaviour on behalf of eon.

meer53

It's not really sneaky or underhand. You have been making payments which Eon didn't agree to. You've defaulted on your agreement. They are taking your money because you owe them.

Although i appreciate that you're angry, you need to calm down in order to sort this out. At the end of the day, you owe Eon, you never know, if you're nice to them, they might be a bit more understanding.

YorkshireBoy

You won't win with this I'm afraid.

Even if you can get E.ON to agree to your £30 'arrangement' they'll almost certainly mark your credit file with an AP marker...month after month until the £2K is repaid. This may (will?) be worse, long term, than a few late payment markers.

andydiysaver

meer53 wrote: »

It's not really sneaky or underhand. You have been making payments which Eon didn't agree to. You've defaulted on your agreement. They are taking your money because you owe them.

Although i appreciate that you're angry, you need to calm down in order to sort this out. At the end of the day, you owe Eon, you never know, if you're nice to them, they might be a bit more understanding.

it is sneaky - because they didn't tell me first and I had to find out by checking my file..


it is underhand - because I gave them a statement of means and to be perfectly honest with my new set of bills 30 quid to them puts me in the red every single month but I still do it. the !!!!!!!s made me go through all the humiliation of accounting my entire expenditure, which clearly showed I couldn't afford 30 quid a month, only to bin the thing and press on with their wa*ker tactics - i.e. if this is what I get for paying them every month more than I can afford, what do I get if I was less honest and just walked away from it as I live somewhere completely different now.. needless to say , the supplier, aint eon.


whole thing started because my ex house mate gave a false reading, eon said that wasn't their problem, I said it bloody well was their problem when I get hit for the charge - they said sort it out with him, I said he's at large and blah blah blah - point is I can't magic up 2k on the spot just because eon want me to, I've accepted I'm going to pay it, I'm in regular touch and I pay them an amount, which although isn't thousands, neither is it pennies, monthly.


I intend to fight this, because they never warned me and because I've been in touch and paying throughout. I'll pay next month too cause I'm a decent kind of guy who honours his debts, however eon think I've got this magic wand that can make 2 grand appear, the charge itself is disputed, I've already agreed (been forced) to pay someone elses bill - what more do they want?

YorkshireBoy

andydiysaver wrote: »

it is sneaky - because they didn't tell me first

I think you'll find that if you read your T&Cs you'll see they tell you in there that they'll report your account conduct. They don't need to tell you again.

I appreciate that isn't what you want to hear, but at least you'll know what E.ON will say when they get back to you.

Like I said earlier, you simply can't win here. You owe E.ON some money. Until you've repaid that money they'll continue to mark your credit file (one way or another) with negative *FACTUAL* data. They can't/won't do anything else because to do so would breach the principles of reciprocity agreed by all those reporting/receiving data to/from the CRAs.

meer53

You sent them a statement of means which they looked at and said they didn't accept your offer of £30 a month ? You only have yourself to blame if you just carried on paying the £30 a month instead of speaking to them.

andydiysaver

meer53 wrote: »

You sent them a statement of means which they looked at and said they didn't accept your offer of £30 a month ? You only have yourself to blame if you just carried on paying the £30 a month instead of speaking to them.

ah here we go the blamers...


I was speaking to them and I offered what I could afford, I can't pay it as fast as they want me to cause I have kids to feed and so they get the big stick - that's what is going on.


I'm thinking through a solution

Lioness_Twinkletoes

andydiysaver wrote: »

I speak to them this week, I'm taking legal advice.

I'd suggest any money you might be spending on legal advice you use to clear your debt with E-On.

Legal advice is a waste of time and money.

andydiysaver

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

I think you'll find that if you read your T&Cs you'll see they tell you in there that they'll report your account conduct. They don't need to tell you again.

I appreciate that isn't what you want to hear, but at least you'll know what E.ON will say when they get back to you.

Like I said earlier, you simply can't win here. You owe E.ON some money. Until you've repaid that money they'll continue to mark your credit file (one way or another) with negative *FACTUAL* data. They can't/won't do anything else because to do so would breach the principles of reciprocity agreed by all those reporting/receiving data to/from the CRAs.

having thought it through, what I think i'll do is offer the lot on a credit card, which will cause me considerable difficulty but at least the first £30 a month to that card is accrued.


What I want in return is , in writing, from Eon that the black mark having just gone on, is removed, and I want to see it removed on my file at which stage I will pay I full. I have the right to ask them to meet me half way because they never wrote to me and told me they were doing this, I paid them regularly throughout, and kept in touch. I have a low interest credit card, ok I take the interest, but if I do it this way, and get my assurance, no recurring monthly markers.


anger/emotion aside, this is how I do it. It's a good deal for them, bad debt paid in full, it's a good deal for me but I want written assurance they remove that mark and back the hell off


my report is otherwise immaculate, I'm not having 6 years of misery on my report, leading to long term costs that exceed the debt in question through higher percentage rates. My take is they'll cripple me with debt in the short run, but I'll win in the long run. I want to speak to the credit manager though and if he will not remove that mark and put that in writing, the deal is off.