5 year estimated electricity bill from E-on

charliebear2303

I have had a telephone call from E-on who say that I have been having estimated bills for the last 5 years and I have paid £1290 less than I have used, I pay monthly by direct debit. My meter is situated on the outside of my house in a normal meter box at the end of a private road and whoever read the meter could easily do so by leaning out of the window of his van and opening the box with a normal triangle key. The meter was certainly read last September and again in December when my sister pointed out to the Eon meter reader where the meter was situated. I also remember a chap looking for it in Jan 2014 and I directed him to it but it appears he used an estimated reading. I think that the meter readers have made little effort to locate the meter which could have been read at any time whether someone was home or not.
I have read Ofgem guidlines and this states that bills cannot be backdated more than 12 months so I have offered to pay 20% or 1 year of the backlog but will find it hard to fund the full £1290. Eon state the full should be payable as they had not had access to the meter but this is not the case. They now say the they have put the case to the Billing Code but the BC have rejected my complaint and Eon are now sending a bill for full amount, what do i do from here? At no time have I had a card through the door and there was no need to put one through as box was easily accessible 24/7

Torry_Quine

How did you miss that the bills were estimated readings? It's your responsibility to make sure they have up to date readings.

charliebear2303

Torry_Quine wrote: »

How did you miss that the bills were estimated readings? It's your responsibility to make sure they have up to date readings.

I didnt notice an E alongside readings instead of an A and as the direct debits were always being taken and adjusted at times assumed all was well.I was advised that I had had an annual review to ensure my balance was zero and considering this and the meter was outside surely its E-on who is responsible for giving the correct bills. The fact remains, I havent prevented E-on from getting readings and I have paid all I was asked

System

charliebear2303 wrote: »

I have read Ofgem guidlines and this states that bills cannot be backdated more than 12 months so I have offered to pay 20% or 1 year of the backlog but will find it hard to fund the full £1290. Eon state the full should be payable as they had not had access to the meter but this is not the case. They now say the they have put the case to the Billing Code but the BC have rejected my complaint and Eon are now sending a bill for full amount, what do i do from here? At no time have I had a card through the door and there was no need to put one through as box was easily accessible 24/7

I wish you luck with this one. The Back Billing Code does not require energy companies to provide accurate bills - they just have to bill you. I would argue for time to pay.

cklass

Have they actually claimed that for five years they haven't had access to your meter?

I believe suppliers are legally obligated to check meters at least once every two years, so they should have checked your meter at least twice during the period in question otherwise they've failed to meet their obligation.

The Billing Code states that customers need to cooperate with suppliers to ensure they're being billed accurately, so if E.On has ever sent you emails or letters asking you to provide a meter reading and you haven't responded, they could quite easily argue their reason why the back-billing principle doesn't apply.

Cardew

Welcome to the forum.

Firstly you are incorrect in stating that they cannot back-bill more than 12 months. The detail is in the Billing Code of practice:

http://www.energy-uk.org.uk/customers/energy-industry-codes/code-of-practice-for-accurate-bills.html

The code states when you haven't received a bill and it is their fault. It also states:

4. My supplier has sent me an estimated bill. What should I do?


Check that the estimated meter reading (or readings) used is close to your actual readings, and if you want to update your readings, contact your supplier direct.

So the onus is on you to have challenged the(low) estimated readings.

Apparently the normal reason for actual readings not to be used and estimated readings substituted lies with the algorithm used by most(all?) accounting computers.

If there is a large discrepancy between an actual meter reading and the tolerance the computer 'thinks' is reasonable, it assumes the reading is a mistake and substitutes an estimated reading.

Normally subsequent actual meter readings will have a greater discrepancy and the estimated readings will continue to be the basis of the bill charges. etc etc.

It is not until there is human intervention and the computer overridden will a bill based on actual readings be produced.

However as you say, Eon have stated that they have not had access to meter. The normal 'defence' is that you never checked the estimated reading on the bill against the actual meter reading; and informed them of the discrepancy.

Normally is cases like this there is some compromise reached - a large reduction for immediate settlement? Also an extended period to repay any amount outstanding.

I would suggest you get the matter sorted quickly before it gets in the hands of a Debt Collection Agency.

Cardew

cklass wrote: »

Have they actually claimed that for five years they haven't had access to your meter?

I believe suppliers are legally obligated to check meters at least once every two years, so they should have checked your meter at least twice during the period in question otherwise they've failed to meet their obligation.

The Billing Code states that customers need to cooperate with suppliers to ensure they're being billed accurately, so if E.On has ever sent you emails or letters asking you to provide a meter reading and you haven't responded, they could quite easily argue their reason why the back-billing principle doesn't apply.

The two year check of meters is for gas I believe.


The co-operation with suppliers is for the customer to check that the estimated meter reading and actual meter reading have no large discrepancy and inform the supplier if that is not the case.

Nada666

If your box is so easily accessible 24/7 why at no time over the last five years did you avail yourself of its utility to check your usage?

What you can do from here is to pay the balance.

[Deleted User]

I dont think its statuary legal obligation to inspect a meter every two years, just OFGEM obligation to attempt to access the meters. I know EDF and Scottish Power seem to go years and years before they escalate to "must read " status. I know one address I was trying for 6 years with EDF before they classified it as "must read ". BG mostly comply and I still do many more "must reads" than EDF and SPower and they now have a 5 year inspection in place. These suppliers dont seem to take much notice of the 2 year obligation.
One reason why if the OP is saying that the meter gets read by meter readers but still gets estimated is a meter serial fault so the readings dont get acted upon. I had one today which I sorted personally with BG because of the old 4 dial 5 dial mess up and resulted in a big backpay for a customer whos English was nt too good.

energyworker

The company has no obligation to break in to a locked box if you choose to keep your meter in there. Most companies will not allow their readers to unlock a box as they can cause damage and the box is not their property. It is your responsibility to provide readings and check your bill.

geordie_joe

energyworker wrote: »

The company has no obligation to break in to a locked box if you choose to keep your meter in there.

The op said the meter is in a normal meter box. I don't think he/she chose to keep it there, it was probably put there to begin with.

energyworker wrote: »

Most companies will not allow their readers to unlock a box as they can cause damage

Every meter reader I have ever seen has had a little triangle key and has managed to open and re-lock my box without causing damage.

energyworker wrote: »

and the box is not their property.

That's not what the power company said to my neighbour when some kids kicked a football and cracked the door on his box. They were adamant the box belonged to them and he had to pay to have it replaced. He told them where to go and what to do when they got there, and for at least two years after that the meter readers continued to come, unlock the box, read the meter and re-lock the box after them.

energyworker wrote: »

It is your responsibility to provide readings and check your bill.

I agree, but also think it's the power company's responsibility to read the meters every now and again so they can check the bill before it is sent out.