EON fixed tarrif, not so fixed!

Bazooka_Boo

Went through the energy saving club earlier this year, and EON 'claimed' they could put me on a fixed 12 month tariff at £32.50, as I was paying £50 a month to my current supplier (this was far outweighing any usage and built up a healthy excess) I moved.

All was well, until I entered my meter readings, then I had an email saying they were going to increase my DD to £43 a month in order that I had a zero balance come Feb next year.

A month of toing and froing, asking that they justify this increase, and the only answer was that ''You're using more electricity than usual''.??

Considering they had the start and end meter reading for the whole of last year, and used those in their calculations to arrive at £32.50 a month for 12 months, I was a little surprised, especially as the debit on my account was only £14 which had accrued over some 7 months.

Informed them that as I am on a fixed income and I have already budgeted for the 'fixed tariff' for the 12 months, there is no possibility of increasing my DD to what they demanded, as such, could they confirm that the DD would not increase and would remain at £32.50 and any balance left owing would be paid in full at the end of the 12 month period.

They couldn't confirm this, or rather wouldn't confirm this, and the last email they sent now increased the DD to £56 a month, I pulled the plug and withdrew the privilege to access my account cancelled the DD and set up a SO to pay £32.50 a month.

It turns out that a 'fixed tariff' isn't fixed, it is the price of the units that are fixed, and quite how they have come to the conclusion that I'm using more electric than I usually do is anyone's guess?

Oh well everyday's a school day!

JJ_Egan

Of course its a fixed tariff and tariff is units plus standing charge .What is not fixed is the amount you use and therefore how much you pay .

modsandmockers

JJ_Egan wrote: »

Of course its a fixed tariff and tariff is units plus standing charge .What is not fixed is the amount you use and therefore how much you pay .

Yes - the OP appears to understand when he/she is paying too much - "I was paying £50 a month to my current supplier (this was far outweighing any usage and built up a healthy excess)" - but not when he/she is paying too little.

naedanger

Bazooka_Boo wrote: »

.. quite how they have come to the conclusion that I'm using more electric than I usually do is anyone's guess?

Could they have come to this conclusion based on the meter readings you entered? Is the rate at which you are consuming energy greater than it was last year? (Possibly because you did not realise your bills would still ultimately depend on the amount of energy you consumed.)

System

You are not alone. I provided E.oN with projected annual consumption figures that were over-stated. In the case of gas, this was by 18% as I had no accurate consumption figures to go on as a result of some changes that I made to my heating system. Despite this, after 3 months, E.oN was suggesting a 25% increase in my monthly DD. I am now with a new supplier that is suggesting that I need to reduce my monthly payment having given them the same projected usage figures that I gave to E.oN . As the tariffs are within a few £s of each other, both suppliers cannot be right.

modsandmockers

I have posted before that the monthly DD payment schemes are operated by the energy suppliers for the energy suppliers. I have given up monthly DDs in favour of quarterly 'whole of bill' DDs - in some cases this will be more expensive, but it gives me the freedom to make my own decisions about how much to put away every month in order to be able to cover the quarterly bills whenever they arrive.

E.ON_Company_Representative:_Helena

Bazooka_Boo wrote: »

Went through the energy saving club earlier this year, and EON 'claimed' they could put me on a fixed 12 month tariff at £32.50, as I was paying £50 a month to my current supplier (this was far outweighing any usage and built up a healthy excess) I moved.

All was well, until I entered my meter readings, then I had an email saying they were going to increase my DD to £43 a month in order that I had a zero balance come Feb next year.

A month of toing and froing, asking that they justify this increase, and the only answer was that ''You're using more electricity than usual''.??

Considering they had the start and end meter reading for the whole of last year, and used those in their calculations to arrive at £32.50 a month for 12 months, I was a little surprised, especially as the debit on my account was only £14 which had accrued over some 7 months.

Informed them that as I am on a fixed income and I have already budgeted for the 'fixed tariff' for the 12 months, there is no possibility of increasing my DD to what they demanded, as such, could they confirm that the DD would not increase and would remain at £32.50 and any balance left owing would be paid in full at the end of the 12 month period.

They couldn't confirm this, or rather wouldn't confirm this, and the last email they sent now increased the DD to £56 a month, I pulled the plug and withdrew the privilege to access my account cancelled the DD and set up a SO to pay £32.50 a month.

It turns out that a 'fixed tariff' isn't fixed, it is the price of the units that are fixed, and quite how they have come to the conclusion that I'm using more electric than I usually do is anyone's guess?

Oh well everyday's a school day!

Good morning Bazooka Boo and welcome to MSE

It appears we've spoken about this on another forum a couple of weeks ago.

I'm sorry, as it appears I haven't explained how this works properly previously.

I'll try again.

When you go on to a fixed tariff, it means the unit prices are fixed and won't change. However, this doesn't mean the Direct Debit can't change as this will go up and down depending on how much energy you use.

I completely understand being on a budget and only having a certain amount of money for things.

We'll quote a monthly amount based on the figures we're provided with from the customer and start here, if it appears this isn't enough to cover the usage we'll increase the Direct Debit. There's lot's of info on the website about how this works and how we reach a zero balance, but I'm sorry I'm not allowed to post links.

I understand a Monthly Direct Debit isn't for everyone and we offer other ways to pay, so we can try and suit most customers needs.

I can see you've now cancelled your Direct Debit. I just always suggest to keep putting your meter reads on to keep your account up to date and accurate.

Thank you

Helena

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

OP, I've just seen your rants on the "other" forum - energy isn't an all you can eat buffet - if you use more than £32.50 (and nearly everyone in the country does), you will have to pay for it. You can refuse the DD increase, but you'll just have to pay it later in a one off instalment, or worse, have PPM's fitted.

Bazooka_Boo

Wow, this is quite an aggressive presumptuous site isn't it!

I wasn't after advice TBH, I was simply informing MSE that EON will quote you a cheaper deal to get you as a customer, then claim you're using more energy to increase the DD to their liking.

But I'm moving back over to the "other" site to continue my 'rants', thank you for your constructive input.

Nada666

You're the one being ridiculous and aggressive - you have not provided enough information to prove your over-the-top assertion and allegation. If anything, the scant information provided suggest nothing incorrect was being done by Eon.

If you are not happy paying by monthly Direct Debit don't. But don't ask for a tariff or price that requires such payment. It's your choice and your pram and your toys.