E.ON missed appointments and helpless Energy Ombudsman?

SW6Joao

I have been an E.ON electric/gas customer for several years and E.ON tells me they need to replace my electricity meter. The meter is outside my flat, but I am told that the customer needs to be present.

Over the last 8 months, E.ON has booked 4 appointments, forcing me to take annual leave, and has not turned up to ANY. On top of this, E.ON never let me know in advance (or during the allocated slot) that they are not coming. On the agreed day, I call E.ON and they confirm the appointment is going ahead "100%" and then don't turn up - blaming it on EDF, i.e. passing the buck. They credit the account with £22 and move to booking the next appointment.

I contacted the Energy Ombudsman for help, explaining that I cannot take holiday / unpaid leave and that £22 doesn't make up for missed appointments. All parties agreed on a legally binding contract, asking E.ON to complete the works by a given deadline, and notify me in advance and after completion of works. Since then, E.ON (i) did not complete the works by the agreed deadline. So... the Ombudsman gave them an extension. Then, (ii) E.ON booked an appointment within that extension and, surprise-surprise, did not turn up! Exasperated, I contacted the Ombudsman again for help: they tell me that because their agreement "doesn't stipulate that E.ON must turn up" (sic), they cant do anything!!! (apparently, only extensions).

An evil twist is that if I now cancel the contract with E.ON, I will be breaking the legally binding agreement with the Ombudsman, which stipulates a number of requirements. If I take the matter to court, the court will be informed that I broke away for the Ombudsman agreement, essentially defeating the claim.

I am at a loss here: if E.ON was asked to pay a hefty compensation (instead of the £22, now £30), I am sure they would show up. Evidently, E.ON is showing contempt for their customers and for the Ombudsman "legally binding contract" and... is allowed to get away with it. Does anyone have advice please? Thanks in advance!

backfoot

What an appalling sorry series of episodes. It would appear to me that Eon are your Supplier but EDF are your local Distribution company or Meter Operator and it will them who will do the actual work (eventually).

Nevertheless, it appears that Eon are responsible for advising you and co-ordinating the work with EDF. It does Eon no good to be buck passing and leaving you in the revolving door with no exit.

The £22 is the normal Standards of Service payment for missed appointments.

In my view, given the circumstances you are entiled to and would win a case for loss of earnings caused by a breach of contract. For each event you should work out your daily net pay and claim the amount from Eon. If they do not pay up, I would be taking action in the small Claims Court.If eon want to join EDF into the legal action then so be it but Eon are acting as Principal.

Once again, the Ombudsman Service proves itself both toothless and incompetent. Their failure to deal with and provide a resolution will not disadvantage you in taking further legal action.

The other hope is that Eon do have a very good Representative on this Forum, who is proactive and efficient in my experience.I would expect them to pick this thread up quickly and make sure that this gets resolved in terms of finalising the work which is for their benefit and then providing you with compensation for loss of earnings and a suitable goodwill payment.

Hope this helps.

[Deleted User]

It will be EDF behind this as that is the local DNO, and it will be their operatives who a causing all these no shows. I have to call on many people on appointments and sometimes its the address itself which is the problem especially if its in a town centre with restrictive parking or hard to find places with a house name instead of a number. Has your flat got none working door bells ? I get that a lot, sometimes the occupier is not even aware of that or the problems in actually getting to the property. Also We have to pay ourselves if we get clamped or a ticket and some flat areas have these cowboys hanging around to make a killing on none residents. Anything like that and the EDF man won t be hanging around long if there`s a problem in getting to you.
Do they have your phone number to cancel in advance ? Four no shows is bordering on ridiculous . I work for EDF on appointments sometimes and they charge us at G4S a huge amount on a no show on a "must inspect " ..Believe it or not its a £300 fine !

backfoot

Could the Eon Rep please comment on this one. Thanks.

SW6Joao

Thanks for your advice, backfoot! I have (reluctantly) agreed to re-book the 5th attempt of an E.ON visit, but for the exact date when the Ombudsman agreement expires. This way, if E.ON doesn't turn up, and the Ombudsman does not award further extensions (!?), E.ON will again be in breach of contract, I can get out and hopefully take them to small claims court.

I asked E.ON which compensation would I receive if they (or EDF) do not attend and I got the usual reply - the "Guarantee of Service payment, recently updated £30", without recognising the repeated disruption (and loss of earnings) and that a quick phone call could mitigate it. In my view, E.ON needs better incentives to meet its obligations and if customer satisfaction ("carrot") doesn't work, maybe a heftier fine (100s-1000s pounds, "stick") is needed. Unfortunately the Ombudsman doesn't seem to agree and prefer to suggest what E.ON already offered... book again, until it's done!

Again, thanks for your advice!

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi SW6Joao and welcome to the Forums.

I'm really sorry you've had such a horrendous experience.I agree with backfoot, missing 4 appointments without letting you know is appalling.

As both backfoot and sacsquacco say, it sounds like we've made the appointments for EDF as the Meter Operator/Distributor to carry out the work. I don't want to speculate on why the visits failed as there could be a number of reasons. As it looks as though we've made payments under the Guaranteed Standards of Service regulations, the no shows certainly appear to be our responsibility.

As the case has been to the Ombudsman, it's now gone way beyond my level. We've an Ombudsman Liaison team who'll be dealing with this and these are the advisors to talk to. They ring fence such complaints and will be able to let you know where we're at. These are also the ones to talk to about compensation.

Again, I'm so sorry you've had to go through this and that I'm unable to help further myself.

Malc

SW6Joao

Thanks for your reply, sacsquacco. E.ON certainly have my exact name and address. Ironically, they seem to find it just fine when they want to read the meter! As I mentioned, one time I called E.ON before, twice during, and after the appointment - with E.ON always confirming the appointment... until someone at E.ON told me that "the engineer was never going to come round because EDF was on strike" and that "someone should have told me earlier"! My contract is with E.ON so I think I should hold them responsible (rather than EDF or any sub-contractor), right? Anyway, thanks again for your input! J

SW6Joao

backfoot wrote: »

Could the Eon Rep please comment on this one. Thanks.

That would be fantastic. So far, I have not been able to have a sensible explanation from E.ON that does not pass the buck (to EDF) and ask me to re-book.

SW6Joao

Dear Malc, thank you. This was the first time I complained to an Ombudsman and was profoundly disappointed - they simply upheld E.ON's practice of
(1) re-booking missed appointments
(2) compensating the standard guarantee (£22, now £30) per no-show, regardless of customer's loss of income or the number of no-shows
(3) accepting that E.ON (or its sub-contractors) not let the customer know if they are not coming.

Since E.ON has missed the last 4, I am expecting E.ON to miss a 5th appointment. When the Ombusdman period expires (assuming they will not award further extensions), is there a way I can avoid going to court, spending more time and effort on this trivial issue of servicing a meter? Thank you in advance for any suggestions.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

SW6Joao wrote: »

Thanks for your advice, backfoot! I have (reluctantly) agreed to re-book the 5th attempt of an E.ON visit, but for the exact date when the Ombudsman agreement expires. This way, if E.ON doesn't turn up, and the Ombudsman does not award further extensions (!?), E.ON will again be in breach of contract, I can get out and hopefully take them to small claims court.

I asked E.ON which compensation would I receive if they (or EDF) do not attend and I got the usual reply - the "Guarantee of Service payment, recently updated £30", without recognising the repeated disruption (and loss of earnings) and that a quick phone call could mitigate it. In my view, E.ON needs better incentives to meet its obligations and if customer satisfaction ("carrot") doesn't work, maybe a heftier fine (100s-1000s pounds, "stick") is needed. Unfortunately the Ombudsman doesn't seem to agree and prefer to suggest what E.ON already offered... book again, until it's done!

Again, thanks for your advice!

SW6Joao wrote: »

Thanks for your reply, sacsquacco. E.ON certainly have my exact name and address. Ironically, they seem to find it just fine when they want to read the meter! As I mentioned, one time I called E.ON before, twice during, and after the appointment - with E.ON always confirming the appointment... until someone at E.ON told me that "the engineer was never going to come round because EDF was on strike" and that "someone should have told me earlier"! My contract is with E.ON so I think I should hold them responsible (rather than EDF or any sub-contractor), right? Anyway, thanks again for your input! J

SW6Joao wrote: »

Dear Malc, thank you. This was the first time I complained to an Ombudsman and was profoundly disappointed - they simply upheld E.ON's practice of
(1) re-booking missed appointments
(2) compensating the standard guarantee (£22, now £30) per no-show, regardless of customer's loss of income or the number of no-shows
(3) accepting that E.ON (or its sub-contractors) not let the customer know if they are not coming.

Since E.ON has missed the last 4, I am expecting E.ON to miss a 5th appointment. When the Ombusdman period expires (assuming they will not award further extensions), is there a way I can avoid going to court, spending more time and effort on this trivial issue of servicing a meter? Thank you in advance for any suggestions.

Sorry SW6Joao, I didn't see your second post before I replied. Have you booked the next appointment through the Ombudsman Liaison team I mentioned? With this going to the Ombudsman, you'll have a case handler who works on this team and they'll be looking after the ruling that's been given. They're definitely the ones to talk to.

The technicians who look after the meters are usually different from the meter readers. I was aware of some industrial action last year that affected specific Meter Operators/Distributors in certain areas. Can't say this is what's been causing your difficulties though. Even if it was, I agree, you should've been told in advance and I'm sorry you weren't.

Malc

[Deleted User]

SW6Joao wrote: »

Thanks for your reply, sacsquacco. E.ON certainly have my exact name and address. Ironically, they seem to find it just fine when they want to read the meter! As I mentioned, one time I called E.ON before, twice during, and after the appointment - with E.ON always confirming the appointment... until someone at E.ON told me that "the engineer was never going to come round because EDF was on strike" and that "someone should have told me earlier"! My contract is with E.ON so I think I should hold them responsible (rather than EDF or any sub-contractor), right? Anyway, thanks again for your input! J

I know it sounds like buck passing but you also have a "contract "with EDF although you won t know about it. They own the meters and wiring up to the house and if they needed access to the property they don t even need your permission. The EDF fitters won t be as familiar with your address as meter readers as they won t visit very often at all, maybe once every 10 years or more. Unless it was a new smart meter install ( thats now arranged by the supplier ) EDF would ve contacted Eon firstly to make the initial appointment. Sometimes in the appointment it may even say hidden away," on behalf of EDF ". The DNO s get off lightly because they are doing this all the time. They have no fear of public backlash because you are stuck with EDF, you can t change. I myself had a couple of no shows when with BG a few years ago. Three no shows is nt at all uncommon with the DNOs, they re not really that bothered about failed appointments with a humble householder and the suppliers cop for all the aggro and customer end up switching in revenge.
I remember when that awful company United Utilities were fitting metric gas meters on contract for National Grid when I was meter reading for BG. Every week I would get people telling me how they d waited in all day, losing a holiday day etc and they were dumping BG because of it when United Utility cowboys were behind it. The appointment letter was headed BG tho so they got the bad press.