Eon repayments: help needed

butchyboy73

Hi all,

I work with adults with learning disabilities. A married couple I support get their gas and electric supplied by Eon. Resently this couple received a monthly bill stating that they were £1690 in credit.
We contacted Eon and asked them to refund the money to the couple and after a couple of attempts; system froze, team leaders had to be consulted etc they agreed to refund the money. Then, in the same call that they agreed to refund the money they thought they had detected an inconsistency in the readings and said that the meter might be faulty and that they would send an engineer round to check the meter. In due course/2 weeks later an engineer came round and declared the never faulty. They then proposed to repay the couple £960 and reduce their monthly bill from £99 to £93 till May.
Now, apart from being suspicious of big organisations like this having been bitten before I'm doubly suspicious as the couple I support have gas central heating and are rarely at home and, i'm must admit, rarely shower and don't have a bath in their house so their fuel bill should be way below average (I should point out that the husband isn't supported, that is he deals with his own finances and is prey to cold callers though, unfortunately, he's learning the hard way). I have told Eon I intend to challenge this decision of theirs as I feel it is very wrong, my question to you folk is how exactly should I go about it? Should I speak with CAB? Or write to Eon stating the case in black and white or go direct to an Ombudsman? Or should I speak to a lawyer?
Helpppp!!!
Jim

CashStrapped

Very odd situation.

I would suggest two courses of action.

1) If the account is fully up to date and the latest meter readings have been given (I assume this will be the case), ring back again and basically demand a full refund of the credit on the account. There is no reason why it should not be refunded. Especially such a large amount.

2) If they do not play ball simply switch supplier! If you switch supplier and the account is up to date there is no reason for them to hold on to any credit.

In addition read:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/reclaim-energy-bill-refunds

That applies to suppliers you have been with previously still having credit. But the complaint process applies to you.

The only reasons I can think that they are wanting to hold onto some credit are because:

a) They do not believe how low the usage is and are keeping some cash back to be sure this [the actual usage] is the case. After a few months of usage, their concerns will be alleviated and the credit will be returned.

b) Was the telephone call an amicable one? Or did it get a bit heated? If it did, they may be digging their heels in.

Furthermore;

Their usage must be very very low to flag up as such a concern! How long has it taken for this credit to accumulate?

I assumed you have checked they are heating their house correctly (I appreciate they are not at home a lot) and keeping in good health. It can be common for vulnerable/older people to unnecessarily freeze themselves because they are scared of energy bills (even though, many times, they have the income available.)

Cardew

If you intend to take the matter further I would ensure that you get all the information from the telephone call in writing

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

butchyboy73 wrote: »

Hi all,

I work with adults with learning disabilities. A married couple I support get their gas and electric supplied by Eon. Resently this couple received a monthly bill stating that they were £1690 in credit.
We contacted Eon and asked them to refund the money to the couple and after a couple of attempts; system froze, team leaders had to be consulted etc they agreed to refund the money. Then, in the same call that they agreed to refund the money they thought they had detected an inconsistency in the readings and said that the meter might be faulty and that they would send an engineer round to check the meter. In due course/2 weeks later an engineer came round and declared the never faulty. They then proposed to repay the couple £960 and reduce their monthly bill from £99 to £93 till May.
Now, apart from being suspicious of big organisations like this having been bitten before I'm doubly suspicious as the couple I support have gas central heating and are rarely at home and, i'm must admit, rarely shower and don't have a bath in their house so their fuel bill should be way below average (I should point out that the husband isn't supported, that is he deals with his own finances and is prey to cold callers though, unfortunately, he's learning the hard way). I have told Eon I intend to challenge this decision of theirs as I feel it is very wrong, my question to you folk is how exactly should I go about it? Should I speak with CAB? Or write to Eon stating the case in black and white or go direct to an Ombudsman? Or should I speak to a lawyer?
Helpppp!!!
Jim

Hi Jim

Must say, this does sound a bit strange. I agree with CashStrapped. If we've been to check the meter and given it the all clear and the account is billed up to the latest meter readings, I can't why the balance isn't refunded in full if that's what the customer wants.

We do have a duty to make customers aware of the possible consequences of certain actions. For those on Monthly Direct Debits, we need to point out that taking a refund before the annual review might leave the account in arrears by this time or lead to a request to increase the monthly payments. If, though, the customer is aware of these possibilities but still asks for a refund then it should be done.

I'm speculating, but one possibility is the remaining balance could be being used to cover usage up to the annual review so the customer can have lower monthly payments. Monthly Direct Debits are based on current prices and past usage. I know you say they're a low user but if past usage was high this could be having an impact on the arrangement.

I can understand the delay authorising the refund. Such a large amount would need to go to a senior manager. This should only be a couple of days delay at the most.

Going forward, as CashStrapped says, you can talk to us again about the remaining balance or change supplier. With a change of supplier, the new supplier will let us have the meter readings they'll use to start their account. We'll use the same readings to close our account and issue a final bill. Any remaining credit on the final bill will automatically be refunded. If the Direct Debit arrangement is still open, it'll go straight back in to the customer's bank. If not, we'll send a cheque. Direct Debit refunds are quicker.

Alternatively, our Monthly Direct Debits aim to achieve as near as possible to a zero balance by the annual review. At this point, any credit over a fiver is automatically refunded. From what you say, I suspect the annual review is in May and this sounds a bit too long.

The Ombudsman allows energy suppliers 56 days to sort out complaints before taking them on. Have you spoken to us about this since your post? If you have, a Complaint Manager will be looking at it and will offer a resolution. If this isn't acceptable, the complaint will be looked at again by our separate Review Team. They'll either offer an alternative resolution or uphold the original offer. If still unacceptable, we'll send a 'Final Resolution Offer' letter. At this point, the customer can go to the Ombudsman straightaway. Or, as above, if it's been 56 days since first raised, they can go now.

I'll be happy to take a look for you although, if it's already with a Complaint Manager, they'll follow this through. If you would like me to have a look please drop an email to the address in my Profile. If they haven't already done so, I'll need the customer's permission to share account information with you. There's a Letter of Authority on our website that you can use to make this a bit easier. It's under 'Help and Support' and then 'support and advice for customers who need a little extra help.' I'll also need up to date meter readings.

Sorry for the long winded reply Jim but hope it helps. Look forward to hearing from you.

Malc