Switching to a new deal when you owe a balance

Tillydot

I am with Eon and have been with them for 20 years. I can never afford to switch because I always owe them a balance. I am all electric and my house is very cold. I have a payment plan with them for £100 month which I pay £25 per week when I get my pension paid. My deal ends at the end of January and I have had a look at the new deals Eon is offering and it will go up from £85 per month to £113 per month (the deal) is it possible that you can switch your supplier with owing about £500 on your account. If you can is it wise to move suppliers at the moment with the new charges coming in? Any help appreciated.

Anthorn

Usually the figure which is passed around is £200, i.e. you can switch supplier if you owe £200 or less. But that depends on whether the new supplier is willing to take on the debt because in doing so they will pay off the debt with the old supplier. If they do it is likely they will insist on a prepayment meter with repayments through the meter.

I think the best way is to contact the prospective new supplier and explain the situation to see if they will take on the debt and what their terms would be.

If you will be subject to a price increase with your present supplier then probably switch at your earliest opportunity.

welshmoneylover

Tillydot wrote: »

I am with Eon and have been with them for 20 years. I can never afford to switch because I always owe them a balance. I am all electric and my house is very cold. I have a payment plan with them for £100 month which I pay £25 per week when I get my pension paid. My deal ends at the end of January and I have had a look at the new deals Eon is offering and it will go up from £85 per month to £113 per month (the deal) is it possible that you can switch your supplier with owing about £500 on your account. If you can is it wise to move suppliers at the moment with the new charges coming in? Any help appreciated.

Probably not, you would need to clear the balance.
Are you entitled to the WHD?

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Tillydot wrote: »

I am with Eon and have been with them for 20 years. I can never afford to switch because I always owe them a balance. I am all electric and my house is very cold. I have a payment plan with them for £100 month which I pay £25 per week when I get my pension paid. My deal ends at the end of January and I have had a look at the new deals Eon is offering and it will go up from £85 per month to £113 per month (the deal) is it possible that you can switch your supplier with owing about £500 on your account. If you can is it wise to move suppliers at the moment with the new charges coming in? Any help appreciated.

Hello Tillydot and thanks for being with us for so long. I do understand why you're looking to switch with the increase in costs we're predicting.

Each situation is looked at individually. Usually we object to switches away if there's a debt over £200; the debt is over 28 days old; or we've sent a formal request for payment more than 28 days ago (not including a first reminder). In these cases, we write to let customers know we're objecting and what they should do to remove the objection.

As I say, each case is looked at individually. If we do object, have a think about welshmoneylover's advice and see if you're entitled to Warm Home Discount. It's worth £140 for 2018/19. There's more information including an application form on our website.

Also on our website are details of some other ways we might be able to offer support. This includes information about help with energy saving measures like boiler replacements and loft/cavity wall insulation. These and other tips are designed to help you save money by saving energy.

Let me know if you need any more information Tillydot as happy to help.

Malc