Electricity provider conundrum

Risnog

Hi everyone, I'm tied down with a company I never wanted to be with and can't leave. Please can someone advise?


- I moved into a new build property in November 2018. It was already registered with E-on by the developer.
- As a keen MSE Energy club member, I tried to move providers to Bulb early on. Bulb contacted me to say E-on had registered the post code incorrectly with National Grid and only they could change it.
- I called E-on. They said it takes a month to change and they will contact me when done. They also told me a dual fuel meter had been installed in error and they'd let me know the next steps. The whole building is electric only.

- 2 months later, a neighbour spoke to me saying her 1 bedroom flat had been chaged £500 for a month of electricity with E-on. She was given a discount and is getting the meter changed by E-on.
- Yesterday I called E-on to work out what was happening. They said the meter is not incorrect, the tariff is and the last calltaker should not have told me they have to change the postcode on the National Grid. Apparently they don't do that. They said they would call me back at 16:10 with a billing amount as I just wanted to know how much it is (then to leave!)
- Surprise, nobody called me back. I've called back today and was put onto the complaints team as there had been a fault with the meter (now fixed apparently). They said my bill is £550 for three months, my previous bills (same sized flat & energy use) was £80 a month in winter maximum. They've said I can move to their cheapest tariff £124 p/m a month and they'll backdate me. But I'm so annoyed that I wanted to leave (and pay £80 a month elsewhere- I was quoted £40 from Bulb, but I think it may be more than that- like previously), but due to E-ons mistake, they have prevented me from moving and as such, I'll be paying at least £132 difference because of E-ons refusal to let me go (£124x3=£372), (£80x3= £240) £372-£240=132



So firstly:
1) Am I forced to pay this higher bill?
2) What shall I do about the dual fuel meter?
3) Do I have more rights given E-on have not let me leave them for 3 months now? I made every effort to move to a cheaper supplier early on, but have been tied down by them.



Any constructive advice would be greatly appreciated!

Robin9

Have you done your own calculations to see how much the bill should be ?

What consumption did you quote to Bulb?

What is a duel fuel meter ? Do you mean separate meters for gas and electric or an E7 meter ?

[Deleted User]

Hi,


never heard of a dual fuel meter, gas and electricity?


Do you mean a dual/two rate meter for electricity?

PeterGr

The tariff that E-ON have offered to backdate is not £124 per month, and your alternative with Bulb is not £80, or £40 per month. Each tariff will have a standing charge, and a unit rate for electricity. If you have meter reading(s) from when you moved in and now you can calculate the cost under both tariffs.


This is what you would have to pay E-ON if you left today, and you have a real difference to use in a formal complaint. Present the facts.


Have you checked the terms and conditions of the tariff that E-ON have offered? Does it have exit fees which would deter you from switching?

Risnog

Peter Gr

- I do have the meter readings for now and from when I moved in, but how do I calculate that?
E-on have only just registered me today and suggest I choose a tariff of theirs. I would choose one with no-exit fee, but can't switch until I have finances with E-on agreed upon.


frugalmacdugal
I think I must mean dual two rate. I was only told this by my neighbour who has the same meter as me and E-on are changing. Nobody from E-on has communicated whether or not I have the right meter.


Robin 9
I haven't done my own calculation. How do you do that? I didn't know you could as I'm not used to smart meters. As above, I don't think I mean dual fuel- it's what my neighbour said she is changing from. It's "duel" something!

Robin9

You say new house - is this brand new or new to you ?

If brand new the electric meter would be set to 000000 depending on the meter you may simply look at the display mine goes through a short cycle of time/day/reading - this is in kwh.

To calculate your bill

as your told Petergr above

reading now less initial reading = x
number of days between the two readings = y
cost = (x+y) times unit rate times 1.05

(its easy on a simple spreadsheet)

if you dont know your tariff assume about 16p for a unit cost - average consumption is 250kwh a month = that would give 1000kwh (for Nov to now) and a cost of £160. Daily standing charge (Nov to now) say 25p for 120 days = £30. Add £160 to £30 gives £190 then add VAT at 5% to give about £200

If you have electric heating there are more readings and the tariff is a E7 tariff. Thats two rate

Do you have gas ?

Are you paying Eon for both gas and electric ? Thats dual fuel.

Have you had a bill from Eon at all ?

[Deleted User]

Hi,

Robin9 wrote: »

To calculate your bill

as your told Petergr above

reading now less initial reading = x
number of days between the two readings = y
cost = (x+y) times unit rate times 1.05

(its easy on a simple spreadsheet)

cost should be:


(x times unit rate) + (y times daily standing charge) x 1.05.

Robin9

I'm guessing about the unit rates - they are all on your bill.

Do you operate your account online - you can download your bills from there.

PeterGr

[Deleted User] wrote:

cost should be:


(x times unit rate) + (y times daily standing charge) x 1.05.

Well to be precise it should be. either....

((x times unit rate) + (y times daily standing charge) ) ÷ 100 x 1.05
if the tariff rates are in pence, excluding VAT.
or....
((x times unit rate) + (y times daily standing charge) ) ÷ 100
if the tariff rates are in pence including VAT

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Risnog wrote: »

Hi everyone, I'm tied down with a company I never wanted to be with and can't leave. Please can someone advise?


- I moved into a new build property in November 2018. It was already registered with E-on by the developer.
- As a keen MSE Energy club member, I tried to move providers to Bulb early on. Bulb contacted me to say E-on had registered the post code incorrectly with National Grid and only they could change it.
- I called E-on. They said it takes a month to change and they will contact me when done. They also told me a dual fuel meter had been installed in error and they'd let me know the next steps. The whole building is electric only.

- 2 months later, a neighbour spoke to me saying her 1 bedroom flat had been chaged £500 for a month of electricity with E-on. She was given a discount and is getting the meter changed by E-on.
- Yesterday I called E-on to work out what was happening. They said the meter is not incorrect, the tariff is and the last calltaker should not have told me they have to change the postcode on the National Grid. Apparently they don't do that. They said they would call me back at 16:10 with a billing amount as I just wanted to know how much it is (then to leave!)
- Surprise, nobody called me back. I've called back today and was put onto the complaints team as there had been a fault with the meter (now fixed apparently). They said my bill is £550 for three months, my previous bills (same sized flat & energy use) was £80 a month in winter maximum. They've said I can move to their cheapest tariff £124 p/m a month and they'll backdate me. But I'm so annoyed that I wanted to leave (and pay £80 a month elsewhere- I was quoted £40 from Bulb, but I think it may be more than that- like previously), but due to E-ons mistake, they have prevented me from moving and as such, I'll be paying at least £132 difference because of E-ons refusal to let me go (£124x3=£372), (£80x3= £240) £372-£240=132



So firstly:
1) Am I forced to pay this higher bill?
2) What shall I do about the dual fuel meter?
3) Do I have more rights given E-on have not let me leave them for 3 months now? I made every effort to move to a cheaper supplier early on, but have been tied down by them.



Any constructive advice would be greatly appreciated!

Risnog wrote: »

Peter Gr

- I do have the meter readings for now and from when I moved in, but how do I calculate that?
E-on have only just registered me today and suggest I choose a tariff of theirs. I would choose one with no-exit fee, but can't switch until I have finances with E-on agreed upon.


frugalmacdugal
I think I must mean dual two rate. I was only told this by my neighbour who has the same meter as me and E-on are changing. Nobody from E-on has communicated whether or not I have the right meter.


Robin 9
I haven't done my own calculation. How do you do that? I didn't know you could as I'm not used to smart meters. As above, I don't think I mean dual fuel- it's what my neighbour said she is changing from. It's "duel" something!

Hello Risnog and I'm sorry we've not called back as promised. Also, that we've given you conflicting information.

To be clear, if the address is wrong on the National Database then it's definitely our responsibility to amend it. All suppliers use these databases when putting through a change of supplier and discrepancies do cause delays.

It's good you've raised a complaint. A dedicated Complaint Manager will sort this and let you know when it's fixed.

It sounds like you've a dual rate meter, possibly Economy 7. These are often installed in all electric properties particularly where there are storage heaters and electric water immersion heaters. If it is Economy 7, there'll be 7 hours at night where all electricity used is charged at cheaper off peak rates. I suspect this is what your neighbour is referring to.

With us, if the meter is Economy 7, we give the option of having a single or two rate tariff. No need to change the meter. We add the day and night usage together and charge it all at the one rate. Economy 7 tariffs have a premium day rate and cheaper night prices. To benefit, you need to use a significant amount of electricity during the night times (your Complaint Manager will be able to tell you these times). The actual amount depends on the region and tariff.

As you want to change supplier, make sure you avoid going on to one of our tariffs with exit fees. Not all have them. I'd choose one with the lowest unit rates without exit fees and take us up on our offer to backdate this.

Sorry again for the standard of information given previously Risnog and hope this is a little clearer.

Malc