Help! EON no credit refund AND DD still taken

stillwaitingforrefund2019

I just wanted to write to get some advice of my ongoing issues closing my EON account, lack of refund of account credit and continued direct debit payments still being taken.

Hoping the information can be used to inform other potential customers’ decisions and maybe, just maybe, spur someone from EON into action to avoid another customer being messed around like I have.

I sold my flat on 3rd October and called EON the next day to close the account and get a refund of credit. As I hadn’t lived in the property for nearly a year I had built up a credit of over £1000. I was told my account would be updated and a refund would be issued.

The next day I got a revised statement on my online account showing the final meter reads I had relayed on the phone. There was also a notice on the top of the account page saying “We’re closing your account. We’ll send you a confirmation email once it’s closed.”

I believed all to be in hand. As recommended on the The Refunds FAQ page on EONs, I did not cancel my Direct Debit as I assumed it could be refunded directly to my bank account.

Checking my bank statements again on 31st October, I noticed not only had my credit refund not been paid, but another £98 had been taken on the 15th October, the monthly direct debit payment.

Checking my online EON account, the message was still displayed as closing, but the credit amount had gone up by another £98.

I immediately called EON to get an explanation. The chap I spoke to was nice enough and seemed to share my frustration.

I was promised that the outstanding credit (including the additional £98) would be refunded and apologised for the inconvenience. He also asked if I wanted to open a complaint, which I declined at the time because he was adamant this was sorted and my money would be refunded.

On the phone I asked how long it would take and he said it could take up to 10 working days, so that would take us to 14th. I joked that that was the day before the Direct Debit usually came out and I wouldn’t be happy if I got no refund and another DD payment came out. He assured me there was no way this could happen.

And here we are on the 15th and guess what? Another £98 has been taken out of my bank account. No refund and no communication from EON.

Currently waiting for the phone lines to open so I can call again to see what can be done.

So there we are, in six weeks I have not been refunded credit owing to me, an additional unauthorised £196 has been taken from my bank account after I called to close the EON account, when I was told it would not be. I can’t close the DD under threat that it will take even longer to get a refund (according to EONs refund page) and despite calling them twice, I am still no closer to getting my refund or getting them to stop taking money from my account for a property I no longer own.

Gerry1

Cancel that DD immediately ! It won't stop them refunding your credit to your account. Even if it did, they could ask for your sort code and account number or simply pop a cheque in the post.

You could also instruct the bank to reverse the last two DDs immediately.

dogshome

Contact your Bank - Under the Direct Debit Guarantee rules they can re-call those two last D/Debits, and any further one's if Eon don't sort themselves out.


Eons line that cancelling your D/D payments will delay payment of your credit is cr*p - This gambit exists so that Eon can recover any debt on a closed account, which does not apply to you.

E.ON_Company_Representative:_Helena

Good morning stillwaitingforrefund2019 and welcome to the forums,

It sounds like the account is stuck and hasn't been able to close properly and that's why the Direct Debits are still coming out.

You need to speak to the specific home moves team, they are the ones that can release the account and get this closed.

They are available on Live Chat via the website if that would be easier than calling.

As dogshome says, you can contact your bank and request an indemnity claim for the Direct Debits that have been taken.

The reason we advise not to cancel the Direct Debit is because it's quicker to send a refund back to a bank account. If you did cancel it, we would have to send a cheque and that takes a bit more time.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Helena

stillwaitingforrefund2019

Thanks all, especially Helena. I managed to find the live chat and spoke to someone at EON.


Again, they did apologise, said it shouldn't have happened and would get a refund but crucially this time, promised to call me back today to update me.



Things go wrong, sure, but it's what happens when things go wrong that is the mettle of a company, so it was nice to finally get a promise of some follow up that didn't involve me having to chase for the next action.


It's interesting that some people in the thread are saying cancel the DD, others are not. The rep here and on the live chat both said not to cancel, so I live in hope, but I'm thankful I had enough to cover the unexpected payments otherwise that could have caused some issues... likewise going to my bank, it's not something I've done before or even knew was possible so could just see the black mark against my name.



Given the stress and hassle this has caused, while it's great that they are apologetic, it would be nice for more commitment to ensure this sort of thing doesn't happen again and when a customer's account is closed this is regularly reviewed to check the outcome, might even save a bit of paper for the complaints team, as reading a couple of similar threads, looks like I'm not the only one who has been stuck with this before.



Thanks to everyone for the advice, going forward I will definitely do a better job of staying on top of credit amounts and adjusting the DD (I'd wrongly assumed this was reviewed and adjusted automatically, seem to recall this had happened before). I'll also go straight to the live chat (couldn't find it last time?), as what I was promised on the calls were not actioned.



Here's hoping EON follow through this time, I get my follow-up call this afternoon and my credit returned.



Will keep you posted.

Gerry1

If you had asked E.On to bill by variable direct debit you wouldn't have had this problem. Check whether you new supplier offers this.

gme28

Can anyone help? EON are avoiding repaying me the significant credit balance on my account - a 4 figure sum. I'm not switching, I just want the credit repaid. So far I have spoken to 4 different advisors who have all given me different versions of why the payment has not been made and who have all made promises which have not been kept. It takes 30 minutes to get through to an advisor each time. I have tried live chat and I get more explanations and promises which are not kept. Some live chat messages are impossible to understand - like this one “on sent I over to manger (sic) to look in to this and sent to you bank account for you I am sorry I can get one just know (sic) but it will be sent for you as it a lot of money to be sent out” . It's been 2 weeks now of getting different stories every time, but no refund. The worst customer experience ever. Can anyone help? Are any E.On representatives reading this? 

Gerry1

gme28 said:

Can anyone help? EON are avoiding repaying me the significant credit balance on my account - a 4 figure sum. I'm not switching, I just want the credit repaid. So far I have spoken to 4 different advisors who have all given me different versions of why the payment has not been made and who have all made promises which have not been kept. It takes 30 minutes to get through to an advisor each time. I have tried live chat and I get more explanations and promises which are not kept. Some live chat messages are impossible to understand - like this one “on sent I over to manger (sic) to look in to this and sent to you bank account for you I am sorry I can get one just know (sic) but it will be sent for you as it a lot of money to be sent out” . It's been 2 weeks now of getting different stories every time, but no refund. The worst customer experience ever. Can anyone help? Are any E.On representatives reading this? 

Welcome to the forum.  BTW, it's better to start a new thread: it can get confusing working out which answer relates to which poster if several people has gatecrashed.

The answer is simple: vote with your feet.  Switch to cheaper suppliers (separate suppliers are often cheaper) and that will trigger a closing bill together with the refund of your credit, with automatic compo if it doesn't go according to plan.