EON and high bill based on estimates, and that Morrisons did not report my telephone readings...

stepheye

Hello, I recently got a bill for £755 from EON. I have been on what I thought was a lowish price gas and electricity dual deal (Fix Online version 9) with EON for a year. I'm a bit shocked. Before anyone beraaes me for not photographing/recording my readings at the time I switched, and then every three months, and indeed for not reading my bills properly, I just want to say that my life has been in turmoil due to illness, my own and family members, yet I had still sent six month readings to EON (or so I thought) via the Morrison telephone service for meter readings. EON say that they never received these readings. Can I do anything (I'm desperately searching my paperwork at home for my readings)?

I am having a dispute settlement telephone conference with them next week.... By their calculations I think my bill for a two bedroom house with all of us (myself and partner, then stepson arriving last September) out during the day, would come to  £484 (monthly7 direct debits) plus £755 EON meter reader visit in late January. My one year deal started mid February 2018. EON say that I was £200 in credit from my direct debits, so the actual bill for this statement is £755 minus £200, so this is £555.

I had paid EON 5 X £18, then 7 x £46. In total this is £412. So add £412 to £555 and this comes to £967 per annum. Is this reasonable? We have a daily shower each, gas heating and cooking. We do use heating after 6pm at around 18.5c until 10pm but not all evening.
Even if this is reasonable, surely they should have a record of the Morrison readings so I shouldn't have this big bill, it should have been spread out via my monthly direct debits?

Thanks!

Gerry1

Forget what's happened in the past, all that's relevant is the current situation.  Take today's actual meter readings, subtract the opening meter readings and do the sums to work out the cost to date, not forgetting standing charges and VAT.  Then subtract all the direct debits to date and that's what you now owe them.  If you can't afford to pay it now, ask them very nicely for a payment plan.

E.On also offer Variable Direct Debit so once things are sorted out that might be a better option to avoid bill shock, although of course the bills will be higher in the winter months.

You haven't given any kWh figures (thinking in £ is a mistake in itself) but your consumption does not seem unreasonable.

BTW - Wrong forum, should be in Energy.

stepheye

Thanks for the feedback, and sorry about the wrong forum! I need to track down the opening readings (which sound like they were estimates between the last company (EDF)  and the current supplier (E-on), rather than an actual reading made by a human being.

elsien

They will have agreed an opening reading between them if one wasn't given and that should be on your first bill from Eon and your final settlement one from EDF.

stepheye

Thank you for this advice. I am stil annoyed though that the readings I gave to Morrisons weren't registered or used by E-on.

Talldave

stepheye said:

Thank you for this advice. I am stil annoyed though that the readings I gave to Morrisons weren't registered or used by E-on.

Which is your negotiating point to get an affordable repayment plan set up. As already said above, you've used what you've used and it needs paying for. It's not your fault your readings weren't used.

Robin9

Has your fixed tariff with EON now come to an end and has EON emailed/written to you saying you are free for change suppliers?
If so have you tried to change suppliers?

PS Generally it is thought that dual fuel is not a good idea. It's a bit more effort but there are savings to be had.

stepheye

Why is a fixed tariff dual fuel plan not a good idea please?
An update on all of this is that I have found evidence of the readings I sent to Morrison which Eon say they never received and Eon have asked me to send this to them...not sure how as I can't find an email address, although the rather aggressive 'resolutions' department person who phoned me yesterday (after leaving me in a phone queue for 50mins) said there is one....
They are billing me an unexpected £750 saying this is for the past 12 months, but that makes no sense at all. It must be for at least 24 months as that's when I joined Eon, and I don't think I read the meter when I joined (stupid I know, but I was dealing with a lot in life). 
I am getting very angry with this company. Not saying I'm perfect, but I think this is 'sharp' practice and I am not impressed!

elsien

It can be cheaper to do them separately so people say to check to make sure that you're not automatically paying more without thinking about it.
However in my case, I didn't find that much difference so I stayed with dual fuel for convenience.

Talldave

stepheye said:

Why is a fixed tariff dual fuel plan not a good idea please?

Because many people can save money by buying their gas & electricity from different suppliers.  For me, that's because the cheapest electricity supplier doesn't do gas and my gas supplier's electricity costs a lot more.

You have to do the checks for your consumption figures - remember to do a whole market search and do 3 "runs" - dual fuel, electricity only and gas only.  Ignore the imaginary savings that comparison sites quote and just look at the total annual costs.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

stepheye said:

Hello, I recently got a bill for £755 from EON. I have been on what I thought was a lowish price gas and electricity dual deal (Fix Online version 9) with EON for a year. I'm a bit shocked. Before anyone beraaes me for not photographing/recording my readings at the time I switched, and then every three months, and indeed for not reading my bills properly, I just want to say that my life has been in turmoil due to illness, my own and family members, yet I had still sent six month readings to EON (or so I thought) via the Morrison telephone service for meter readings. EON say that they never received these readings. Can I do anything (I'm desperately searching my paperwork at home for my readings)?

I am having a dispute settlement telephone conference with them next week.... By their calculations I think my bill for a two bedroom house with all of us (myself and partner, then stepson arriving last September) out during the day, would come to  £484 (monthly7 direct debits) plus £755 EON meter reader visit in late January. My one year deal started mid February 2018. EON say that I was £200 in credit from my direct debits, so the actual bill for this statement is £755 minus £200, so this is £555.

I had paid EON 5 X £18, then 7 x £46. In total this is £412. So add £412 to £555 and this comes to £967 per annum. Is this reasonable? We have a daily shower each, gas heating and cooking. We do use heating after 6pm at around 18.5c until 10pm but not all evening.
Even if this is reasonable, surely they should have a record of the Morrison readings so I shouldn't have this big bill, it should have been spread out via my monthly direct debits?

Thanks!

stepheye said:

Thanks for the feedback, and sorry about the wrong forum! I need to track down the opening readings (which sound like they were estimates between the last company (EDF)  and the current supplier (E-on), rather than an actual reading made by a human being.

stepheye said:

Thank you for this advice. I am stil annoyed though that the readings I gave to Morrisons weren't registered or used by E-on.

stepheye said:

Why is a fixed tariff dual fuel plan not a good idea please?
An update on all of this is that I have found evidence of the readings I sent to Morrison which Eon say they never received and Eon have asked me to send this to them...not sure how as I can't find an email address, although the rather aggressive 'resolutions' department person who phoned me yesterday (after leaving me in a phone queue for 50mins) said there is one....
They are billing me an unexpected £750 saying this is for the past 12 months, but that makes no sense at all. It must be for at least 24 months as that's when I joined Eon, and I don't think I read the meter when I joined (stupid I know, but I was dealing with a lot in life). 
I am getting very angry with this company. Not saying I'm perfect, but I think this is 'sharp' practice and I am not impressed!

Hello stepheye and we'll be happy to look at a payment plan to spread the balance over a more manageable period.

We'll also be happy to rebill the account using any actual readings you have. Not sure what happened to the meter readings you gave Morrisons. We're always keen to have as many readings as possible and offer several ways for customers to let us have them. These include online through our website, phone app, Live Chat service or Social Media channels (Facebook and twitter); by phone, text, email or letter. You might also be eligible for smart meters. These send us readings automatically so you don't have to and help take away sudden bill shocks following a series of estimates.

I'm sorry about the long wait on the phone. You might like to try the Live Chat service on our website. Advisors are online from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday and between 8am and 6pm Saturdays. You can also email through the website using the 'contact us' page.

If you didn't give us readings when you switched, we'll have used estimates and sent these to the old supplier so they could use them on their final bill. This stops the same energy from being charged twice.

Fix Online v9 was a one year fixed deal on sale between 12 and 19 February 2019. We'll have written to you 42-49 days before the end date to let you know it was coming up for renewal. As this tariff will have ended and unless you've told us differently, I suspect your account has defaulted to our standard Energy Plan. There are more competitive products available, both with us and with the other suppliers, and I'd suggest popping your details on the independent Price Comparison sites. These will show you what's available across the market. As Gerry1 says, use kWh for a more accurate picture. Usage details can be seen on your bills and online account.

There are no exit fees with Energy Plan leaving you free to switch at any time without penalty.

Hope this points you in the right direction stepheye and that your health issues are more tolerable.

Malc