EON stopped electricity switch for 18 months

helpatel

Hi All, sorry for the rant and please ignore if this is too much detail but I am at the end of my tether as we have been trying to leave EON and switch to a competitor company for over 18 months and every time EON have stopped the switch. After some telephone calls the issue seemed to be that there was a non functioning extra meter at the property. We arranged with EON to come and remove this meter which they did (Aug 19) so we applied to switch again (Oct 19). This switch was stopped, because EON had not updated their system to confirm the meter had been removed. I had to then send photographs of the removal confirmation tag EON engineers had left when they removed the meter to prove it had been removed. We applied to switch again (January 20) which was once again stopped by EON. They hadn't updated either their own system or the national register. In March of this year we got a letter confirming the removal of the meter and confirming a switch would now go ahead - it didn't. They had failed to update the information held on the national database.  EON agreed to then do this, but for some reason tied the removed MPAN number to the existing one on the national register thus preventing any other company from taking the supply. I even contacted UK Power networks who were incredibly sympathetic and helpful and said it takes 14 days to update their system once the energy provider has contacted them. It apparently took EON a further 4 months to supply UK Power Networks with the correct information. EON have acknowledged that they are at fault,  and have offered £50 as a goodwill gesture or told me to go to the ombudsman.  I have just calculated the actual cost of EON electricity bills vs the competitor company we wanted to switch to and over the past 12 months we would have saved over £250 had EON not stopped us moving our account. Any advice as to what I should do? Should I go to the ombudsman or just go straight to lawyers?

Gerry1

Try the ombudsman first.  Probably cheaper than lawyers !

https://www.gov.uk/make-money-claim

dogshome

To get to the Ombudsman you first have to go through Eon's Complaint Procedure - This requires a WRITTEN letter headed Complaint, setting out the history of the problem - If after 56 days from the date of posting Eon have failed to put matters right, you then go to the Ombudsman.

The Ombudsman isn't known for awarding generous compensation payments to wronged customers, ( £100+ is rare), but as you have obviously kept a log of what your Energy costs have been with Eon v the new supplier,  put in claim in your letter for £xxx as the cost so far, and remind them the clock is still ticking

helpatel

Thanks for your responses, I have got a written letter of reply from EON from January but the rest of the communication has been on email. It is really difficult to get to speak to anyone as there is a generic complaints number so I have to wait for the person handling this complaint to telephone me, otherwise I have to email and just wait for a reply. The last telephone conversation I had stated their compensation offer would be withdrawn if I go to the ombudsman and if they are only going to offer something similar I don't know if its worth the hassle and waiting.  I calculated the financial cost of being forced to stay with EON for 12 months today and have since submitted this to the complaints department so will see what they say.....

[Deleted User]

A decision on the way forward, in my opinion, comes down to the level of proof that you are able provide to a Court to justify a claim for £250: for example, did you take any action to reduce the potential extra cost by switching to the cheapest E.oN tariff? It also looks as if you have calculated the cost by looking back to your first attempt to switch which might be argued as being unreasonable as the extra meter might not be the fault of E.oN: if you have taken a later switching date as the basis for calculation you must be on a very expensive tariff to come up with a saving of £250. Remember to ignore all savings quoted by a price comparison website. The basis for your claim must be that the last 18 months has cost you £1000 but had the switch gone through you would have only paid £750.

If you believe that you have a case against E.oN then I would set out your claim in all its glory in a detailed ‘Letter Before Action’ before taking the claim to The Small Claims Court. I would not involve a solicitor. The amount of loss does not justify the cost. 

Going to the EO might appear attractive; you could well end up winning the case but without any increase in compensation. The EO is not known for big financial gestures, and it might conclude that EoN has already made a fair offer. Perversely, you could lose which would go against you should you decide to go to Court.

Cardew

I agree that the energy ombudsman is unlikely to give a generous award. It seems that the organisation farms out 'low level' cases to a commercial firm who are not interested in spending time on cases.

If you go to the Ombudsman and get an unsatisfactory response, your chances of success in further legal action are slight.

However you don't have to go to the Ombudsman, you can go straight to the Small Claims court. Personally I would submit a claim to E-On for £xxx and state that if that claim is not met you will be going straight to the Small Claims court.

It is very easy to go to the Small Claims Court. You can read up about it on-line; but you must be able to prove your financial loss.