Help with EON please!

stepheye

I am getting very stressed by Eon. I have been paying energy bills with different utility companies (including EON previously) for over 30 years. EON as it presently operates is the worst of all of them in terms of transparency and customer service.
I signed to a two year deal in February 2018... There was a complete fiasco with EON claiming that the company they used for phone readings (Morrisons) had not given them my readings, so my bills had been estimated and I owed them approx 750 pounds when my meter was read on 29th January 2019. I eventually agreed with EON in January 2020, to pay back 370 pounds (in a payment plan over 12 months whereby my direct debit was increased to 80 pounds a month), given that Morrisons had evidence that they had sent my actual readings to EON.
In October 2020 I phoned Eon to ask them how much I still owe, as I would like to clear my debt, plus if the debt has been cleared, lower my monthly direct debit. I was told it wasn't possible to tell me this as the bill for October needed to be amended with my actual readings so they could not see the amount I still owed on their system (?!?).

I phoned again today, but after a thirty minute wait for a customer services operative I had to go to a meeting. I tried the online chat (which had not been working at 9.45am when I had phoned). The person told me to supply another reading, when I repeated that I just wanted to know my account balance (including my previous debt) they told me in the chat to apply for a smart meter and ended the chat.

What can I do now please? I just feel like this company is scamming me. I have no idea of gas and electricity bills... I don't think they are transparent at all, if it had been properly explained when I took up this two year deal I would have applied for one with an economy 7 rate, which I don't use and costs me more in my daily rate for example. I'm not a stupid person, in fact I'm relatively highly educated (Masters degree), although I've been very busy, and not as attentive perhaps as I could/should have been, but I've never had this problem before with a gas/electric supplier.. so how are these companies allowed to get away with this behaviour? 

Any advice much appreciated!

Stephanie

Gerry1

If you have a Master's degree you should find it easy enough to calculate what you owe by looking at the difference between today's meter readings and the opening ones and doing the sums.  There's even a website that will convert the gas volume (which is what the meter measures) to kWh (which is what you are billed for).

welshmoneylover

If you have a masters degree surely you would know that economy 7 is for all electric property yet you have gas? 

Gerry1

stepheye said:

The person told me to supply another reading, when I repeated that I just wanted to know my account balance (including my previous debt) they told me in the chat to apply for a smart meter and ended the chat.

If you refuse to give them a meter reading, how do you expect them to calculate your account balance?

stepheye said:

if it had been properly explained when I took up this two year deal I would have applied for one with an economy 7 rate, which I don't use and costs me more in my daily rate for example.

Did you mean to say 'I would not have applied for one with an economy 7 rate..." ?

stepheye

Gerry1 said:

If you have a Master's degree you should find it easy enough to calculate what you owe by looking at the difference between today's meter readings and the opening ones and doing the sums.  There's even a website that will convert the gas volume (which is what the meter measures) to kWh (which is what you are billed for).

You would think so wouldn't you, but I can't understand how these things are calculated... I knew I shouldn't have said that I have a Masters degree, it's not a British thing to say that you are educated ; ) I wasn't saying that I was better than anyone wothout this qulaification, just emphasizing that utility bills really aren't easy to understand for many people...

stepheye

Gerry1 said:

stepheye said:

The person told me to supply another reading, when I repeated that I just wanted to know my account balance (including my previous debt) they told me in the chat to apply for a smart meter and ended the chat.

If you refuse to give them a meter reading, how do you expect them to calculate your account balance?

stepheye said:

if it had been properly explained when I took up this two year deal I would have applied for one with an economy 7 rate, which I don't use and costs me more in my daily rate for example.

Did you mean to say 'I would not have applied for one with an economy 7 rate..." ?

Gerry1 said:

stepheye said:

The person told me to supply another reading, when I repeated that I just wanted to know my account balance (including my previous debt) they told me in the chat to apply for a smart meter and ended the chat.

If you refuse to give them a meter reading, how do you expect them to calculate your account balance?

stepheye said:

if it had been properly explained when I took up this two year deal I would have applied for one with an economy 7 rate, which I don't use and costs me more in my daily rate for example.

Did you mean to say 'I would not have applied for one with an economy 7 rate..." ?

Gerry1 said:

stepheye said:

The person told me to supply another reading, when I repeated that I just wanted to know my account balance (including my previous debt) they told me in the chat to apply for a smart meter and ended the chat.

If you refuse to give them a meter reading, how do you expect them to calculate your account balance?

stepheye said:

if it had been properly explained when I took up this two year deal I would have applied for one with an economy 7 rate, which I don't use and costs me more in my daily rate for example.

Did you mean to say 'I would not have applied for one with an economy 7 rate..." ?

Gerry1 said:

stepheye said:

The person told me to supply another reading, when I repeated that I just wanted to know my account balance (including my previous debt) they told me in the chat to apply for a smart meter and ended the chat.

If you refuse to give them a meter reading, how do you expect them to calculate your account balance?

stepheye said:

if it had been properly explained when I took up this two year deal I would have applied for one with an economy 7 rate, which I don't use and costs me more in my daily rate for example.

Did you mean to say 'I would not have applied for one with an economy 7 rate..." ?

Writing in a bit of a hurry (multi-tasking). What I meant to say, is why do they need a meter reading in early November, when I gave them one in late November? Irrelevant of what amount of gas and electricity I may have used since my October bill (which came after my reading which I gave to them), they should have been able to say whether my debt plan was still needed (whether the amount owing has been paid off) don't you think?

Yes, I meant 'not' for economy 7.
I appreciate the help, but please don't judge. I have been recovering from cancer treatment and trying to get back to full-time work, plus moved just before my diagnosis, and a family member also had cancer treatment at the same time, so life has not been easy, even with my Masters degree ; )

Gerry1

Subtract the opening electricity meter reading from today's reading to get the kWh you've used.  Multiply the daily charge by the number of days you've been on supply.  Add 5% VAT if not already included.

Same for gas but convert from volume to kWh as per the link previously provided.

Add the totals together and that represents the cost of what you've used so far.  Subtract the total of the direct debits shown on your bank statements and that's what you now owe them.  (There may be some discounts for dual fuel and direct debit payment.)

stepheye

Eugh sorry, meant I gave them the actual meter reading in late October....not November...

stepheye

Gerry1 said:

Subtract the opening electricity meter reading from today's reading to get the kWh you've used.  Multiply the daily charge by the number of days you've been on supply.  Add 5% VAT if not already included.

Same for gas but convert from volume to kWh as per the link previously provided.

Add the totals together and that represents the cost of what you've used so far.  Subtract the total of the direct debits shown on your bank statements and that's what you now owe them.  (There may be some discounts for dual fuel and direct debit payment.)

Stupidly... I did not record my opening meter readings for both the gas and electricity in 2018, but I will remember to next time I sign up to an energy company, and it won't be EON. Thanks!

E.ON_Company_Representative:_Helena

HI Stephanie,

Great advice here about bills and how to calculate them, thank you all 

I am sorry about the wait to speak to us, we have been super busy, we're working hard to make this better.

There are a few things you can do to make this simpler and to keep on top of the account, if you pop some up to date meter reads on to your online account, you can then produce a real time bill or balance. If you click balance it will show you what is still outstanding or if there is a credit.

Keep providing regular reads this way and you'll know where you are.

Once you know exactly where the account stands you can use the Direct Debit manager tool, this will help you calculate how much you need to be paying each month.

If you don't need/want an economy 7 tariff, we can change the tariff for you to a one rate, please speak to us about doing this.

Hope this helps a little.

Helena

stepheye

E.ON_Company_Representative:_Helena said:

HI Stephanie,

Great advice here about bills and how to calculate them, thank you all 

I am sorry about the wait to speak to us, we have been super busy, we're working hard to make this better.

There are a few things you can do to make this simpler and to keep on top of the account, if you pop some up to date meter reads on to your online account, you can then produce a real time bill or balance. If you click balance it will show you what is still outstanding or if there is a credit.

Keep providing regular reads this way and you'll know where you are.

Once you know exactly where the account stands you can use the Direct Debit manager tool, this will help you calculate how much you need to be paying each month.

If you don't need/want an economy 7 tariff, we can change the tariff for you to a one rate, please speak to us about doing this.

Hope this helps a little.

Helena

Thank you. I will take readings this week and try to phone EON again. I just don't understand though, why they couldn't say if my 'debt' had been paid off or not, and if the debt payment plan was still active? Surely these things must appear on people's records? Sorry, but I am a bit cynical here, and think that perhaps EON wants to keep the direct debit high for as long as possible? I can see why if people are underpaying for the energy that they use, but what if they are not? Perhaps I would get any credit back when my plan ends next February, but my concern is that I won't be able to leave EON for another company if they won't say/won't cancel the debt repayment plan...As a representative of EON are you able to confirm that EON would not behave in this way?
 Also, I did ask earlier this year for the Economy 7 plan to be cancelled, but for a better rate to therefore be applied to my daily payment amount, but I was told it wasn't possible to change a plan once it had been activated.....?

PS: A further frustration, I have discovered that my phone company have billed me over seven pounds for the 30 minutes I was on the phone to EON using the 0345 number. This is truly appalling.

Many thanks, Stephanie