Eon Switch Nightmare

VeeOh

Hello,

I switched to Eon in June this year after being with Octopus for a year - nothing wrong with them and I actually had a fantastic experience but silly me, thought Eon would be cheaper. It was at face value in terms of the rate but what they slashed there, they made up by inflating my usage.

They installed smart meters in August and things went downhill from there. The first bill they issued between June and October claiming that I have used 4x the amount of electricity and gas than I had with Octopus (this is taking into account that between that period, there was no heating being used). I compared the bill for the same period with Octopus and the usage was WAY lower. Of course I am taking into account that I was working from home between March and October (I am now back at work full time) but there was little discernible difference between my usage Jan - June while with Octopus but then it miracilously jumped when the new Eon smart meters were installed?!?! When I queried the huge disparity in the bill, they said it was because, and I quote 'there will be more light being used, the kettle maybe being boiled a few more times, microwaves etc'. They then figured out that the smart meters were not actually properly connected and they were still estimating usage. No one came out to check the meters but all of a sudden they were getting readings and 'readjusted the bill' which now was 3x the amount of electricity used and 2x the amount of gas - bearing in mind there was no heating turned on and other than the hob and heaters, everything else is electric in the house. The electric meter is in the basement of the flats I'm in so the range is too far for the display unit to even connect but also the unit hasn't worked since the day after the meters were installed so moot point. I also had a gas leak check to make sure that was not the issue because I am really at my wits end.

I have started a complaint through Resolver, not least because the same customer service agent shouted and hang up on me and subsequent efforts to sort this out have been met with further gaslighting (no pun intended). Has anyone had a similar experience? Am I unreasonable / going out of my mind? I feel like I'm being taken for a ride here. 

Thanks!

Robin9

This sounds like a meter issue - I suspect that the records have not been updated to show the new meters. Look at the meters themselves and note the serial number and then compare with the bills.

Just checking when you swopped to Eon you gave Eon readings which were used by Octopus to give your final bill ?

VeeOh

Hi Robin9, thanks for responding - the meter numbers are quoted on the bills but when I look on my account, the readings are inconsistent and I've also just noticed that they show readings I have supposedly given, as recently as Nov, when I haven't given any since the smart meter installation.

Yes I gave the same readings to both and Octopus formally confirmed directly with Eon. I also asked for an annual breakdown to check that there wasn't anything residual that was transferred over to Eon (which wouldn't have been anyway because they refunded me as I had overpaid). 

Robin9

Could you give us these meter readings please?   These readings should have the letter A for ACTUAL against them

Usually Smart meters start from 00000.00 when installed

[Deleted User]

Was there regular actual readings on the meters removed or were they being estimated?

VeeOh

Robin9 said:

Could you give us these meter readings please?   These readings should have the letter A for ACTUAL against them

Usually Smart meters start from 00000.00 when installed

Ok so let's take electricity which is the main issue (also there is no breakdown for gas) and initially they sent this:

Period Meter no. Previous Present Rate kilowatt hours

2 Aug 20 to 17 Oct 20 L83A 72596 02554 C 03495 E Normal 941
This came to a whopping  £220.81 for 2.5 months. I paid £269.65 for the ENTIRE YEAR with Octopus.

When I queried why it was estimated, they admitted that they were estimating because the smart meters were not installed correctly and they reissued the bill (not sure why it says C for the last 2 months - I didn't give them any readings):

Period Meter no. Previous Present Rate kilowatt hours

2 Aug 20 to 19 Aug 20 L83A 72596 02554 C 02693 A Normal 139

19 Aug 20 to 2 Sep 20 19E5043104 00003 A 00126 A Normal 123

2 Sep 20 to 2 Oct 20 19E5043104 00126 A 00343 C Normal 217

2 Oct 20 to 2 Nov 20 19E5043104 00343 C 00605 C Normal 262

When I compare it to Octopus for the same period last year:
Aug - Sep - 128.0 kWh
Sep - Oct - 124.0 kWh
Oct - Nov - 129.0 kWh

Or even earlier this year when I was WFH:
Mar - Apr - 121.0 kWh
Apr - May - 127.0 kWh

Nothing had changed in my personal circumstances so all I I can say based on the above is that the rate increase coincided with the installation of the smart meters by Eon. 

Gerry1

The estimated bill was obviously nonsense because the meter number shows that it refered to the old meter which had already been replaced.  Assuming that they've torn that bill up, there are now two questions that come to mind.

• What is the present reading from the meter on the wall, and how does it compare to the mysterious 'C' readings?

• Why is the rate described as 'Normal'?  Is it an Economy 7 meter?  That might not be cost effective when you have gas.

Robin9

@Veeho You are talking here of very low monthly consumptions - average is about 250kWh a month  - and you have been half that. Perhaps the question should be why was Octopus so low?

With very low consumptions any change in consumption becomes quite significant - perhaps the introduction of a new freezer or the immersion on twice a day or longer showers.

I don't think A or C is particularly relevant - as long as it's not E

VeeOh

Robin9 said:

@Veeho You are talking here of very low monthly consumptions - average is about 250kWh a month  - and you have been half that. Perhaps the question should be why was Octopus so low?

Probably because I am incredibly conservative with energy / water use and I live alone in a middle flat which is heaten from below.

With very low consumptions any change in consumption becomes quite significant - perhaps the introduction of a new freezer or the immersion on twice a day or longer showers.

As I said, nothing had changed in my personal circumstances save for the switch to Eon.

I don't think A or C is particularly relevant - as long as it's not E

It is relevant in the sense that if they claim I provided the readings rather than the meter then I'm responsible for the charges. I don't have time to keep verifing where the meter is at every day because as I said it's in the basement of my building.

Anyway, long story short, I've decided I'll take the hit of the early release charges and just go back to Octopus before I start heating properly and get slapped with a few grand worth of bills...I'm just annoyed that I'll be stuck with meters which may or may not be rigged at this stage and lost my old faithfuls.

Thanks all!!!

Robin9

"Anyway, long story short, I've decided I'll take the hit of the early release charges and just go back to Octopus before I start heating properly and get slapped with a few grand worth of bills...I'm just annoyed that I'll be stuck with meters which may or may not be rigged at this stage and lost my old faithfuls."

Really don't know where that will get you - if you are consuming energy as shown on your meters - you will have to pay someone for it.  It's the same info no matter who you pay your bills to.

Can Octopus see your Smart meters or will you have to read manually again?

VeeOh

Robin9 said:

Really don't know where that will get you - if you are consuming energy as shown on your meters - you will have to pay someone for it.  It's the same info no matter who you pay your bills to.

Can Octopus see your Smart meters or will you have to read manually again?

I appreciate that but it's about trust and the ease of being able to get hold of someone and deal with issues as they arise. It shouldn't have gotten to the stage of multiple complaints and going through Resolver to get to this point. Also the whole point is that I am not consuming at that rate because there is evidence to the contrary and there is also evidence of Eon's malfeasance in the past in terms of overcharging - I am just kicking myself for not doing a bit more due dilligence before committing.

And to your point, I spoke with another Eon customer rep today and I've been asked to submit manual readings to Eon so no difference there to Octopus. But they did offer to have the meters tested - for a fee lol.