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EON refuses my meter readings. They told me that my meter readings were too low. What can I do?
Hello,
I am so stressed by EON. I joined EON in 2015 after many years with NP Power in another town. Since my current two year deal commenced in February 2019 I have had a catalogue of confusion, and disputes with them. The first dispute came in February 2020 when a meter reader visited my home for the first time since I joined EON. The meter readings that he gave Electric rate 1: 29692, 2:31460, and gas: 03841 resulted in a bill of approximately 750 pounds from EON. I was quite shocked, although had suspected that my monthly direct debit could be a bit on the low side to account for winter heating etc., even though my home is generally not too cold (I live in the South of England in a terraced house).
What I could not understand, is why the suddenly large bill, when I had been submitting readings in 2019. EON then said that this was also from electric and gas use, and too lower direct debits from 2015 until February 2020. I responded that I had sent meter readings (via an intermediary called Morrisons) and that they could have sent someone to read the meter in that time.
To cut a long-story, and after several unpleasant phone calls from the EON complaints department, many of which kept me hanging on the phone for long periods, during times when I was at work, so had to make up time, EON agreed that they couldn't back-date all of this money (I think there is a two-year government regulation on this?) and I accepted (unwillingly) a payment plan of a direct debit of 80 pounds a month from February 2020 onwards to clear about half of the original amount, so about 375 pounds. I say unwillingly as I wasn't sure that I really did owe this money as I couldn't work out the exact amounts, partly as I had stupidly not taken an initial reading when I moved into my home in October 2015. I assumed that EON would have a record of the final meter reading from the previous occupants and energy supplier. Lazy of me perhaps, and also wrong, as it turns out they are allowed to 'estimate' the initial amount within certain margins (this is what they told me anyway).
So 80 pounds each month since February 2020 t cancel 375 pounds or so of debt, plus payment for current use added into this amount I assume (?). So by my maths this 'debt' would have been paid off within 5 months, but with the addition of usage from February onwards...
So my plan was basically to find out how much, if anything I still owed to EON, and to eventually cut ties with them in February 2021 when my 'deal' ends... I took meter readings on October 20th, and then again on November 24th. However when I looked at my online account yesterday and the meter readings from October 20th something looked wrong. For electricity, the readings for the rate 1 (day rate) and rate 2 (night rate) had been transposed, so that the lower figure (for my rate 1, day-time) now was showing under the rate 2 (night time) heading. I thought I had better phone EON and correct this, as the website wouldn't allow me to do so.
After 20 or so minutes on the phone (0345 number) I got through to an EON representative, but our phone call was cut-off at the point she was about to give me an EON email address t send photos from my meter to verify that the readings from the 24th November fitted with my need to change the readings from the 20th October to reflect the accurate figures, whereby the daytime rate 1 figure was lower than the nigh time rate 2 figure. I waited for EON to call me back. They didn't.
I phoned EON a second time, after a wait of approx 20 minutes again (I dread my phone bill) I managed to get through to a different EON representative who confirmed that since the reading of February 2020, all further readings (including basically one on April 20th 2020) had shown that my daytime rate 1 reading is always lower than my night time rate 2 reading. I asked her if she could therefore change my October 20 reading to the correct figures and she agreed. I then asked what my energy cost/usage had been since October 20 to November 24th and she said 184.56 pounds This shocked me as I have been working from home, and using a wood burner most of the time. I have had the heating on for perhaps an hour or so, but not each day. I asked her to double-check this...She went away to speak to a manager (presumably), and when she returned to the phone she said that she shouldn't have 'corrected' the October figures based on my readings, and that she did not accept my November readings either as it was "Not possible for a nigh time rate 2 reading to be lower than a day time rate 1 reading). She then tried to convince me that I had misheard the previous readings that she had confirmed with me for February and April 2020! This was unbelievable, I asked her why she was now giving me different readings, and she said because it wasn't possible that the day time figure would be lower than the night time, and I replied but your own meter reader told me so in February 202 are you disputing his reading? She then asked me if I wished to raise a complaint, I said yes, but realistically I don't want to have to spend the time and energy on something that is not my fault. I just want to pay what I owe and never work use this company again.
When I had calmed a little, which wasn't easy when EON had effectively just accused me of being a liar, then one of their employees had lied herself, I decided on a third phone call. Again a wait of about 20 minutes, but the EON employee was at least pleasant this time. She said I couldn't book a meter reader to visit my home during lockdown, and that I would need to phone back although she envisaged long delays as EON were currently very busy (hmmm). I asked if I could pre-book a visit for the end of lockdown and she said no, I would need to phone again. I find this odd as TalkTalk sent an engineer to my home today (different policies for different companies I suppose). The irony is that I DO NOT WANT anyone visiting my home during Covid 19, but neither do I want a smart meter installed (as each EON representative tried to push) until this issue is resolved. She did however give me an email address to send my meter readings to. I don't know if this will be a functional email but I can try, but no doubt EON will try to wriggle out of this too and dispute the timings and figures shown by my camera!
As mentioned in a previous post concerning EON, part of the reason that I was so badly organised in 2015 when I moved is that my sister was diagnosed with cancer within a few weeks or my move, and then so was I a few weeks later, and 2016 was a blur of cancer treatment for us both. Currently I feel like EON are choosing to take advantage of a really bad and frightening period of my life to cause confusion leading to their financial advantage. They had also denied receiving my meter readings from Morrisons until Morrisons sent me an email which I sent to EON to confirm that EON had been sent these....
If there is an EON representative on this forum, rather than just commenting, please can you sort this out for me? It is causing me a great deal of stress. This situation has been going on since February 2020. I really do feel that EON is being deceitful and fraudulent and would like to be proved wrong, but I cannot see how? I will of course take this up with the ombudsman etc., but I think EON is effectively fleecing and bullying its customers. Where is the government regulation, and penalties that we as customers need to prevent this?
I am so stressed by EON. I joined EON in 2015 after many years with NP Power in another town. Since my current two year deal commenced in February 2019 I have had a catalogue of confusion, and disputes with them. The first dispute came in February 2020 when a meter reader visited my home for the first time since I joined EON. The meter readings that he gave Electric rate 1: 29692, 2:31460, and gas: 03841 resulted in a bill of approximately 750 pounds from EON. I was quite shocked, although had suspected that my monthly direct debit could be a bit on the low side to account for winter heating etc., even though my home is generally not too cold (I live in the South of England in a terraced house).
What I could not understand, is why the suddenly large bill, when I had been submitting readings in 2019. EON then said that this was also from electric and gas use, and too lower direct debits from 2015 until February 2020. I responded that I had sent meter readings (via an intermediary called Morrisons) and that they could have sent someone to read the meter in that time.
To cut a long-story, and after several unpleasant phone calls from the EON complaints department, many of which kept me hanging on the phone for long periods, during times when I was at work, so had to make up time, EON agreed that they couldn't back-date all of this money (I think there is a two-year government regulation on this?) and I accepted (unwillingly) a payment plan of a direct debit of 80 pounds a month from February 2020 onwards to clear about half of the original amount, so about 375 pounds. I say unwillingly as I wasn't sure that I really did owe this money as I couldn't work out the exact amounts, partly as I had stupidly not taken an initial reading when I moved into my home in October 2015. I assumed that EON would have a record of the final meter reading from the previous occupants and energy supplier. Lazy of me perhaps, and also wrong, as it turns out they are allowed to 'estimate' the initial amount within certain margins (this is what they told me anyway).
So 80 pounds each month since February 2020 t cancel 375 pounds or so of debt, plus payment for current use added into this amount I assume (?). So by my maths this 'debt' would have been paid off within 5 months, but with the addition of usage from February onwards...
So my plan was basically to find out how much, if anything I still owed to EON, and to eventually cut ties with them in February 2021 when my 'deal' ends... I took meter readings on October 20th, and then again on November 24th. However when I looked at my online account yesterday and the meter readings from October 20th something looked wrong. For electricity, the readings for the rate 1 (day rate) and rate 2 (night rate) had been transposed, so that the lower figure (for my rate 1, day-time) now was showing under the rate 2 (night time) heading. I thought I had better phone EON and correct this, as the website wouldn't allow me to do so.
After 20 or so minutes on the phone (0345 number) I got through to an EON representative, but our phone call was cut-off at the point she was about to give me an EON email address t send photos from my meter to verify that the readings from the 24th November fitted with my need to change the readings from the 20th October to reflect the accurate figures, whereby the daytime rate 1 figure was lower than the nigh time rate 2 figure. I waited for EON to call me back. They didn't.
I phoned EON a second time, after a wait of approx 20 minutes again (I dread my phone bill) I managed to get through to a different EON representative who confirmed that since the reading of February 2020, all further readings (including basically one on April 20th 2020) had shown that my daytime rate 1 reading is always lower than my night time rate 2 reading. I asked her if she could therefore change my October 20 reading to the correct figures and she agreed. I then asked what my energy cost/usage had been since October 20 to November 24th and she said 184.56 pounds This shocked me as I have been working from home, and using a wood burner most of the time. I have had the heating on for perhaps an hour or so, but not each day. I asked her to double-check this...She went away to speak to a manager (presumably), and when she returned to the phone she said that she shouldn't have 'corrected' the October figures based on my readings, and that she did not accept my November readings either as it was "Not possible for a nigh time rate 2 reading to be lower than a day time rate 1 reading). She then tried to convince me that I had misheard the previous readings that she had confirmed with me for February and April 2020! This was unbelievable, I asked her why she was now giving me different readings, and she said because it wasn't possible that the day time figure would be lower than the night time, and I replied but your own meter reader told me so in February 202 are you disputing his reading? She then asked me if I wished to raise a complaint, I said yes, but realistically I don't want to have to spend the time and energy on something that is not my fault. I just want to pay what I owe and never work use this company again.
When I had calmed a little, which wasn't easy when EON had effectively just accused me of being a liar, then one of their employees had lied herself, I decided on a third phone call. Again a wait of about 20 minutes, but the EON employee was at least pleasant this time. She said I couldn't book a meter reader to visit my home during lockdown, and that I would need to phone back although she envisaged long delays as EON were currently very busy (hmmm). I asked if I could pre-book a visit for the end of lockdown and she said no, I would need to phone again. I find this odd as TalkTalk sent an engineer to my home today (different policies for different companies I suppose). The irony is that I DO NOT WANT anyone visiting my home during Covid 19, but neither do I want a smart meter installed (as each EON representative tried to push) until this issue is resolved. She did however give me an email address to send my meter readings to. I don't know if this will be a functional email but I can try, but no doubt EON will try to wriggle out of this too and dispute the timings and figures shown by my camera!
As mentioned in a previous post concerning EON, part of the reason that I was so badly organised in 2015 when I moved is that my sister was diagnosed with cancer within a few weeks or my move, and then so was I a few weeks later, and 2016 was a blur of cancer treatment for us both. Currently I feel like EON are choosing to take advantage of a really bad and frightening period of my life to cause confusion leading to their financial advantage. They had also denied receiving my meter readings from Morrisons until Morrisons sent me an email which I sent to EON to confirm that EON had been sent these....
If there is an EON representative on this forum, rather than just commenting, please can you sort this out for me? It is causing me a great deal of stress. This situation has been going on since February 2020. I really do feel that EON is being deceitful and fraudulent and would like to be proved wrong, but I cannot see how? I will of course take this up with the ombudsman etc., but I think EON is effectively fleecing and bullying its customers. Where is the government regulation, and penalties that we as customers need to prevent this?
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Comments
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This is your third thread on the same subject.Did you follow through with the advice you were given on the first two threads?1
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@stepheye This is what the Eon rep told you on Nov 12th \:
"All of the info that you're after will show on your online account, as I say pop your reads on there and produce a real time balance."
Did you do that - if so what was the answer ?Never pay on an estimated bill. Always read and understand your bill0 -
Hi Robin,Robin9 said:@stepheye This is what the Eon rep told you on Nov 12th \:
"All of the info that you're after will show on your online account, as I say pop your reads on there and produce a real time balance."
Did you do that - if so what was the answer ?
I tried to but the system wouldn't let me add my readings. It showed transposed readings for October which I could not alter, which is why I had to phone EON, only to be told that I was lying about my readings. Incredible!0 -
Send them photos of the meters.The comments I post are my personal opinion. While I try to check everything is correct before posting, I can and do make mistakes, so always try to check official information sources before relying on my posts.1
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Thank you tacpot12. I will do so today, just worried that they won't believe my photos either.0
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If you have a DAB radio it will have a display with an accurate date and timestamp. You can include that in the photo or video of the meter to prove that the day and right registers are transposed. Alternatively you could just record something like the start of The World At One on Radio 4.stepheye said:Thank you tacpot12. I will do so today, just worried that they won't believe my photos either.1 -
Gerry1 said:
If you have a DAB radio it will have a display with an accurate date and timestamp. You can include that in the photo or video of the meter to prove that the day and right registers are transposed. Alternatively you could just record something like the start of The World At One on Radio 4.stepheye said:Thank you tacpot12. I will do so today, just worried that they won't believe my photos either.
Interesting idea, but are the clocks in smart meters updated over the WAN?
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It's presumably just a simple billing issue, R1 and R2 being swapped over?1
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Hi Gerry. Indeed, so why did EON not do so when I phoned three different call centre operatives? I can only assume that they have been asked not to. Not their fault, but it leaves me a bit stuck, so I will try the email and photos of my meters' route today, and on Monday, I will try to book a meter reader for confirmation that I am not lying.
Best wishes, Stephanie0
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