legality of change of tariff

2twometers

Our jan bill from eon was as normal showing us to be on  eon energyplan & eon heatwise energy plan 6.This was for the period 24 jul 20 until 15 jan 21
Our electricity was charged to us as normal at day units,night units and heatwise.
As we are all electric the storage heaters,hot water,and off peak electric and off peak electric aga all run through the heatwise and so make up the vast majority of our usage.

Our march bill showed the tariff as energyplan only and all the readings through the heatwise meters were charged at full day rate,thus more than doubling our bill without any change of meters.Our usage has remained the same.This covers the period from 15 jan to 12 mar 21.Because of the huge increase in the bill it has triggered an increase to our direct debit.

I have been trying to get this sorted out since 18 march stating clearly that we have had no notification of these changes,and that I have had no warning that the heatwise tariff was going to be removed,and this despite contacting eon in jan to ask if our heatwise and off peak rate would still be available when the teleswitch changes to older meters come into effect in 2023.The reply to that was that we did not need to worry about something happening in 2023 and they were aware of our meters.

I have at last got a contact in resolutions who is trying to help but admitted that they weren't quite sure what to do.I have been told on the phone that there is no record of any notification being sent to us about heatwise being withdrawn and what the options would be. Our  case has now been put through to simple meters team who are very difficult to contact -her words.
I have requested that until this matter is sorted all electric usage going through the heatwise meters be charged to us at the econ 7 night rate,only to be told that to change the tariff we need our meters changed-clearly not the case as the cost to us has been retrospectively increased without any change of meter.It is especially frustrating as we have no control internally to our storage heaters and hot water,the power supply is controlled by the meter and 5 hours of this is at some time between 12 midnight and 7am.

Is it legal for eon to do this to us? I thought they had to give notice of any changes. They are very quick to get direct debit increased but seem to be ignoring how stressful this sudden increase in our bill is to us,it feels almost like theft.

thankyou for reading this and for any advice

[Deleted User]

Have a look at Condition 23A:

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/standard-conditions-electricity-supply-licence

2twometers

new to using forum so hope this works-thanks very much,reassuring to know that we do have a legitimate complaint,just got to get it sorted now. 

matelodave

Have you checked whether there was any notification, either in a bill, in you on-line account or if one has fallen into your spam box.

The problem with paperless billing is that you have to keep a bit of an eye on stuff in case you miss it, rather than hoping it just pops up as an e-mail as it wont be dropping through your letterbox.

Quite frequently notifications are added in with all the other rubbish that is included in the bill and can easily be missed if all you check is the charges and dont read all the guff as well.

2twometers

due to complexity of our meters we always have paper bills so we can check it each time,and because we have so many readings we are unable to have online account,I usually have to phone them in.The bill received in jan had nothing on it to say heatwise was going to be removed in fact under the name of tariff which was energyplan & eon heatwise energyplan6 itgoes on to show tariff ends-no end date.

pallyman

Have you checked the December bill as that would be more likely to have info about tariff change as that would be giving you a months notice.

2twometers

on my bill/statement dated 21 jan 21- which had the heatwise tariff on- it says last statement 5 nov 20.
my statement dated 5 nov 20 has tariff down as eon energyplan &eon heatwise energyplan 6 with tariff ends no end date,and no mention of heatwise being withdrawn.
eon have admitted on phone that there is no record of us being told the heatwise was being stopped,and I have been told that they've no idea how we were still getting the heatwise as it should have been stopped.It seems to be a complete mess on eon's part that we are expected to pay for

E.ON_Company_Representative

Good morning 2twometers, I'm sorry to hear this happened. 

We've been replacing these 'complex meters' for the last few years now, handled by the aptly named Simpler Meters Team, and it sounds like you've been referred to them.

My understanding is that this project started a few years back and we've written to all customers affected numerous times to ask them to get in touch to organise changing the meters, as their specific tariff will no longer be available. I'm not sure how long you've held your account with us for? If it's only opened within the last year or so it could be that all the correspondence was sent to the previous occupier of your property.

It's good that you have a complaint with us as this will be the best way to get this resolved. In the first instance we'll be looking at changing the meter for you. You'll be able to pick from Economy 10, Economy 7 or an unrestricted one. The Simpler Meters Team will have a calculator to enter your usage into and provide figures on how much you might expect to spend annually with each option. Then, if you feel it's necessary, the complaints handler will see if we can provide compensation for this increased bill.

Thanks, Matt

Reed_Richards

E.ON_Company_Representative said:

...I'm not sure how long you've held your account with us for? If it's only opened within the last year or so it could be that all the correspondence was sent to the previous occupier of your property....

So a bit of a hole in the admin process there?  

2twometers

we have been with eon all the time in this property-18 years-and my complaint is regarding the increase in prices with no notice which has taken effect from jan,and that it is taking so long to get sorted.As the ofgem code of practice clearly states that the electricity supplier should let the customer know in advance of any price increases I do not feel that there should be any doubt that I feel it is necessary to claim compensation.

rp1974

Claim away,nothing ventured nothing gained.