EON overcharging!!! 😤

jj0911

eastcorkram said:

You're been paying £80 a month. 
That bill says you've used around £80 of electricity in just 12 days ?

Yeah that’s right, which to me seems crazy! 

QrizB

jj0911 said:

eastcorkram said:

You're been paying £80 a month. 
That bill says you've used around £80 of electricity in just 12 days ?

Yeah that’s right, which to me seems crazy! 

As we've said over the last two pages, it's high but it isn't crazy.

If you can give information regarding your heaters and how you use them we might be able to tell you whether it's reasonable, or not.

Also, if you complete the Meter Sanity Test you'll be able to know for sure whether your meter is actually connected to your flat and not the guy next door with a hot tub and and interest in indoor horticulture.

jj0911

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Where did you get the estimate of £400 for a year?  That seems unfeasibly low.  Why were you paying £80 a month (£960 a year) if your estimate for the year was £400?

From what you've posted, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong.  They're not overcharging, you are paying for the electricity you're using, and it seems you've been underpaying and so have racked up a deficit which they now expect you to pay off with increased payments.  Fair enough.

You say you have two storage heaters and a tumble dryer and unfortunately, those are not cheap things to run.  How is your hot water provided?  Electricity I assume?  I'm afraid the only way you'll save money is seeing if you'd be better off on a variable tariff, turning the heating down and cutting your energy use generally, but that won't affect the money you owe for energy already used.

I'm afraid you're likely to be in a worse position after July, because it looks like you're on a fixed rate that pre-dates the big increases we saw last autumn, and the more recent and upcoming rises.

We got the estimate for the year from a comparison website, using the postcode. However I’m aware it could of been vastly underestimated considering this is a new build.

We had to start paying 80 pound a month because EON didn’t bill us until months later after we had moved in.

Our flat is all electric. Hot water is provided through an electric immersion heater. Any suggestions what tariff we can change to? 

Many Thanks for responding. 

QrizB

jj0911 said:

Our flat is all electric. Hot water is provided through an electric immersion heater. Any suggestions what tariff we can change to?

Stick with your current tariff until it ends.

When it does, you'll move to E.ON Next's standard variable tariff which will be almost 2x as expensive (see my calcs).

If your flat is suitable you'll save money by taking the Economy 7 version of the tariff but if it isn't, you won't. This is why we're all interesed in a photo of your meter and details of your heaters.

jj0911

QrizB said:

jj0911 said:

My girlfriend and I stay in a small flat which contains two storage heaters, a tumble dryer and a dishwasher so very little energy consumption. Our estimate for the year is around 400pound. However we are now in debt £1000 to EON. We have been paying 80 pound per to cover the bills and they now want us to pay nearer 200pound to catch up. 

Our smart meter seems to be correct as far as I’m aware, However the usage is wild! I’ve attached a couple of photos to explain the situation we are in. Since moving in on April 2021 this is the figures. Please can someone explain what’s going on and what can I do? We are really in a bad situation and can’t afford this!

In a little under a year you've used 7350-ish kWh of electricity. That's quite a lot for two people in a flat with storage heaters.
Do you have access to your meter? Can you get to it, take a photo of it and then carry out Gerry1's Meter Sanity Test?

Looking at your bill, you seem to have single-rate electricity. Normally an all-electric property with storage heaters would have Economy 7 or a similar dual-rate supply. Do you know why you've only got single-rate power?

Let's guesstimate your electricity consumption as 8000kWh/yr (this might be a bit low). Costs for that will be:

• On your current tariff, around £1500/yr, £125/month
• On April's capped variable tariff, around £2400/yr, £200/month

There's no point in leaving your current tariff early but switching to E7 might save £200-£400/yr once your current fix expires.

Yeah it’s a crazy amount of usage considering only two of us and we switch off the hot water when we don’t use it. Also we are away quite a lot throughout the year. 

I have access and my smart meter readings match up with what EON are recording. However I will do the test just to make sure I’m not powering the communal lights 😂

I don’t know why I have single rate power, something to look into. 

Many Thanks for your contribution. 

Aylesbury_Duck

jj0911 said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Where did you get the estimate of £400 for a year?  That seems unfeasibly low.  Why were you paying £80 a month (£960 a year) if your estimate for the year was £400?

From what you've posted, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong.  They're not overcharging, you are paying for the electricity you're using, and it seems you've been underpaying and so have racked up a deficit which they now expect you to pay off with increased payments.  Fair enough.

You say you have two storage heaters and a tumble dryer and unfortunately, those are not cheap things to run.  How is your hot water provided?  Electricity I assume?  I'm afraid the only way you'll save money is seeing if you'd be better off on a variable tariff, turning the heating down and cutting your energy use generally, but that won't affect the money you owe for energy already used.

I'm afraid you're likely to be in a worse position after July, because it looks like you're on a fixed rate that pre-dates the big increases we saw last autumn, and the more recent and upcoming rises.

We got the estimate for the year from a comparison website, using the postcode. However I’m aware it could of been vastly underestimated considering this is a new build.

We had to start paying 80 pound a month because EON didn’t bill us until months later after we had moved in.

Our flat is all electric. Hot water is provided through an electric immersion heater. Any suggestions what tariff we can change to? 

Many Thanks for responding. 

That would seem to be a significant contributor to the £1,000 debt, then.  You're playing catch-up, and £80 a month wasn't even covering your monthly usage, let alone the backlog of unpaid electricity.

Yes, the estimate was woefully out.  I paid more than £400 p.a. in my first small house back in the late 1990s!

There's good advice on tariffs in the posts above.

The best thing you can do is cut down on your usage.  You're using a lot, so I'm sure there are savings to be made.

jj0911

Our flat is 42 sqm and energy rating D so estimate cost of £665 per year. 

Our heaters are Electrorad Smart panel which is a modern electric radiator. 

Gerry1

jj0911 said:

Our heaters are Electrorad Smart panel which is a modern electric radiator. 

That's the answer.  Unfortunately you have the most expensive form of heating you could possibly have, electricity at daytime rates.

If you are renting, the only answer is to move before next winter.

Robin9

Electric - yes
Modern - yes
Smart -  ?      
Storage  - No

QrizB

jj0911 said:

Our flat is 42 sqm and energy rating D so estimate cost of £665 per year.

Thanks for the EPC. You are using more than 2x the amount of electricity that the EPC predicts - 8000kWh/yr actual vs. 3600kWh/yr predicted.

Our heaters are Electrorad Smart panel which is a modern electric radiator. 

Those aren't storage heaters, so E7 won't help you. Do they have thermostats? What temperature are they set to?

Do you have an in-home display (IHD) for your smart meter? If so, can you see what time of day you are using your electricity?

If you don't have an IHD, you can achieve some of the benefits by signing up at http://www.n3rgy.com/ or installing the Hildebrand Bright app on a suitable mobile device.