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EON ignored supplied readings/faulty smart meter and marked credit file when estimated bill rejected
Hello everyone - I wondered if anyone has any advice on the current situation I am in with my previous energy supplier EON.
EON had issued an estimated bill 6 months after I changed providers which used estimated readings instead of my actual meter readings I always provided whenever they asked, although we also had an EON smart meter.
Apologies in advance if the following seems to have more detail than required, I just want to give a full picture.
We (a household of 2) moved into a 3 bed property at the beginning of Dec 2017. The previous first owner of this new build was with EON and also had an EON smart meter installed. I had no experience with smart meters or how they work. So while things were still hectic due to the move and Christmas, I decided to stick with EON and the automatic smart meter until I found a quieter time to shop around for a better deal.
So I called EON on the phone a few days later. A short time later, they asked me for the opening meter readings which I supplied via their website.
When I received a bill at the end of December 17 (for 1 month) it was estimated and they asked for £221. I then realised that they put me on their default standard rate which I could see now was very pricey. In addition they had not used the opening meter readings I previously provided.
However, I thought this would sort itself soon because they have access to the smart meter readings. That's the whole idea of them, right?
We paid this until we received the next bill at the end of Feb 2018. It was again estimated and for £316.
So between Dec 17 and 27 February 2018 our estimated dual fuel charges were £537. Again they didn't use actual readings which I provided whenever they asked for them and neither did they seem to use the readings from the smart meter. I was taken aback by this and the high estimated costs we had paid but was willing to let EON get away without questioning it as I was planning to move to another provider anyway.
So we moved to EDF at the end of April 2018. I didn't hear from EON until the end of December 2018 when we receive a letter from them to say we owe them further £188.88 for the period 28 Feb to 29 April 2018. They urged me to pay for it to avoid a default being registered on my credit file. I did not understand how we could still owe so much money, we had already paid £537 for the 3 months to end of Feb and to owe another estimated £188 would have brought our total cost for 5 months to £725.
I called up EON and asked what this letter was about as I had not received a bill. I was not even contemplating to pay for it until I saw how the charges were calculated, if they were again estimated. I no longer had access to the online account so if they could kindly send me a copy of the bill. I was told someone would do this but it didn't materialise. I continued to receive chaser letters but when I called them to ask for a copy of the bill, still nothing was forthcoming. This went on until another chaser letter in July 2020. It was then passed to a debt collection agency but I had still no sight of the actual bill. I then contact EON web chat on 10 February 2021 asking for the nth time to get sent a copy of the bill.
When I then received a paper bill - finally - around March 2021 (three years since I left EON) I realised that the entire 5 months with EON were just estimated. We are a 2 person household. Estimates I understand are usually based on a 4 person household so we probably overpaid anyway. I also found out from EON when I raised a complaint in April 2021 that "...the smart meter was installed by EON for the builder of the house, but when there is a change of occupant and we close the account, it stops the signal and we are unable to communicate with the meters. When you moved in and we set the account up in your name, the meters were no longer working as smart meters, they had to be read manually. Therefore your bills were always estimated." Why did they not mention this and send someone out to fix it at the time? All this time I thought it was working.
My question is: why do they insist I owe this money? How can they know this is the case if they never bothered to use the actual or smart meter readings?
EON had issued an estimated bill 6 months after I changed providers which used estimated readings instead of my actual meter readings I always provided whenever they asked, although we also had an EON smart meter.
Apologies in advance if the following seems to have more detail than required, I just want to give a full picture.
We (a household of 2) moved into a 3 bed property at the beginning of Dec 2017. The previous first owner of this new build was with EON and also had an EON smart meter installed. I had no experience with smart meters or how they work. So while things were still hectic due to the move and Christmas, I decided to stick with EON and the automatic smart meter until I found a quieter time to shop around for a better deal.
So I called EON on the phone a few days later. A short time later, they asked me for the opening meter readings which I supplied via their website.
When I received a bill at the end of December 17 (for 1 month) it was estimated and they asked for £221. I then realised that they put me on their default standard rate which I could see now was very pricey. In addition they had not used the opening meter readings I previously provided.
However, I thought this would sort itself soon because they have access to the smart meter readings. That's the whole idea of them, right?
We paid this until we received the next bill at the end of Feb 2018. It was again estimated and for £316.
So between Dec 17 and 27 February 2018 our estimated dual fuel charges were £537. Again they didn't use actual readings which I provided whenever they asked for them and neither did they seem to use the readings from the smart meter. I was taken aback by this and the high estimated costs we had paid but was willing to let EON get away without questioning it as I was planning to move to another provider anyway.
So we moved to EDF at the end of April 2018. I didn't hear from EON until the end of December 2018 when we receive a letter from them to say we owe them further £188.88 for the period 28 Feb to 29 April 2018. They urged me to pay for it to avoid a default being registered on my credit file. I did not understand how we could still owe so much money, we had already paid £537 for the 3 months to end of Feb and to owe another estimated £188 would have brought our total cost for 5 months to £725.
I called up EON and asked what this letter was about as I had not received a bill. I was not even contemplating to pay for it until I saw how the charges were calculated, if they were again estimated. I no longer had access to the online account so if they could kindly send me a copy of the bill. I was told someone would do this but it didn't materialise. I continued to receive chaser letters but when I called them to ask for a copy of the bill, still nothing was forthcoming. This went on until another chaser letter in July 2020. It was then passed to a debt collection agency but I had still no sight of the actual bill. I then contact EON web chat on 10 February 2021 asking for the nth time to get sent a copy of the bill.
When I then received a paper bill - finally - around March 2021 (three years since I left EON) I realised that the entire 5 months with EON were just estimated. We are a 2 person household. Estimates I understand are usually based on a 4 person household so we probably overpaid anyway. I also found out from EON when I raised a complaint in April 2021 that "...the smart meter was installed by EON for the builder of the house, but when there is a change of occupant and we close the account, it stops the signal and we are unable to communicate with the meters. When you moved in and we set the account up in your name, the meters were no longer working as smart meters, they had to be read manually. Therefore your bills were always estimated." Why did they not mention this and send someone out to fix it at the time? All this time I thought it was working.
My question is: why do they insist I owe this money? How can they know this is the case if they never bothered to use the actual or smart meter readings?
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Comments
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When you switched to your new supplier did you give them a opening reading? Was this reading are something near to it used in the EON bill?0
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Out of interest what were your readings when you move in December 2017 and your readings when you moved supplier in April 2018?0
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Pochase - thanks for responding. The letter EON sent to me on 12 April 18 when I told them I was leaving said:"You don't need to send us your final meter readings, we'll get them from your new supplier."
Mstty - thank you too for responding. The electricity estimated reading was 8420 when we moved in in Dec 17 (this is from the first bill we received for £221) and 10039 on 29 April 18 (which I obtained from EDF at a later time).0 -
@ the OP, when you moved to EDF, did you provide them (EDF) with an opening read yourself or did you rely on EDF to lift the data from your smart meter? The reason I ask is that when I moved from Bulb in August 2021 to Eon Next, they were unable to lift any smart meter data until relatively recently and I gave Eon Next, the opening meter (manual) read when I was asked.0
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So I called EON on the phone a few days later. A short time later, they asked me for the opening meter readings which I supplied via their website.
when you called EON above what was the reading you gave them and the date as this will be an actual not an estimate and if there is any issues with the very first move in date reading it can be estimated from there👍
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heartwear said:Pochase - thanks for responding. The letter EON sent to me on 12 April 18 when I told them I was leaving said:"You don't need to send us your final meter readings, we'll get them from your new supplier."
Mstty - thank you too for responding. The electricity estimated reading was 8420 when we moved in in Dec 17 (this is from the first bill we received for £221) and 10039 on 29 April 18 (which I obtained from EDF at a later time).
Do you still have the opening reading you gave them? What is the reading and what is the estimate they used?
First thing is now to find out what have you really used and what do they want to charge you. Also don't forget if the final and opening reading are the same it does not matter that much as the final what you are charged more at EON you will be charged less at EDF. Only concern would be if there is a big difference in the rates.
There is a small discrepancy between opening an final reading allowed.
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Provided that the opening and closing readings on a switch are the same, then the issue becomes has the old supplier been overpaid to the detriment of the new supplier or vice versa? If the readings are not the same, then this needs to be addressed.Underpaying the old supplier (that is, the actual meter index reading was significantly higher than the estimated reading on switch) will result in a high bill when the new supplier raises its first bill using a meter reading. However, an overpayment of £100 to the new supplier does not mean that there has been a significant overcharge. The true cost to the consumer is (new unit price - old unit price) times the incorrect number of units.
For example:
An estimated reading of 05000 was used for the switch but the true meter reading was 05250. The old supplier has lost out on payment for 250 units at say 30p/kWh or £75. The new supplier then includes these 250 units in the first bill at say 40p/kWh: that is, an unexpected £100 goes to the new supplier.
At this point, consumers get agitated about the £100 when, in truth, the difference is only £25.Switch readings are validated using an agreed industry formula. Switch readings that are different from those provided by the consumer are usually down to the fact that estimated readings have been used for billing in the past. Suppliers will not just accept consumer switch readings as often meters are misread and in the present market situation, I suspect that many people lie.0 -
@[Deleted User] - I provided EDF with a reading when I moved via their app or the web, I have always provided readings when asked. I just don't understand how they can lose these readings? With every energy provider I moved to, I thought it would be better, that they take care of using actual readings and not lose them but every time I was disappointed. Their systems are never up to the job.0
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So I called EON on the phone a few days later. A short time later, they asked me for the opening meter readings which I supplied via their website.
when you called EON above what was the reading you gave them and the date as this will be an actual not an estimate and if there is any issues with the very first move in date reading it can be estimated from there👍
@Mstty - I did give them the reading via a weblink they sent to me in an email. The next day I received another email asking for the readings again and I said, that I had provided them yesterday on the web, would she please go and find this. Does anyone understand where this information disappears to? And the first bill I received still used estimated readings, ignoring the info I provided and ignoring the fact that they had my smart meter which they could have used to get the actual readings...0 -
So is the final meter reading used by Eon the same as opening meter reading used by EDF? If not, how much is the difference?
Do you still have the opening reading you gave them? What is the reading and what is the estimate they used?
First thing is now to find out what have you really used and what do they want to charge you. Also don't forget if the final and opening reading are the same it does not matter that much as the final what you are charged more at EON you will be charged less at EDF. Only concern would be if there is a big difference in the rates.
There is a small discrepancy between opening an final reading allowed.
@pochase - I followed what the goodbye letter from EON asked me to do, that I didn't need to provide any readings and they would get them from EDF. If EDF had asked me to provide a reading, I would have done so. Annoyingly, I do not have a copy of the first bill EDF sent me for the period 30 April to 27 August 2018, only for 28 August 18 to 30 April 2019. So to answer your question, I don't know what the opening reading was. I didn't understand why I had to keep a record of readings myself.0
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