Ofgem Back Billing Rule's and EON Next

nekr0mantik

Hi

So I saw on ofgem website that a supplier cannot back bill for electric use more then 12 month ago if it was billing error on their end.
EON Next are billing me for period of March 2021 to July 2021 this month due to not billing me correctly during eon to eon next switch. 
During that period I was on fixed direct debit.
Is this legal or is there loophole they using?
I complained and they said they following ofgem rules and it's with back billing team for 8 week's to sort out but they taking direct debit end of month!

DE_612183

Raise a complaint - then request a deadlock letter - then go to Ofgem.

victor2

nekr0mantik said:

Hi

So I saw on ofgem website that a supplier cannot back bill for electric use more then 12 month ago if it was billing error on their end.
EON Next are billing me for period of March 2021 to July 2021 this month due to not billing me correctly during eon to eon next switch. 
During that period I was on fixed direct debit.
Is this legal or is there loophole they using?
I complained and they said they following ofgem rules and it's with back billing team for 8 week's to sort out but they taking direct debit end of month!

From https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/check-energy-back-billing-rules:

You can’t be charged for gas or electricity used more than 12 months ago if you have not been correctly billed for it, or informed about it via a statement of account, before.

So I don't really see how they can change the bill now, unless they started addressing the issue during the 12 month window.

BTW, you weren't on a "fixed direct debit", you were probably on a fixed rate tariff.

[Deleted User]

To be clear, BackBilling is not just the write off of charges. The regulation was brought in to prevent customer ‘bill shock’. For customers paying by DD, then a 4 month write off of charges would also take into the account 4 month’s worth of DD payments.

For example, if the written off charges came to £300 and if 4 by £70 DD payments had been made during the same billing period, then the actual benefit to the customer would be £300 - £280 or £20.

MWT

nekr0mantik said:

Hi

So I saw on ofgem website that a supplier cannot back bill for electric use more then 12 month ago if it was billing error on their end.
EON Next are billing me for period of March 2021 to July 2021 this month due to not billing me correctly during eon to eon next switch. 
During that period I was on fixed direct debit.

What is the impact of the adjusted billing?

If their error caused you to build up a larger credit than you would otherwise have done then they can re-bill for that period up to the level of the credit you had on the account back then without breaking any rules...

Similarly if they had refunded you any part of your credit balance at the time, or since, they are allowed to reverse that refund...

nekr0mantik

MWT said:

nekr0mantik said:

Hi

So I saw on ofgem website that a supplier cannot back bill for electric use more then 12 month ago if it was billing error on their end.
EON Next are billing me for period of March 2021 to July 2021 this month due to not billing me correctly during eon to eon next switch. 
During that period I was on fixed direct debit.

What is the impact of the adjusted billing?

If their error caused you to build up a larger credit than you would otherwise have done then they can re-bill for that period up to the level of the credit you had on the account back then without breaking any rules...

Similarly if they had refunded you any part of your credit balance at the time, or since, they are allowed to reverse that refund...

I not built up credit. 
New back bill increased my debit. Without it I was 40 in debit. Now at 200 in debit.

nekr0mantik

MWT said:

nekr0mantik said:

Hi

So I saw on ofgem website that a supplier cannot back bill for electric use more then 12 month ago if it was billing error on their end.
EON Next are billing me for period of March 2021 to July 2021 this month due to not billing me correctly during eon to eon next switch. 
During that period I was on fixed direct debit.

What is the impact of the adjusted billing?

If their error caused you to build up a larger credit than you would otherwise have done then they can re-bill for that period up to the level of the credit you had on the account back then without breaking any rules...

Similarly if they had refunded you any part of your credit balance at the time, or since, they are allowed to reverse that refund...

After back billing my balance is further into debit. victor2 said:

nekr0mantik said:

Hi

So I saw on ofgem website that a supplier cannot back bill for electric use more then 12 month ago if it was billing error on their end.
EON Next are billing me for period of March 2021 to July 2021 this month due to not billing me correctly during eon to eon next switch. 
During that period I was on fixed direct debit.
Is this legal or is there loophole they using?
I complained and they said they following ofgem rules and it's with back billing team for 8 week's to sort out but they taking direct debit end of month!

From https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/check-energy-back-billing-rules:

You can’t be charged for gas or electricity used more than 12 months ago if you have not been correctly billed for it, or informed about it via a statement of account, before.

So I don't really see how they can change the bill now, unless they started addressing the issue during the 12 month window.

BTW, you weren't on a "fixed direct debit", you were probably on a fixed rate tariff.

It's messy.
So in February this year they back billed me for February to April 2021. Which was within 12 months and then credit me half of the back billed amount. 
Now they saying they also forget to bill me for May 2021 to July 2021 which at this point is passed 12 months. but they reversed the February back bill and added it on top of the new back bill. So now back bill covers February to April which back billing rules say they can as they already stated this in February but they added on new billing for May to July which wasn't done in February.

victor2

Does indeed sound messy. Looks like they're saying they had started to address the issue within the 12 month window, and it's just a continuation of that process, even if it is now for months following the first "adjustment". Was the credit they gave you a goodwill gesture acknowledging they had messed you about?

In the old days of Eon, they had one of the best customer service reputations amongst the major suppliers. From what I read now, and my personal experience, Eon Next are not so concerned, presumably because they've "streamlined" their services somewhat.

The best you can do is make sure your issue is a formal complaint (if it isn't already), and follow their procedure outlined at https://www.eonnext.com/unhappy, which could end up with the ombudsman if they don't resolve it to your satisfaction.

MWT

I know this is messy, but they are allowed to correct an erroneous bill even if it is over 12 months ago, what they can't do is bill you for additional use more than 12 months ago if it exceeds the amount of credit you were building up on your account at the time, and they can reverse any balance refunds that may have been made back then...

If using the credit accumulated back then means you are now further in debt then that is unfortunate, but it is not a back-billing issue.

The question is, do the bill corrections result in a debt from the period they are changing?

nekr0mantik

MWT said:

I know this is messy, but they are allowed to correct an erroneous bill even if it is over 12 months ago, what they can't do is bill you for additional use more than 12 months ago if it exceeds the amount of credit you were building up on your account at the time, and they can reverse any balance refunds that may have been made back then...

If using the credit accumulated back then means you are now further in debt then that is unfortunate, but it is not a back-billing issue.

The question is, do the bill corrections result in a debt from the period they are changing?

I did not have credit built up. I was in debit from 2021 and in July this year before this happened I was in debit by £50.

I was expecting to reduce the debit by increasing my direct debit from 2021.

They replied to my complaint and said the back billing team have said its not back billing and they have charged me correctly for 2021 but they still got the extra charges for 2021 on my account now so they said they will send me form to raise with ombudson.

victor2 said:

Does indeed sound messy. Looks like they're saying they had started to address the issue within the 12 month window, and it's just a continuation of that process, even if it is now for months following the first "adjustment". Was the credit they gave you a goodwill gesture acknowledging they had messed you about?

In the old days of Eon, they had one of the best customer service reputations amongst the major suppliers. From what I read now, and my personal experience, Eon Next are not so concerned, presumably because they've "streamlined" their services somewhat.

The best you can do is make sure your issue is a formal complaint (if it isn't already), and follow their procedure outlined at https://www.eonnext.com/unhappy, which could end up with the ombudsman if they don't resolve it to your satisfaction.

Yeah the credit in Febuary was due to complaint I raised.

[Deleted User]

nekr0mantik said:

MWT said:

I know this is messy, but they are allowed to correct an erroneous bill even if it is over 12 months ago, what they can't do is bill you for additional use more than 12 months ago if it exceeds the amount of credit you were building up on your account at the time, and they can reverse any balance refunds that may have been made back then...

If using the credit accumulated back then means you are now further in debt then that is unfortunate, but it is not a back-billing issue.

The question is, do the bill corrections result in a debt from the period they are changing?

I did not have credit built up. I was in debit from 2021 and in July this year before this happened I was in debit by £50.

I was expecting to reduce the debit by increasing my direct debit from 2021.

They replied to my complaint and said the back billing team have said its not back billing and they have charged me correctly for 2021 but they still got the extra charges for 2021 on my account now so they said they will send me form to raise with ombudson.

victor2 said:

Does indeed sound messy. Looks like they're saying they had started to address the issue within the 12 month window, and it's just a continuation of that process, even if it is now for months following the first "adjustment". Was the credit they gave you a goodwill gesture acknowledging they had messed you about?

In the old days of Eon, they had one of the best customer service reputations amongst the major suppliers. From what I read now, and my personal experience, Eon Next are not so concerned, presumably because they've "streamlined" their services somewhat.

The best you can do is make sure your issue is a formal complaint (if it isn't already), and follow their procedure outlined at https://www.eonnext.com/unhappy, which could end up with the ombudsman if they don't resolve it to your satisfaction.

Yeah the credit in Febuary was due to complaint I raised.

If you do decide to go to The Energy Ombudsman then it is primarily up to you to prove your case. The Ombudsman is not an investigator: it just reviews the evidence provided to it by the complainant and the supplier.

If The Energy Ombudsman finds in the supplier’s favour then it will issue an Interim and then Final Decision that you can accept or reject. If you reject the Final Decision then your complaint will be closed down and neither the supplier nor The Ombudsman will discuss the matter any further.

In extremis, the supplier can use the Final Decision in support of a Court Claim - as indeed you can, if The Ombudsman finds in your favour and the supplier fails to comply with all the actions imposed upon it.

If BackBilling has been turned down by the supplier’s specialist team, then you are going to need to show clear evidence that supplier is acting in breach of its Standard Licence Conditions. Opinions from posters on this forum count for nought. My advice: write out your complaint and ask for an independent opinion from a Citizens’ Advice energy adviser before you submit it.