Eon Next Woes

[Deleted User]

Eon decided to put my electricity up from £44 a month to £55.

E.oN has NOT put up your electricity: it has increased your monthly payment from which charges for electricity used are deducted. Given that it is December and energy prices will increase in April 2023, the increase may well be accurate. 

That said unless you post tariff details; your annual usage in kWh/year and any credit/debit balance,  providing anything other than general advice is difficult.

barnstar2077

My main reason for requesting the refund is because the government payment will still build up credit, so I see no reason why I can't just get my money back. 

[Deleted User]

My main reason for requesting the refund is because the government payment will still build up credit, so I see no reason why I can't just get my money back. 

Is that what you think of what you have calculated based on your actual usage in kWh/year?

If you provide the supplier with some calculations, you might have a better chance of getting some of your credit balance back. Bear in mind that most suppliers look forward 6 months when they carryout a DD review: energy costs will rise in April.

dealyboy

Hi barnstar ...

barnstar2077 said:

I was surprised recently to find that despite being £138 in credit on my electrical bill, and despite my £40 a month usage being entirely covered by the £66 a month government payment that Eon decided to put my electricity up from £44 a month to £55.

I have spent the last two weeks emailing with them back and forth trying to get them to refund me the balance on the account.  They ask me what I want to do, then when I tell them they just send me the current balance and ask for me to email them later, that they are looking into it etc, but they don't actually do as I have requested.

Are other people experiencing the same issues?  If I ring them, am I likely to get any further?  Is there anything I can say that might work?  I have already told them that I am struggling to buy food and am in desperate need of them returning my money to me.

It is so frustrating, grrrr.

I am slightly puzzled. Have E.ON Next been taking £44 a month and now £55 a month, in addition to crediting your account the government £66, when your actual use is £40? Was £44 the DD before October?

Something doesn't seem quite right ... If your payment was £44 I would have expected that to be reduced to £0 whilst the government subsidy is in operation. If however it was £111 and was reduced by £67 to £44 but has now been increased by £11 then they might be comparing your expected usage cost with a non-adjusted payment of £122 per month.

What would you expect your monthly usage costs to be going forward (based on last winter usage and current tariff)?

A couple of things:
There has been a lot of news recently regarding suppliers with excessive customer credits being required to reduce/pay back as requested by the customer (sorry don't know the details).
Variable direct debits can work out more expensive, e.g. tariffs in the Eastern Region, Next Flex elec, fixed DD is 35.06p per kWh SC 38.94p, payment on receipt of bill is 37.88p per kWh SC 44.58p, and prepayment 34.08p per kWh SC 44.02p (one rate)

My account is Next Online v9 (fixed).
Payment was £70 a month fixed DD, reduced to £3 from October.
Government subsidy £66/£67 a month from October.
Usage approx £30 a month, last month nearer £40. 
Account in credit £210.
... so in my case £70 a month credited to my account plus a credit balance of £210 is a substantial buffer. My usage last winter in units was two or three times my current usage but I would be disappointed if they increased my payment prematurely.

stewie_griffin

Have you checked to make sure you’ve not been getting a refund of £67 in to your bank account?

Gerry1

dealyboy said:

Variable direct debits can work out more expensive, e.g. tariffs in the Eastern Region, Next Flex elec, fixed DD is 35.06p per kWh SC 38.94p, payment on receipt of bill is 37.88p per kWh SC 44.58p, and prepayment 34.08p per kWh SC 44.02p (one rate)

@dealyboy Unfortunately, that's not correct.  DD rates are the same whether it's Fixed DD or Variable DD: there's nothing on the relevant E.On page to say that Variable DD is more expensive, they mention only DDs in general.

Note that 'Payment on receipt of bill ' means 'Cash/Cheque'.

The confusion arises because nothing emanating from dozy Ofgem is ever in Plain English, it's always clear as mud.

Ofgem refer to 'Other Payment Method', 'Standard Credit' and 'Prepayment', but in the real world (EDF example shown) they are known as 'Direct Debit', 'Cash/Cheque' and 'Prepayment/PAYG' respectively.

barnstar2077

dealyboy said:

Hi barnstar ...

barnstar2077 said:

I was surprised recently to find that despite being £138 in credit on my electrical bill, and despite my £40 a month usage being entirely covered by the £66 a month government payment that Eon decided to put my electricity up from £44 a month to £55.

I have spent the last two weeks emailing with them back and forth trying to get them to refund me the balance on the account.  They ask me what I want to do, then when I tell them they just send me the current balance and ask for me to email them later, that they are looking into it etc, but they don't actually do as I have requested.

Are other people experiencing the same issues?  If I ring them, am I likely to get any further?  Is there anything I can say that might work?  I have already told them that I am struggling to buy food and am in desperate need of them returning my money to me.

It is so frustrating, grrrr.

I am slightly puzzled. Have E.ON Next been taking £44 a month and now £55 a month, in addition to crediting your account the government £66, when your actual use is £40? Was £44 the DD before October?

Something doesn't seem quite right ... If your payment was £44 I would have expected that to be reduced to £0 whilst the government subsidy is in operation. If however it was £111 and was reduced by £67 to £44 but has now been increased by £11 then they might be comparing your expected usage cost with a non-adjusted payment of £122 per month.

What would you expect your monthly usage costs to be going forward (based on last winter usage and current tariff)?

A couple of things:
There has been a lot of news recently regarding suppliers with excessive customer credits being required to reduce/pay back as requested by the customer (sorry don't know the details).
Variable direct debits can work out more expensive, e.g. tariffs in the Eastern Region, Next Flex elec, fixed DD is 35.06p per kWh SC 38.94p, payment on receipt of bill is 37.88p per kWh SC 44.58p, and prepayment 34.08p per kWh SC 44.02p (one rate)

My account is Next Online v9 (fixed).
Payment was £70 a month fixed DD, reduced to £3 from October.
Government subsidy £66/£67 a month from October.
Usage approx £30 a month, last month nearer £40. 
Account in credit £210.
... so in my case £70 a month credited to my account plus a credit balance of £210 is a substantial buffer. My usage last winter in units was two or three times my current usage but I would be disappointed if they increased my payment prematurely.

"I am slightly puzzled. Have E.ON Next been taking £44 a month and now £55 a month, in addition to crediting your account the government £66, when your actual use is £40? Was £44 the DD before October?"

Yes, this is exactly what has happened, and why I see no reason for them to not return my balance to me.

My November statement says that I used £40.  So even if there was a 50% increase over the next few months it would still be covered by the government's payment.

barnstar2077

Dolor said:

Eon decided to put my electricity up from £44 a month to £55.

E.oN has NOT put up your electricity: it has increased your monthly payment from which charges for electricity used are deducted. Given that it is December and energy prices will increase in April 2023, the increase may well be accurate. 

That said unless you post tariff details; your annual usage in kWh/year and any credit/debit balance,  providing anything other than general advice is difficult.

Thank you for your reply.  I think most people understood my meaning.


I don't think posting rates or KWH etc would serve any purpose, as Eon themselves say I am only using £40 worth, which I am not disputing.

born_again

barnstar2077 said:

My November statement says that I used £40.  So even if there was a 50% increase over the next few months it would still be covered by the government's payment.

Is that actual usage (meter read each month) or estimated?

barnstar2077

stewie_griffin said:

Have you checked to make sure you’ve not been getting a refund of £67 in to your bank account?

I have, and they are definitely not giving me any money back in that way.