E.ON frustration and surprise with bill

Godofgiants

Hi it's my first year renting, and I have just got round to trying to settle my energy bills. I had a couple of questions if anyone would be kind enough to answer. 

I am with E.ON

As a single person living in a one bedroom flat. I am guessing the energy cap the government brought in does not apply to me. If this is the case why is it so unfairly skewed towards larger households and not for single people short on money like myself? This is more a rhetorical question borne out of frustration. 

E.ON tried to charge me an estimated bill of £2.500 for 10months instead of the actual bill of £1100, which still seems incredibly high given I went to great lengths to save on energy. not turning the boiler on, going to bed cold for nights on end during the winter. Apparently if the estate agent didn't have a meter reading for the start of tenancy to give me I would've been forced to pay the extortionate and irrationally calculated estimated bill. How does the government allow this? 

I have looked at the average rates for kwh and standing charges in the South West and mine seem a lot higher. Apparently government discounts have been applied so I am still astounded at how the bill is so high despite this. 

My rates per kwh:

Aug - Sept 35 per kwh Day 18p Night
Oct - Jan 47 per kwh Day 15p Night
Jan - April 50p per kwh Day 18p Night 
April - June 47 per kwh Day 17p Night

Standing charges averages 60p per day for the 10month period. 

My questions around this are, are they allowed to charge me this much? There was no govt cap on rate per kwh or anything? They are allowed to just jack up the prices when energy is needed the most and run away with record profits? How has the government discount been applied because I am astounded at how much it is, including govt 'discounts'. 

CSI_Yorkshire

The government discount on E.ON Next bills was usually shown as a second line for each bit of usage at a negative price.

You have had exactly the same cap applied to you as everyone else, it's just a little stranger how it applies to day/night tariffs.  Obviously the overall cap doesn't apply to each rate individually, you have a higher day rate to go with the lower night rate, but the cap applies to a 'typical' pattern.

They 'jack up the prices' when energy is more expensive for them to buy, and their profits are capped.

Gerry1

For future reference, always insist on reading the meters yourself, never rely on a reading taken by anyone else or you could find yourself paying for energy used by a previous occupier or during a void period.

Switch to Variable Direct Debit if you want to pay only for what you've used since the last meter reading, but beware of lower bills in summer and higher ones in winter.

Godofgiants

CSI_Yorkshire said:

The government discount on E.ON Next bills was usually shown as a second line for each bit of usage at a negative price.

You have had exactly the same cap applied to you as everyone else, it's just a little stranger how it applies to day/night tariffs.  Obviously the overall cap doesn't apply to each rate individually, you have a higher day rate to go with the lower night rate, but the cap applies to a 'typical' pattern.

They 'jack up the prices' when energy is more expensive for them to buy, and their profits are capped.

Thanks for your reply. I've looked into my bill in more detail and according to a govt page I was supposed to get £400 off bills for Oct-March but I only received £344 off . Any chance you know why that is? I can't post links, otherwise would link the page and a screenshot of my EPG discounts. 

Robin9

What was Eon your meter reads  on moving in? (as above never, never rely on anyone else to take them.
? 

What are they today ? 

Have you been giving Eon reads every month or leaving them to guess ?

Godofgiants

Gerry1 said:

For future reference, always insist on reading the meters yourself, never rely on a reading taken by anyone else or you could find yourself paying for energy used by a previous occupier or during a void period.

Switch to Variable Direct Debit if you want to pay only for what you've used since the last meter reading, but beware of lower bills in summer and higher ones in winter.

Yes, I absolutely know this now, but when I was first renting I just didn't think about this and that's my bad. 

CSI_Yorkshire

Godofgiants said:

CSI_Yorkshire said:

The government discount on E.ON Next bills was usually shown as a second line for each bit of usage at a negative price.

You have had exactly the same cap applied to you as everyone else, it's just a little stranger how it applies to day/night tariffs.  Obviously the overall cap doesn't apply to each rate individually, you have a higher day rate to go with the lower night rate, but the cap applies to a 'typical' pattern.

They 'jack up the prices' when energy is more expensive for them to buy, and their profits are capped.

Thanks for your reply. I've looked into my bill in more detail and according to a govt page I was supposed to get £400 off bills for Oct-March but I only received £344 off . Any chance you know why that is? I can't post links, otherwise would link the page and a screenshot of my EPG discounts. 

EPG discounts are discounts on the unit rates and not a fixed amount.  These are the ones on your bill with negative prices for usage.

The £400 was a different scheme, the EBSS, which was a fixed amount credited to your bill each month (based on who your supplier was on the 1st of each month).  That will appear on the bill in the same place as your own direct debit contributions.

Gerry1

Sounds like you missed one £66 payment, possibly because you weren't with your supplier on the 1st of the month?

Godofgiants

I also don't really understand how telling energy companies your meter readings work. In theory couldn't someone just say they took a reading and fiddle with it in such a way that they used less in the high charge months. Is it all just based on good faith? 

CSI_Yorkshire

Yes, someone could, but it would either make very little difference or be so wrong to be noted as incorrect.

Gerry1

No.  Sooner or later you'd be caught out by a meter reader or The Mysterious Third Party.

https://help.so.energy/support/solutions/articles/7000046241