EON direct debit

RoysV

[Deleted User] said:

RoysV said:

CSI_Yorkshire said:

RoysV said:

CSI_Yorkshire said:

RoysV said:

Morning All,
I'm wondering if anyone can shed any light on how EON work their monthly direct debit?

A not so quick summary is EON have my mothers DD at £309/mth, my father sadly passed away in December and as he was the named account holder they had to set a new account up which for some reason left her in debit, she now has £180 credit on her account.

I've checked her yearly usage using the bills with smart readings from 08/22 and 08/23
She's used  2196kwh electricity and 1426 cubic metres of gas which I work out at 16041 kwh, using their conversion factors.

After numerous emails they reluctantly agreed to lower it by 10% so its now approx £278 which still seems high to me.

They've said they work out yearly usage then divide by 12 and add a 2 week usage amount as a 'buffer' surely this isn't correct that my mother has to have a 24 week buffer sitting in their account?

Any help or comments gratefully received

She has about 2 weeks buffer in the account according to your post.  That's pretty low.

I think you've misunderstood what they said, or more likely they've explained it badly - it isn't a 2 week buffer in every month's direct debit, it's usually something like 54 weeks' usage split into the 12 payments.

Plus next year's usage is unlikely to be the same as last year's usage as there is weather to consider.

Having said that, £278 sounds a little high - but I wouldn't be surprised by something like £225-£230.

Surely we get weather every year? But yes I'm certain it was explained poorly. I was expecting around the £210 mark but for them to say it should still be £309 seemed high to me.
@molerat Yes I had thunked that 

Yes, but not the same weather.

I must be having a dense day I really don't know what you're getting at

We do not get the same weather patterns each year. Last Winter was deemed to be unseasonably warm. This coming Winter could be like the Great Freeze of 1962/3 which lasted 3 months. It very much depends on the position of the Atlantic Jetstreams.

When estimating annual costs, supplier algorithms make some adjustment for cold/warm weather.

Remember, DD payments are just a guess. Actual energy charges are based on the agreed tariff and actual usage.

Yes I take all that on board. I don't think my mother could use any more gas the house is always glowing as I come into the street 
I just can't get my head around that when I take the year on year meter readings (04/08/22 and 04/08/23) it works out about £189/mth actual usage and on the bill is EONs own estimate of £195/mth. So when do they use these algorithms and why would they want £309/mth and only reduced it to £278/mth when we complained?
I don't expect my mother to pay Around £190/mth but £278 seems over the top.
I've been with EON for years and my monthly direct debit is about £10 more than my actual usage.  Am I in for a shock!!?? 
If this is the way it works then fair enough but I've never known the difference between monthly payment and actual usage be so high

RoysV

bluelad1927 said:

At the beginning of the year I wasn't happy that EON wanted £300 a month DD so I called and went on a variable DD paying each month as it is billed on a smart meter

Yes you are responsible for saving for those winter months but it worked for me. Our bills came to just over 1800 (before the 400 handout)for the year and even with a cold winter they were never going to be anywhere near the 3600 that EON wanted on standard DD

Yes I thought of doing that but as my EON smart meters only sent readings for about 3 months and never worked again, I have visions of that happening to my mothers and then it's just something else for her to worry about.

JohnSwift10

If she can afford to pay more in the winter get her to switch to variable direct debit that what I did.
This is my payments since I did that. I didn't pay anything in October and November as I was in credit

Fri 09 Dec 2022	Direct Debit			£21.01
Thu 12 Jan 2023	Direct Debit			£224.93
Fri 10 Feb 2023	Direct Debit			£102.38
Fri 10 Mar 2023	Direct Debit			£195.29
Mon 10 Apr 2023	Direct Debit			£237.29
Wed 10 May 2023	Direct Debit			£175.71
Sat 10 Jun 2023	Direct Debit			£181.03
Mon 10 Jul 2023	Direct Debit			£131.68
Thu 10 Aug 2023	Direct Debit			£110.70

CSI_Yorkshire

JohnSwift10 said:

If she can afford to pay more in the winter get her to switch to variable direct debit that what I did.
This is my payments since I did that. I didn't pay anything in October and November as I was in credit

Fri 09 Dec 2022	Direct Debit			£21.01
Thu 12 Jan 2023	Direct Debit			£224.93
Fri 10 Feb 2023	Direct Debit			£102.38
Fri 10 Mar 2023	Direct Debit			£195.29
Mon 10 Apr 2023	Direct Debit			£237.29
Wed 10 May 2023	Direct Debit			£175.71
Sat 10 Jun 2023	Direct Debit			£181.03
Mon 10 Jul 2023	Direct Debit			£131.68
Thu 10 Aug 2023	Direct Debit			£110.70

Why does what you pay have any bearing on the OP?

rp1974

As mentioned previously,without getting into the whole morass of the potential benefits vs the potential drawbacks of doing so,this sounds like the latest,in a very,very long line of threads where the obvious solution would be variable direct debit.
A simple phone call,email,social media post,etc problem solved possibly in minutes.
Also solves the issue some seem to have with those pesky energy suppliers hoarding our cash in credit balances.

RoysV

Just checked my mothers account and lo and behold the DD has been set at £192. My head hurts 
Yes @rp1974 you are correct, if it was me I would do that, but my mother is 87 and if she ends up with knackered smart meters like me it will just be something else to worry about

molerat

CSI_Yorkshire said:

Why does what you pay have any bearing on the OP?

I assumed it was to show that in winter with variable DD you may well pay over double what you pay in the warmer months and be prepared / able  to budget for that.  A valid pointer as around December Christmas takes many by surprise !

CSI_Yorkshire

molerat said:

CSI_Yorkshire said:

Why does what you pay have any bearing on the OP?

I assumed it was to show that in winter with variable DD you may well pay over double what you pay in the warmer months and be prepared / able  to budget for that.  A valid pointer as around December Christmas takes many by surprise !

Except on those numbers June was nearly double February, and April was ten times December.  Not a particularly good demonstration at all.

Rodders53

Eon will create a bill every time a meter reading is given via the online account.  That doesn't, however, result in a sensible DD recalculation based on the credit owed when they do that.    I used to submit readings every month without fail.

After much agony with them over a large credit (part due to the alternative fuel Govt credit) I eventually (after a formal complaint) got a full refund of my credit and am now on a variable DD.  First month in they produce an incorrect estimated bill (low) and DD... so I submitted a correct meter read on the 1st of following month and another bill and DD.  So I have two DDs being taken one day apart to clear the balance owed.  EONs incompetence knows no bounds.  Mind, I did get £30 compensation sum for the valid complaint.

Unfortunately if you or mother can't read meter(s) and submit readings online regularly (monthly) then something like variable DD may not work?  It's also no longer equally as cheap as any normal DD tariff. So I'll be switching soon I expect.

CSI_Yorkshire

Rodders53 said:

It's also no longer equally as cheap as any normal DD tariff.

Variable DD uses exactly the same prices as Fixed DD.  If someone is telling you otherwise, either they've got it wrong or you're not on VDD.