EON sent HUGE incorrect bill after meter replaced

UnicornPixie

I have had nothing but trouble with EON since I moved into a flat in February 2023 which had a prepayment meter installed for both gas and electricity.

Initially there was a considerable amount of debt on the meter from a previous tenant, which took weeks and multiple phone calls to clear.

They also created me an account and set up a direct debit for energy even though I had a prepayment meter. Reverting this mistake, closing that account and setting it up correctly on their system was painful to say the least!

They also sent me an incorrect key which I was unable to top up my prepayment meter with. 

The prepayment meter failed on 8th August and I had credit on there to last me till the end of the month. I immediately contacted them and informed them that the meter was no longer working, which then took them 2 months to come and resolve! They insisted that I should have a smart meter installed and this was done so on 16 October. Leaving me with no way to manage my energy costs for 2 months. 

I was told that they would "estimate" my usage during that time and would not give me any detail on how they would do that. 

After my meter was installed, I was told they would set up a new account and send me a bill. The bill has arrived and is dated from the 17th Feb to 2nd Nov and over £400! Even though I was using a prepayment meter from Feb till the beginning of August. 

This is obviously incorrect but they are refusing to admit fault and have told me I must pay within 7 days of the dated bill. 

I am looking for some advice on what I should do next and if anyone has experienced this problem when a new meter has been installed.

Thanks in advance!

ArbitraryRandom

Have you at any point raised a 'complaint' regarding the issues you've had? By email is fine. If so, you can escalate your case to the ombudsman now, if not then you can make a complaint today and escalate in 8 weeks.

The ombudsman will review all the evidence (they won't investigate themselves, so you have to provide proof of everything you're saying; things like emails to EDF reporting problems etc) and make a judgement that EDF have to stick to - this can include recalculating your bill and paying compensation for the inconvenience/problems. 

The things you might need to evidence is the balance you had on the meter when it failed and how long that would have lasted you (both probably possible if you could show how much you normally topped up in a year then averaging it over the 12 months?), which would give an idea of what your bill should have been for the month you were unmetered. 

UnicornPixie

Yes, I have raised complaints with them in the past about the issues I have had with them, but those have eventually been resolved. Would it need to be a fresh complaint?

I have had some clarification from a "prepayment specialist". They say that they have no record of me topping up the prepayment meters since February, which is incorrect, and want me to provide proof of these. 

How am I meant to provide proof as I didn't keep receipts and when I purchased credit, it will show up as a purchase from the vendor on bank statements? 

ArbitraryRandom

If you paid by card then yes, it might show as 'pay zone' (it's been a while since I was on pre-pay) - worth checking your statements if they show a pattern of transactions which lines up both before and after they're saying you last topped up. 

If you have a good relationship with the place you top up you could also ask them if they remember you and would be happy to provide copies of their receipts (you would need to know exactly when you paid). Even one receipt after February would show their records are not accurate and support what you are saying - don't be surprised if they don't want to get involved though. 

https://www.smartcapitalmind.com/what-can-i-do-about-a-lost-receipt.htm

Re complaints - if any of the previous complaints can be argued to a continuation of the same issue, then you can escalate it (i.e. they resolved that problem but not the wider problem). But even if it is a new complaint, I'd suggest you include the full history of what's happened (from at least them providing the faulty key) because it could well be relevant to understanding your current situation. 

UnicornPixie

Thanks for your advice! I will do as you have suggested and post an update when I have one

rp1974

OP,hope this gets sorted out quickly,not a lot of use now granted,a bit of advice that I've found valuable is always,always,always keep receipts for everything.
I found this out the hard way when settling my late mothers estate when dealing with Scottish Power and their incompetence and or downright lies,partly why I'd never use them again,under any circumstances whatsoever.