Erroneous Transfer - energy supplier

Leongreen

Hi, on 27th Jan a guy came to my door and said he was from [I think] scottish power. I told him I am with EON, he said "I know, that's why I am here, to offer you a good deal to switch". I said no as I was busy wfh. I didn't give him my name or any other details. 

On 30th Jan, EON sent an email stating "sorry you are leaving us...". I called both scottish power and EON that day to get it sorted out.  It was reversed. I was told I could be entitled to compensation for this but Scottish Power say they have no record of my account being transferred to them and they are not responsible for EON "data leakage". They refused to log a complaint reference. 

EON say it's not an erroneous transfer because it was stopped. But it was only stopped because I called them!  They also said that a different name to mine had been used on the transfer which i find concernng.  I asked EON for compensation and logged a complaint. They refused the compensation but have also refused to provide a resolution letter which means I don't seem to be able to go the Ombudsman.  

Do I have any options here? I would like to be compensated for the wasted time 

FlorayG

Obviously nothing to do with Scottish Power as they had no details and I'm not aware you can claim anything from EON because of an obvious scammer trying to do something with your EON account; how would they know there wasn't a new resident in your house? They only know what people tell them. I'm curious as to what the scam was, though

FrugaiMacDugal

Why compensation, what did you lose, 2 phone calls, maybe £1?

TheMilkmansDad

I'd guess the door knocker got a sale that day but used the incorrect address on the paperwork..... human error.

Leongreen

FrugaiMacDugal said:

Why compensation, what did you lose, 2 phone calls, maybe £1?

I get your point but the ofgem charter states that a customer who is the "victim" of an "erroneous transfer" should be compensated with £40. £80 as its been over I think 21 days. So I am just wondering if I am entitled to this, or if there are good reasons why it shouldn't be paid. In which case, fine. ( Do i think my inconvenience is 80 quids worth? Probably not but that's not really the point)

debitcardmayhem

EON are not to blame, in fact they made you aware that your account is trying to leave. They should know who the receiving company is, but they stopped the transfer when you told them. It could be a simple mistake on the part of the person initiated the transfer, but the ombudsman will probably say the say the same and would not start a case against EON 

Edit I note you said that you think it was SP but you were busy, no wonder SP say they have no record.

Gerry1

Presumably it was just an independent door-to-door chancer trying to earn commission, with or without your permission?  As you didn't give your name his Plan B was to invent one.

Neither E.On nor Scottish Power appear to have done anything wrong.  SP started the transfer in good faith to what they believed was a new occupier.  E.On did the right thing by letting you know, and you successfully blocked the transfer before it happened.  Everything has worked correctly and you haven't suffered any financial loss, hence no compo.  End of story.

All the checks and balances have worked correctly.  With any luck the chancer will soon realise it's not a profitable endeavour and will move on.  With all due respect, you need to lighten up and do the same.  Yes, it's irritating and an inconvenience, but you have the satisfaction of having foiled his attempt.

And at least you have a proper job, something the chancer probably doesn't, perhaps through no fault of his own.  Not defending the attempted scam, it was out of order, but his desperation may explain his motivation.

FrugaiMacDugal

Leongreen said:

FrugaiMacDugal said:

Why compensation, what did you lose, 2 phone calls, maybe £1?

I get your point but the ofgem charter states that a customer who is the "victim" of an "erroneous transfer" should be compensated with £40. £80 as its been over I think 21 days. So I am just wondering if I am entitled to this, or if there are good reasons why it shouldn't be paid. In which case, fine. ( Do i think my inconvenience is 80 quids worth? Probably not but that's not really the point)

Aye, but the "erroneous transfer" didn't happen, which probably saved a lot of hassle.

debitcardmayhem

Leongreen said:

FrugaiMacDugal said:

Why compensation, what did you lose, 2 phone calls, maybe £1?

I get your point but the ofgem charter states that a customer who is the "victim" of an "erroneous transfer" should be compensated with £40. £80 as its been over I think 21 days. So I am just wondering if I am entitled to this, or if there are good reasons why it shouldn't be paid. In which case, fine. ( Do i think my inconvenience is 80 quids worth? Probably not but that's not really the point)

But you weren’t a victim were you, there was no transfer

Leongreen

FrugaiMacDugal said:

Leongreen said:

FrugaiMacDugal said:

Why compensation, what did you lose, 2 phone calls, maybe £1?

I get your point but the ofgem charter states that a customer who is the "victim" of an "erroneous transfer" should be compensated with £40. £80 as its been over I think 21 days. So I am just wondering if I am entitled to this, or if there are good reasons why it shouldn't be paid. In which case, fine. ( Do i think my inconvenience is 80 quids worth? Probably not but that's not really the point)

Aye, but the "erroneous transfer" didn't happen, which probably saved a lot of hassle.

If that's the rule, fair enough. I'll just temember to not be so proactive next time 🤣

Gerry1

It sounds similar to the 'Nottingham Knockers', except that they're organised.  They take what seem to be somewhat vulnerable young people from deprived areas in the north and give them cheap board and lodging in the south.  They drive them each day to what are perceived as affluent areas in nearby towns, equipping them with large backpacks of pound shop tat which they try to sell at absurdly inflated prices.  They say they're ex-offenders on a government rehabilitation scheme (probably just a sob story to get sympathy) and wave a fake ID as 'proof'.

I always just politely decline, pointing them to my 'No Cold Callers' sticker.  However, I'm often conflicted.  Part of me says that it must be dispiriting have to lead a solitary existence trudging round day to day in the cold, wind and rain being continually rejected, especially if they have no family as often seems to be the case.  I could well afford to make their day and buy some tat, so perhaps I should show some compassion?

OTOH, that would mean I'm supporting an organised scam.  I'd doubtless be placed on a Suckers List and such visits would become ever more frequent.  More to the point, encouraging them might result in any vulnerable people in my area being targeted or even burgled: most of the 'Nottingham Knockers' are quite persistent, and some can become quite aggressive and intimidating.

One evening I spoke to one young chap (from Middlesbrough IIRC) who asked for directions because he was lost, trying to find his way back to the minibus collection point but he didn't have a mobile phone.  I told him that the scheme was a scam, that some Mr. Big was doing very nicely out of it but it wasn't him.  I was a bit taken aback when he said he'd collected £300 that day and he was allowed to keep half of it.

I didn't feel quite so guilty after that...