E-ON do we really owe them?!

helpmegetthissorted wrote: »

Having a battle with E-ON at the moment regarding an account that belonged to my Nan. Just over 2 years ago her bungalow was fitted with a new meter. Although my Nan paid a monthly direct debit to E-ON it only came to light last summer that she hadn't actually received a bill since the meter was fitted.
My Nan went into a care home last November and as a result my parents contacted E-ON for a final bill as the bungalow had to be put up for sale. Since November my parents have received correspondence from E-ON stating that my Nan was over £1,000 in credit. E-ON were unable to provide a final bill stating that the account hadn't yet been changed on their system reflecting the change in the meter fitted 2 years ago.
After a lengthy battle with E-ON customer services, E-ON are now saying that more than £600 is owing on the account after they have taken the £1,000 credit.
My Nan has since passed away and E-ON are obviously chasing the money. We think that it is disgusting that had she still been alive that she would be having to deal with this at 89 years old!
I did read somewhere that if it is the energy company at fault that they can only back charge for a year - is this correct?
Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

Hello helpmegetthissorted, welcome to the Forums and please accept my sincere condolences for your sad loss.

I'm sorry we haven't sent a bill for two years. As you say, this might well come under the Billing Code. This applies in certain circumstances where we're at fault for not sending an accurate bill. In these cases, we cannot charge for any unbilled energy used more than 12 months from the point the problem was fixed. It doesn't apply where energy has been used and the customer has made no attempt to contact us to arrange payment. I can't see this being an issue as your Nan had set up a Monthly Direct Debit.

As your Nan has now regrettably passed away and if your parents are the executors of the estate, I'd suggest they talk to our specialist Bereavement Support team. This team has been set up to deal exclusively with situations where a customer has passed away. Details of what they do and how to contact them are on our website.

They'll make sure all the necessary actions are taken on the account and keep your parents up to date with what's happening. They'll ask for a copy of the death certificate, close the account and put it into the name of the executors. They'll also open a new account in the name of the person taking over responsibility for the property.

They'll advise about any balances on the account and what to expect if the estate is going through probate. Please ask your parents to talk to them about the Billing Code. There'll be notes on the account detailing previous conversations and they'll be able to see if the Billing Code applies. They'll also confirm a direct phone number so there's no need to contact different areas of the business.

Sorry again for your loss helpmegetthissorted and hope this points you in the right direction.

Malc