Thread: Eon disguising penalty charges

Hi there,
My partner and I had just had a letter from Eon stating that we have unpaid bill of £30. We got an estimite from Eon which we did not agree with as we believed the amount to be incorrect. My partner then contacted Eon and asked for our meter to be read. We had the meter read and a new bill arrived. We were correct in the fact that the original amount asked for was incorrect. The new bill was dated 22/05/09. On 02/06/09 we had someone call to the house to ask us when the payment would be made. He said that he was not there to disconnect us, he was there to get payment dates from us, and to then advise Eon of when we were going to pay. We told him that we'd only just received the ammended bill, and that we would be paying straight away. He told us that we would be charged £30 for his visit by Eon, and that it would show up itemised on our next bill. We said that we disagreed with this, and that the charge for him to come out is Eon's, and not ours. He stated that he agreed with us, and that he'd pass that message on. Today we have recieved a letter stating that we have an unpaid bill dated 22/05/09 for £30. My partner rang Eon and explained the situation, and after several minutes 'discussing' the matter with them they agreed that it was a penalty charge. They also stated that there is a message on file from the gentleman who visited us stating that he believed charging us would be incorrect. They have charged us for this and have said that regardless of the facts, they will pursue this 'unpaid bill'. They have threatened to cut off our power if we do not pay this bill. I wanted to know if anyone else has had similar situations, and if so what happened? I don't believe they can lie about the reasons for the bill as they have tried to on the letter by calling it an unpaid bill, I also do not understand how they can send a bill for his services, dating the bill before he even arrived. Any help much appreciated! This is my first post so please be kind if I have done anything incorrectly in my post!

This is what I believe has happened, without looking at your account I can't be 100% sure...
You were sent an estimated bill, which you did not beleive was correct and did not pay

Rather than providing your own meter read, you requested a DC read the meter.

In the meantime, whilst awaiting for the reading and an amended bill, you will have been sent several letters, a red reminder, possibly letters from ECS and then a warning that E.ON were arranging for a representative to visit your property on a Pre Disconnection Visit and that this would cost £30.

Your account will not have got to this stage overnight, by providing your own read in the first instance your account could have been re-billed straight away. Also, the lead time for getting a meter reader to your property is 7 working days, so I doubt you called to request a DC read on receipt of the estimated bill which you disputed.