So. This is a long story - sorry about that!

In March 2014, my husband and I received a very large back bill.

Apparently, they discovered they hadn't input what few meter readings they had into their system

upon changing the account from my husband's name to mine.

We'd originally wanted the account in both of our names, for visa purposes, but they refused.

We were completely shocked, and there was/is no way for us to pay it, as we just barely scrape by paying the normal bills.

The amount was also very high for our living situation, and I still don't think the amount is correct.

We've argued back and forth for a year about the repayment amount.

They won't accept anything.

When we sent in a financial statement with an offer based off our last bill amount,

they wrote back asking for more than double what we offered,

saying it was "unconscionable" to "leave a customer in debt".

Well if it was that unconscionable,

they could just forgive the back amount and let us go forward with a clean slate to pay our bills in full/on time.

But no.

I haven't won the lottery yet, so we sent another letter.

today, I got a hand delivered letter from them saying they've now installed a pre-payment meter.

Fantastic!

Even higher rates for a bill we could only just about afford before!

It's really only a matter of time now before we just won't have the money to keep the lights turned on and won't be able to cook at home.

They "suggest" we load £32 onto the meter each week to pay for "our usage" and the repayment amount of £8/week.

We cannot afford that much per month. It's just not possible.

I'm not sure if we would otherwise qualify for benefits,

but it's really a moot point because I'm a US National, here on a spouse visa,

and one of the conditions of those visas is no access to public funds.

Is there anything we can do?

I'm so stressed out,

and I really didn't need even more stress.

I expect the only thing you could do is look at your spending

Is there any other debts/repayments you can cut back on

No. The only other debt is council tax, we arranged to pay it in installments through the end of March. Then, of course, we'll get the next year's bill.

Other than that, we have no debts and don't spend. We pay food, rent, council tax, electricity, phone, and that's it.

I've also noticed, since I got an estimated bill last time, that their estimates seems to always be more than double what we actually used. So I'm wondering if the back bill was similarly over-estimated, too.

You need to update them with correct Meter readings

Do you have all the old bills?

I think a subject access request may be needed to get all the info they have on you

Unfortunately it does cost £10 but should get to the bottom of this

Just to clarify, as you mention a back-bill.

When you received the bill, were they trying to bill you for energy used more than 12 months previous to the bill? Backbilling rules may apply here if so.

Hmm, how far down their complaints procedure are you?

If you're not start it immediately so you can escalate this to the energy ombudsman sooner rather than later.

Have they actually physically checked the meter?

Do you give them accurate meter reading every month or just wait for the bill?

Have you registered for the Home front discount which EON are part of?

How much is this 'guestimated' bill?

There is an EON rep on here who I'm sure the site team will flag up to....

There seems to be something amiss here, if they have made a genuine mistake with billing, then they should

make a genuine offer/discount to come to an amicable arrangement regarding what they say is outstanding?

How long was it before they realised they had been billing you incorrectly, and how long was it they sent you the

correct bill?

We have been updating them with meter readings. That is when I noticed the stark difference between the estimated bill and the actual bill.

I do have all the old bills - but they are nearly all estimated, because before then,

I didn't understand why I was being asked to take my own meter readings especially when they have a meter reader.

I understand that was my fault, but I do have a niggling feeling, now, that they were still wildly over-estimated. How to prove, though, I don't know.

I will add a subject access request to our list of possibilities. But wouldn't I need two, since the first two and a half years are under my husband's name?

No you only need ONE SAR for the account..

How far into their complaints procedure are you?

Hmm, how far down their complaints procedure are you?

If you're not start it immediately so you can escalate this to the energy ombudsman sooner rather than later.

 

Have they actually physically checked the meter?

Do you give them accurate meter reading every month or just wait for the bill?

 

Have you registered for the Home front discount which EON are part of?

 

How much is this 'guestimated' bill?

 

There is an EON rep on here who I'm sure the site team will flag up to....

 

There seems to be something amiss here, if they have made a genuine mistake with billing, then they should

make a genuine offer/discount to come to an amicable arrangement regarding what they say is outstanding?

 

How long was it before they realised they had been billing you incorrectly, and how long was it they sent you the

correct bill?

Complaints: We've been in and out of complaints for a while. But I know now that I need to re-open a complaint and ask for a deadlock letter, yes?

Checking Meter: If by that you mean reading it, they've been like twice in the 3.5 years we've lived here. The cupboard is communal, and the reader doesn't have his own key to it so relies on tenants to let him in.

Home Front: Is that the one that has applications open for a bit and then closes? If so, I only just heard about it a few days ago. I've registered for updates about next year, but...

Amount of Bill: The original back bill was for £3,291.49, which was then reduced to £1,862.46 after applying the billing code.

How Long Before Back Bill: They realised they hadn't input the couple readings they had after we'd been here about 2.5 years. I understand (now) I made a (big) mistake by not responding to requests for me to read the meter in between meter reader visits.

AFAIK, you won't be able to 're-open' a complaint, usually if they haven't heard anything from you for a month or so, they will close the complaint and deem you to be satisfied with their response.

However, IF, the complaints have been similar, and they have taken longer than 8 weeks to rectify, then you 'should' be able to escalate this to the energy ombudsman, but let me check EON's complaints procedure first.

Home Front, yes that's the one.

I am confused by the communal cupboard?

Is this just ONE meter for all apartments?

Or is there individual meters for the apartments?

Here is their complaints procedure.

http://www.eonenergy.com/About-eon/how-we-service-our-customers/~/media/PDFs/For-your-business/SME-PDFs/SME-General/complaintssme.pdf

There are individual meters for the apartments, but they're all housed in a little locked room with the door located on the street. Each tenant (I think) has a key to the cupboard/place but the meter reader person does not. So unless someone is home and able to let him in, he can't access the meters to read them.

OK got ya....

When did you make a complaint about this specific issue (the bill), and what was their final response, if any?

The first complaint was 6 April 2014.

I have a letter from 12 August 2014 stating they can't write off the debt,

but they could put in a prepayment meter and set up a repayment plan of £385 a month.

Then I have a follow up to that from 18 August 2014,

which I unfortunately responded to via phone and can't remember what was said.

The second complaint was 16 November 2014 and received a response in February.

I believe they said "prepayment meter" and £188 a month.

Supposedly they looked at the financial statement we sent, but they must have got ours mixed up with somebody else's,

because I have no idea where else they'd get £188 from.

We sent a reply to that about a week ago, but I guess they didn't get it, since they've apparently gone ahead

and installed a prepayment meter today. I e-mailed that letter to them a few hours ago.

Your story is rather disorganised and we don't have any sense of the timeline of events. Eversir has asked you an important question and you haven't dealt with it.

I would like to start out by saying that if this problem has been caused by the fault of the energy supplier, then yes there is probably quite a lot you can do about it if you are prepared to go the distance.

However, I think you need to start off by telling us the story in a chronological way – bullet pointed. Start from the time that you open the account and give us the sequence of events in chronological order with the month and the date for each event.

You say that they failed to update their records with meter readings. Have you got evidence of this?

eon rep has been alerted too.

dx

so: Amount of Bill: The original back bill was for £3,291.49, which was then reduced to £1,862.46 after applying the billing code.

and what have you paid them in the last 12mts please in total?

add the two together

and that's the price of you electric for the last 12mts

and you say you have a small flat only?

something very wrong here IMHO

+£1800 electric for a flat !!

Your story is rather disorganised and we don't have any sense of the timeline of events. Eversir has asked you an important question and you haven't dealt with it.

 

I would like to start out by saying that if this problem has been caused by the fault of the energy supplier, then yes there is probably quite a lot you can do about it if you are prepared to go the distance.

 

However, I think you need to start off by telling us the story in a chronological way – bullet pointed. Start from the time that you open the account and give us the sequence of events in chronological order with the month and the date for each event.

 

You say that they failed to update their records with meter readings. Have you got evidence of this?

When I spoke to them a long time ago and asked why this had suddenly happened, they said it was because they'd realised it when updating systems. I don't have that written anywhere except from a letter I sent to them on 31 March 2014.

Evesir's question I answered in response to another person's questions - they did apply the backbilling code as they should have.

Timeline:

• Jan 2012 - 1st Bill (husband's name)
  
• Jan 2012 - Jan 2014 - Bills come as normal
  
• Feb/March 2014 - Get account put into my name
  
• March 2014 - Back bill arrives
  
• 31 March 2014 - Complaint letter asking for Energy UK Back Billing Agreement to be applied
  
• 08 April 2014 - They write to advise that back billing code has already been applied and that they've set up a payment arrangement of £201/month, sent me a payment card
  
• 23 June 2014 - Proposed temporary token payment plan of £10/month as I was unemployed but about to start my new jobs
  
• 28 July 2014 - Debt collector visit
  
• 30 July 2014 - Letter from me asking EON to consider writing off the debt as my circumstances are unlikely to improve in the future and I have no assets to sell
  
• 06 August 2014 - Another debt collector visit
  
• 07 August 2014 - EON wanting to spread the debt over 30 months, refusing the £10/month and suggesting prepayment meter
  
• August 2014 - Letter from us regarding customer service/bill complaint
  
• 05 November 2014 - EON writing to tell us they're applying for a warrant to enter our home to install a prepayment meter
  
• 19 December 2014 - Letter from Wescot "further to our recent request" (that we never made) for a paypoint barcode confirmation
  
• February 2015 - Letter saying they've looked at our financial statement and suggesting £188/month, refusing our offer of £55
  
• 24 February 2015 - Sent a response letter to the above questioning accuracy of back bill and offering £65 a month
  
• 03 March 2015 - Prepayment meter apparently fitted (I haven't been down to check); above letter e-mailed
  

There are a few other communications that have happened via e-mail/phone, but I don't have them.

so: Amount of Bill: The original back bill was for £3,291.49, which was then reduced to £1,862.46 after applying the billing code.

 

and what have you paid them in the last 12mts please in total?

 

add the two together

and that's the price of you electric for the last 12mts

and you say you have a small flat only?

 

something very wrong here IMHO

 

+£1800 electric for a flat !!

In the last 12 months? Not nearly as much as I should have, most likely. From March - February, I've only paid like £350. At the time of the back bill, we were in extra bad straits. I didn't have a job and we were running out of money. Rent got behind, it was a mess.

Then I got a job in June 2014 but wasn't making much, so I was only sending EON like £10-25 or so every time I got paid. But now that I've started earning a little more and am very slowly getting EON figured out a bit, I've sent more. February, for instance, I sent £95. I believe £65 a month would cover usage + a little debt when averaged out over the whole year.

But this debt, assuming it stands which it most likely will, is going to take us years to clear. Unless something happens and I win a lottery I don't play. EON don't like that.

if they applied the back billing reg then they can only go back 12ths

so that gives you your annual usage..yes

which must be more than £1862.46 as you've paid 'something' off during the 12mts

I say that's too high and is not correct

however your readings are the key thing here

prove its wrong.

are you sure they are even reading/changed the right meter!!

dx

The back bill does only go back 12 months, but it covers 2013/14, since that was the 12 months prior to us receiving the bill. Prior to that, I paid the estimated bills we received in full but not necessarily on time.

I think it's way too high, too. We have 1.25/2 bedroom flat, don't have heating on, turn everything off at the plug - and my mother-in-law, who lives in a giant two storey 5 bed house, has lower electricity bills with EON than we do. EON's suggestion was to hire a private electrician, but we can't afford that and I don't know anyone. Rental company doesn't seem keen on having one in either.

The problem with proving it wrong are that I didn't take any readings over that period. I didn't realise that over here it's actually a thing you do that's necessary. I never ever had to read my own meter in the States, so I assumed that the meter reader coming would be enough. So all I have to go on are the like two readings that the meter reader was able to take and the ones I've taken since the back bill came in.

As far as I can tell, they're reading the right meter. But he's hardly ever able to read it anyway, so...

Get records of all your bills, meter readings and payments made. Relying on estimated bills is no good to you. You may have either over or under-paid and need to be sure either way.

Need to explain this backbilling issue fully because there are little bits and pieces fragmented over several posts. Ideally need to know how they justified this recalculated amount. That could be wrong in itself.

dx is spot on - they may be reading someone else's meter. Would say check your meter serial number against the one on your bill, but if they've replaced it you may struggle now. Have a look anyway.

If you dispute the usage, I'd be tempted to turn off all my mains appliances (everything) and see if your meter still registers a consumption over say a few hours. "Creative" wiring in a shared complex isn't totally unheard of. For best results, flick the master switch on your consumer unit - usually a big red one. If energy is still consumed, something is wrong somewhere.

Good morning,

Thanks for the information already on the thread.

I'll be honest and say I've found this slightly difficult to follow from the posts.

But I wanted to give you a general idea of what needs to happen next as you're still unhappy.

It sounds to me like the account has been estimated for some time, we then billed up to date and the back billing code was applied, although I'm slightly unsure for the exact reason. I agree with Eversir, how was this calculated, you can ask us this.

We've then tried to offer payment arrangements to cover ongoing usage and clear the balance over a number of months. We won't have been able to accept your offer as this amount won't have covered the usage, so the account would have fallen further in to debt.

Therefore, as no official arrangement was in place we've installed a pre-payment meter. This sounds like it may have been done on a warrant. This really is a last resort.

We wouldn't write off the whole balance here as energy has been used.

I think you have an all electric property, electric heating can be expensive. Even if you've used minimal heating, how do you heat hot water etc, is it an immersion?

What sort of meter do you have, Economy 7, Economy10 etc. Have we billed you on the correct tariff for the meter type?

We do reply on customers providing meter readings to keep their accounts accurate, as we're only obliged to read meters once every two years.

As the others have said, you need to be looking at your meter, does this match what's on your bills. The meter that's been removed, did you have a note of the serial number and last reads from that meter? Do you still appear to be using a lot of energy even with the new pre-payment meter?

I understand you haven't yet checked the pre-payment meter, I'd advise you to check this meter asap, you'll also need to be topping the meter up. But check the readings the serial number etc.

As you're unhappy with the outcome/dealing of the account you need to contact us and raise a compliant. We have a procedure to follow (this is on the website) you'll then have a complaint manager deal with this and investigate what's actually happened. If there isn't a resolution at this stage it can be passed for review. If we're unable to reach a resolution with you we can issue a deadlock letter and you can go to the Ombudsman, or you can go to them if the complaint is over 56 days old.

Hope this helps a little.

We do reply [rely?] on customers providing meter readings to keep their accounts accurate, as we're only obliged to read meters once every two years.

This is potentially misleading. The energy supplier must inspect a meter at least every two years to assess damage, deterioration and interference. This inspection must include a meter reading also. However the following also applies:

21B.4) The licensee must take all reasonable steps to obtain a meter reading (including any meter reading transmitted electronically from a meter to the licensee or provided by the Customer and accepted by the licensee) for each of its Customers at least once every year.

 

This paragraph does not apply in relation to any Customer with a Prepayment Meter.

 

Source: Electricity Act 1989 - Standard Conditions of Electricity Supply Licence

Oh look at that, so sorry for my mistake Thank you for pulling me up Eversir.

With regard your EON trouble there are number of things to consider.

EON cannot just turn up and install a pre payment meter.

They need a court order for that.

To get a court order they need to start proceedings in the magistrates court.

So did you get notice of a court hearing?

Did you get notice of a court judgement?

Have EON issued or shown you a court order?

If not , EON have no legal authority to remove your existing meter without your written or verbal consent.

Did you give them that or did they circuitously just turn up?

Can you explain what tariff you are on, i.e ECO 7 ( day/night tariff)?

Can you explain what your heating is electric or gas?

Is cooking electric or gas?

How long have you held the EON account?

Do you have a written contract,

or do you have a contract that is verbal, by action by consideration(payment) etc?

When was the contract taken out and has it been amended at anytime by mutual consent?

In what way are EON saying they did not bill.

I,e its not unusual for EON get ECO 7 tariff back to front.

So do you have a clear explain of what went wrong?

Do you have copies of all old electric bills prior to the problem?

Is so look at how many are estimated readings compared with actual readings.

Do you have the meter readings prior to them removing the original meter?

With regard Deadlock letters,

consumers are not obliged legally to use an energy companies complaints procedures, and or the energy Ombudsman.

Now you have stated your complaint started back in 2014,

the Energy Ombudsman has time limits for him to be come engaged

i.e. only after issue of a deadlock letter and no later than 9 months after the issue of the deadlock letter.

However you would need to consider issuing civil county court proceedings against EON

if you believe you have been duped by EON and they are well known for lying to the courts.

You have up to 6 years to commence proceedings in a civil court.

Equally you could do nothing and let EON issue proceedings against you.

However they will properly not issue proceedings now they have you trapped on a pre payment meter.

Two legal cases to read up on in relation to harassment from Debit collectors and energy companies.

Lisa Ferguson v British Gas Trading Ltd [2009]

Christopher Poncelet v npower Ltd I think it was 2010.

EON are well known for circuitously turning up without a magistrates warrant

in an attempt to get you to work with their prepayment meter system.

the make more money from you.

Is anyone in your household venerable or have chronic health conditions?

Don't panic just yet but need to explanation of why EON are back claiming the debit,

is it the consumer underpaying in previous months or withholding sums,

and or did you gave them previous meter readings is it they did not read the meter for over two years

and under estimated the actual consumption during that time?

Hope this helps.

Go through the chronological events and fill in the missing gaps.

The back bill does only go back 12 months, but it covers 2013/14, since that was the 12 months prior to us receiving the bill. Prior to that, I paid the estimated bills we received in full but not necessarily on time.

 

I think it's way too high, too. We have 1.25/2 bedroom flat, don't have heating on, turn everything off at the plug - and my mother-in-law, who lives in a giant two storey 5 bed house, has lower electricity bills with EON than we do. EON's suggestion was to hire a private electrician, but we can't afford that and I don't know anyone. Rental company doesn't seem keen on having one in either.

 

The problem with proving it wrong are that I didn't take any readings over that period. I didn't realise that over here it's actually a thing you do that's necessary. I never ever had to read my own meter in the States, so I assumed that the meter reader coming would be enough. So all I have to go on are the like two readings that the meter reader was able to take and the ones I've taken since the back bill came in.

 

As far as I can tell, they're reading the right meter. But he's hardly ever able to read it anyway, so...