Sorry you missed our announcement about this mrbigjase. We did, though, write to all customers affected by the switch to a Standing Charge to let them know about this change. Malc

Hi Mike770 Standing Charges are used to cover our costs. This is for things like maintenance, reading the meter, keeping supplies connected to the grid, any rental charges and making sure the meter is safe. It isn't an additional charge but replaces our former two tier pricing structure. Previously, the first amount of kWh used were charged at a higher price. This first tier, or primary, charge covered the costs mentioned above. Customers have always paid for these costs but in a different way. Malc

Sorry mrbigjase but this has changed. As you say, we didn't used to have a daily standing charge on our gas prepayment. Instead, we charged the first amount of gas used at a higher rate. However, following our price increase on 18 January 2013, we replaced the former two tier charging structure with a daily standing charge. Hope this clears up any confusion. Malc

Hi Tammimi This looks very much like a stopped meter. We've a specialist stopped meter team who deal exclusively with this sort of situation. These are the guys to talk to. They look at each case on an individual basis. They'll arrange for the meter to be replaced and re-bill the account back to when we believed the meter stopped. To do this, we'll go back to the last known correct reading and then estimate usage from there. These estimates are generally based on usage going forward. Seasonal variations are also taken into consideration. The new bill will use prices current at the time the electricity was actually used. Let us know if you think the estimates aren't right. We'll review the bill and explain how we've settled on the readings used. Don't worry about having to pay the revised balance all at once. We'll be happy to set up a payment arrangement and spread the balance over a similar period that the meter was faulty. Sorry for this inconvenience Tammimi but hope this explains what happens in theses cases. Let me know if you need any more info as will be glad to help. Malc

Hi katysue As Followme says, it's best to keep talking to us. We'd much rather come to a reasonable and manageable arrangement than go down the debt follow up route. Once the account closes and we know the final balance, talk to our Credit Management guys. Tell them the circumstances and we'll do our best to help. I do understand moving house is a busy and stressful time, but it will help if you can give us meter readings for the day you move. This will make sure the final bill is accurate. To be honest, it doesn't really matter who contacts us. We'll follow the same guidelines whether dealing with you or a Debt Management Company. It'll probably help if dealing with you, as I'm sure you'll be able to give us much more current information regarding your circumstances. Hope this helps and best wishes for the move. Malc

Hi katysue We certainly wouldn't be looking to cut off your electricity at the new property. If we're not the supplier, it wouldn't be possible anyway. Also, there's no way we could or would force you to change supplier to us. If we do supply the new place, though, it may be worthwhile considering a prepayment meter. We could then put the outstanding balance on to the meter to collect at an agreed weekly rate. This, I suspect, will be less than your paying at the moment. Are there any particular circumstances that allowed the debt to reach this level? If we've made mistakes that have contributed to this balance, it may be possible to set up a payment arrangement to spread the balance over a set period. If we've done wrong then it's only right we give you more time, even though the account is closed. If not, I can confirm, we'll look for payment of the full balance once the account closes. Hope this goes some way to answering your questions. Let me know if you need any more info as will be happy to help. Malc

Hi BornThisWay I'm really sorry you're unhappy with my tone. Please don't think any of the comments I made in my second post on this thread were aimed at you. On the contrary, I was answering a question asked by MaxxPower and gave an honest outline of our general policy regarding prepayment meters installed for debt. As I said in my reply to you, with your mobility issues, we'll more than likely replace your prepayment meter with a credit meter. Even without these difficulties, we'll still consider replacing the meter if you pass a credit check. Each case is looked at on an individual basis and that's why I pointed you in the direction of our Vulnerable Customer team. These are the best advisors to take your case forward. Our prepayment unit rates aren't currently much different to our standard credit rates. However, you don't receive discount for paying with a Direct Debit or rewards for managing your account online. You're certainly not a lost cause and I'd encourage you to go down the route suggested above. Sorry again if I caused offence. As I say, none of my second post above was aimed at you. Malc

Hi MaxxPower Sorry if I wasn't clear earlier. Thought it might help if I give a general outline of our approach to these matters. Not suggesting any of the following applies to the OP though. I didn't say we wouldn't change a prepayment meter once a debt has been cleared but that it's unlikely. Each request is looked at individually and a credit check carried out. If all's well, the meter may well be replaced. Sometimes, we'll ask for a security deposit. Again, it depends on the individual circumstances. However, if the prepayment meter was put in under a warrant, then I doubt we'll change it unless the circumstances are greatly altered. By this, I mean, responsibility for the property has changed or there's vulnerability we weren't previously aware of. It takes a long time to reach the warrant stage involving various forms of follow up. These include letters, emails (where applicable), phone calls and house visits. In these circumstances, we tend to find a credit check fails. As I say, not suggesting for a minute any of this applies to the OP. It's just a brief outline of our overall approach. Hope this helps. Malc

Hi BornThisWay I'm sorry you were told an online facility to top up prepayment meters will never happen. This is something we're actually looking into at the moment. No time frame yet but it's certainly on the agenda. Usually, once we've installed a prepayment meter because of debt, it's highly unlikely we'll take it out even if the debt has been cleared. I say usually, though, because there are circumstances where we'll re-consider. This tends to be where we become aware of vulnerability at the property. As you have mobility difficulties and live alone then it's certainly worth asking the question. We've a team who deal exclusively with vulnerability issues like this and they're the best ones to talk to. They consider each situation on a case by case basis. If we do change the meter, there's currently no charge for this. Hope this helps. Malc

Hi Jamie Although it's possible for either supplier to start the Erroneous Transfer process, it's always best to insist the gaining supplier kicks this off. This is because, invariably, the gaining supplier claims to have a valid contract and rejects the attempts of the losing supplier to re-take the account. Sounds as though this is what happened to your friend. I'd go back to BES and tell them to send the account back under an Erroneous Transfer. The Erroneous Transfers Customer Charter was set up in 2002 under the direction of Ofgem. You're friend always has recourse to Ofgem should she encounter problems. Sorry I can't offer more help here Jamie but hope this points you in the right direction. Malc

Hi Aliciakelly I do understand it's particularly daunting when moving into a new property and I'm sorry we started off with estimated bills. If we've now re-billed to accurate readings, it's more than likely you'll have used that amount of energy. Don't worry, though, there are things we can do to help, both with the new balance and with your future usage. I suspect, we under-estimated originally and the high bill will be a catch up. I see we've offered a payment plan to cover ongoing usage and to clear the outstanding balance. Usually, we'll spread the balance over the same length of time as we estimated previous bills. Make sure we've done this. Even if we have and you're still struggling, talk to us again. We may be able to spread the balance over a longer period. This will lower the monthly payments. One thought, when you moved in, did you talk to us and set up an account for the day you took over responsibility? If you did, was this based on accurate meter readings or estimates? If the opening readings were estimated and you have actual ones, let us have these and we'll use them instead. Maybe your landlord or letting agent will know. This might affect the balance. Check the tariff you're on. There are discounts and rewards available for paying with a Monthly Direct Debit, taking both fuels and managing the account online. This will help reduce future costs. Once the account is all sorted out, have a chat to our Energy Efficiency team. Tell them about the property and your appliances/heating arrangements. They specialise in helping people reduce their usage and will be happy to help. Ask for a booklet called '100 ways to save money by saving energy.' It's free and contains lots of useful advice to help you cut back. Check out our website,too; particularly the 'Interactive House' and 'Energy Menu.' More good tips here. Hope this is of interest Aliciakelly. Give me a shout if you need any more info or you have any other concerns. Always happy to help. Malc

Hi rev peter allen I'm sorry we've been billing your night rate as the day and vice versa for so long. It looks as though we've applied the Billing Code. This comes into play where we're at fault for not billing a domestic customer correctly. In these circumstances, we'll not charge for any energy used more than 12 months before the problem was put right. However, if the new balance is only down to the transposed readings issue, we'll not back bill for that either We've a specialist team who look after transposed readings. They'll correct the issue and re-bill the account the right way round. If we've overcharged as a result, we'll refund the difference to the customer. Where we've undercharged, though, we'll not expect the customer to pay this. Have a chat to this team. As I say, if the balance is down only to the transposed meter issue, we'll not charge for this. Other usage, however, will be chargeable. Hope this helps. Give me a shout if you need any more info as always happy to help. Malc

Hi AdamFF It's best to contact us straightaway about this. We'll open a complaint and this will stop all debt action whilst the matter is sorted out. With new builds there can sometimes be delays setting up accounts although, I have to say, 5 years is particularly excessive. If I might explain. On new builds, the property developer/builder will pass us the metering details for each property along with the date responsibility changes from them to the occupier. Sometimes, we're given incorrect information. On other occasions, they don't tell us of changes as they happen but wait until the entire development is finished. Even then, I've known considerable delays between signing off a development and telling us about changes of responsibility. During this time, we'll bill the builder/developer for energy used. Once we receive the correct details, the account will be re-billed to these. Also, it's possible the info passed over isn't right. This can lead to the wrong meter being assigned to the wrong property. This is what's known as a 'crossed meter.' If this is the case, it can take a while to sort out. The larger the development, the longer it can take to sort. This is because it's likely many different properties are involved. Because of the potential complexities involved, we've a specialist team who sort out these issues. When contacting us please tell us the meter serial number, the latest reading, full postal address and, if applicable, a plot number. This will help speed things up. In the first instance, I'd suggest contacting our Director's Office (contact details are on our website). They'll log the complaint and stop the debt follow up. To be honest, there could be a combination of things going on here. It takes a long time before we reach the stage of installing a prepayment meter. During this time we'll send letters, emails (where applicable), phone calls and home visits. If you've not been receiving these, it's likely they've been going elsewhere. This is why I suspect the above. Have to say, though, I'm speculating a lot here and could be barking up the wrong tree. That's why I suggest contacting our Director's Office initially. Also, where we're at fault for not issuing a bill, we'll only back bill for 12 months energy usage from the date the problem was put right. Hope this points you in the right direction. Give me a shout if you need any more help as happy to do so. Malc

Hi Aelfred In situations like these, where there's a dispute over the meter reading format, it's best to arrange a visit. This will be to check the technical details of the meter to make sure we have it set up correctly on your account. There's no charge for this type of visit. If we've billed incorrectly in the past, we'll re-bill to the right configuration. Should this result in a credit balance, we'll be happy to refund this. To arrange a visit please ask the advisor looking after your query. Hope this helps point you in the right direction. Give me a shout if you need any more advice as happy to help. Malc

Hi bh486 Just thought I'd pop on and give you a bit of background about our data sharing practices. We've been sharing info with Credit Reference Agencies since 2011. This is helps us assess credit risk more accurately so we can try to keep debt to a minimum. The possibility of us sharing information with Credit Reference Agencies has been included in our customer's Terms and Conditions for some time now. It does look, though, as if you've been given some poor advice. We don't just share payments information of customers who don't pay; we also share information on those who do. Consequently, customers who pay promptly receive monthly positive entries on their credit reports. We also share how old the debt is at the time of sharing. There's more info on our use of personal data on our website at the following link. https://www.eonenergy.com/privacy/Use%20of%20your%20personal%20data I'm sorry if we've given you some duff info in the past but hope this makes things a bit clearer. Malc

Hi rimej I'm sorry we didn't fix the fault to your central heating at the first attempt and that we failed to contact you when we said we would. To be without heating at this time of year is the last thing you want, especially with little ones in the house. We've a complaints process in place to deal with this type of failure and I'd encourage you to follow this. Let us have the full details of what went wrong. We'll investigate and come back to you with an explanation. There's more info about this on our website at the link in the post above. I hope the engineer promised for Monday was able to carry out an effective repair. Malc

Hi sharman2k If your landlord has sent us a Tenancy Agreement, we'll have used this as the basis of the opening and closing dates for your account. To dispute this, please send us the information we've requested. Once the dates of your responsibility can be established, we'll be able to amend the charges accordingly. Malc

No problem Andy. Always happy to help. Malc

Hi sillyboy15 Just thought I'd give you a quick heads up about the outstanding balance with us. If you're able to set up a payment arrangement, we'll be able to look at spreading the balance over a more manageable period. We won't charge you interest and it'll also stop any debt follow up. I do understand this is only a small part of what you're having to deal with but hope it helps a little. Best of luck with the other issues you mention. Malc

Hi Martin Helena's not here at the moment so thought I'd just follow up and post the link she was talking about yesterday. Here it is. https://www.eonenergy.com/for-your-home/Reset/why-the-price-rise-in-2013/Frequently-asked-questions The standing charge bit is about half way down. Hope this is of interest. Give me a shout if you need any more details as always happy to help. Malc

Hi Mike Just a quick heads up. If you've registered with our website, then all bills will be online. You can download and print a copy or you can ask us to send one through the post. We'll be happy to do this. Malc

Hi Leakie You can certainly follow our complaints process. If, after 56 days, you remain unhappy with our explanation then you can refer the matter to the Ombudsman for an independent review. If we're at the warrants stage, there'll be notes on your account detailing the actions we've taken. You can ask to see these notes under a 'Subject Access Request.' Although we charge £10 for this, it will give you details of letters sent, addresses sent to, dates etc. Malc

Hi Leakie Whether or not we involve the Police very much depends on the circumstances of each individual case. If we believe there's a significant threat to our people then, yes, we will involve the Police. Where we don't envisage any problems, we won't bother the Police. Similarly, we don't give dates/times because it alerts those who mean to cause problems. Not saying any of this applies to you Leakie but, unfortunately, past experiences mean we need to take certain precautions. Malc

Hi Leakie If we apply for a warrant, we'll send a letter to the customer's address advising the date, time and relevant court. Once granted, we'll visit without notice. Hope this helps. Malc

Hi Leakie Applying for a warrant is a last resort where we're unable to make suitable arrangements concerning an outstanding balance on an account. Before we go down this route, we'll make many attempts to contact the customer. This includes phone calls, letters, emails (where appropriate) and home visits. The intention of this contact is to see if there's a way of resolving the matter without applying for a warrant. We can look at various payment arrangements to try to spread the outstanding balance over a manageable period. If this isn't possible, we'll offer to install a prepayment meter. The debt can then be set on the meter to be collected at an agreed rate each week. It's better if we can do this with the customer's agreement. Going down the warrants route will lead to further costs and these are added to the customer's debt. Should the above fail, we'll then apply for a warrant to fit a prepayment meter. If granted, we'll visit the property with a locksmith and fit the meter. If the customer isn't present, we'll leave information at the site explaining how to use the meter. The debt will be set on the meter to collect at £10 per week. However, we'll only continue to fit a prepayment meter if it's safe and practicable. For instance, if there's a particular form of vulnerability at the property, we'll not continue with the prepayment option. A letter will be sent confirming the total debt and weekly repayment rates. Hope this helps. Malc