Hi dfr200764 I'm sorry it took a long time to reply to you. I'm sure we can help. The best way forward is to set up a formal payment arrangement. The team advised in the email we sent are the ones to talk to about this. A payment arrangement needs to cover the ongoing usage and clear the debt within an agreed period. The team referred to in the email have a bit more flexibility than general advisors and, depending on the circumstances, can set the arrangement over a longer period. Might make things a little easier. It may also be possible to look at a one off arrangement to give you time to clear the debt within the next few weeks. Again, this will depend on the individual circumstances. If you set up an arrangement as a Monthly Direct Debit, your daily Standing Charges will be cheaper too. By registering with our website, you can keep an eye on your payments through the 'Direct Debit Manager.' This will let you make sure the payments are covering your ongoing usage and reducing the debt. Just to make you aware, without a formal payment arrangement, follow up will continue. It does, though, take quite a long time to reach the warrant stage. During this time, we'll send a series of statements, letters, emails (where appropriate) and also try to contact you by phone or through home visits to talk to you about ways of clearing the debt. Applying for a warrant to fit a prepayment meter is very much a last resort and will only be done when all other options have been exhausted. I know you don't want a prepayment meter but, if you were to re-consider, the debt could be put on the meter to collect at, I suspect, a lower weekly rate than with a credit meter. Hope this helps dfr200764. Let me know if you need any more information. Malc

Hi surreynick I hope you've recovered from the surgery and do understand how frustrating it can be not being able to take care of everyday tasks whilst out of action. Thought it might help if I give you a bit of information about how we deal with Credit Reference Agencies. When we share information, we give a true reflection of the status of an account at the time of the share. At this time, if there's a debit balance on an account and no formal payment arrangement, we'll share this. We started sharing information with Equifax during the second half of 2012. The period prior to June 12 you mention will have been before we began sharing. This will be why Equifax won't have records for this period. Green months are where there's a payment arrangement in place and payments are received on time. Red months indicate an outstanding balance with no or a failed payment arrangement. The 6 shows the balance is at least 6 months old at the time of the share. The number refers to the age of the debt and not to the number of missed payments. The maximum number of months we'll share is 6. Where the debt is older and after a series of 6s have been shared, we'll then share a 'D' or default notice. 'U' doesn't really mean anything. It's just that there's been no bill released, so nothing to report on. Once settled in full, we'll share an 'S.' To speculate from the detail provided, it looks as though you set up a payment arrangement after the red 4 but missed or was late with a payment and this led to the red 6. Sorry if I'm wrong here. As I say, I'm speculating. If the information shared was right at the time, this won't be changed as it'll have been a true reflection of the account at the time of the share. I know this isn't what you want to hear surreynick but would rather be clear than give you false hope. Malc

Hi tm2329 Hope you don't mind me jumping on here but thought I might be able to help a bit with your electricity usage. As advised, leaving the water immersion on 24/7 isn't advisable. It's like continually having a kettle on the boil. What type of meter do you have? Do you have storage heaters? As an all electric property, I suspect you might have a multi-rate meter like Economy 7/Economy 10/Economy 18 or even something like Heatwise (East Midlands only). Your bills will tell you. These types of meter were specifically designed for all electric properties with storage heaters and water immersion heaters. They give so many hours of cheaper electricity for heating/water heating purposes at set times during each 24 hour period. The number of hours and times the off peak rates are active depends on the region and the actual type of meter. With some types of set up, the meter will be wired directly into the heating/water heating circuits. This lets it turn the heating/water heating on/off automatically during the off peak hours. Unless, that is, it's manually over-ridden. If you do have this type of set up, it's best to understand how the meter works so you can gain the maximum benefit of the cheaper off peak rates. In a lot of cases, as well as cheaper rates for heating/water heating, there'll also be a few hours where all usage is at off peak prices. These times are usually at night so not very sociable but using timers on high load appliances like washing machines, tumble dryers, dish washers etc might help cut costs. There's more information to help you save money by saving energy on our website too. Have a look at the links below. Some really useful tips to help you cut back. https://www.eonenergy.com/for-your-home/saving-energy https://www.eonenergy.com/for-your-home/saving-energy/how-you-can-help-yourself/ways-to-save Sorry if I'm totally wide of the mark tm2329 but, if the above is of use, then great. Ignore me if it's not. Anyway, you know where I am now if I can help at all. Just let me know. Malc

Hi poppasmurf Glad you've received the £140 I mentioned in an earlier post. Just to confirm, customers whose Warm Assist Variable tariff is ending next month will receive this payment. It's also separate from the Warm Home Discount scheme. Following Ofgem's investigation into our selling practices between June 2010 and December 2013, we've agreed to make an additional payment to many of our vulnerable customers. This includes our Warm Home Discount customers. We started sending letters to our Warm Home Discount customers this week. This is to let them know they'll be receiving this additional payment of £35. They'll receive these letters between now and 2 July 14. The payment will be credited directly to accounts unless a customer has a prepayment meter. These customers will receive a voucher which can be used to top up the meter. I know you're looking to change suppliers but if you don't or there's a delay, we're taking applications for the 2014/15 Warm Home Discount (Broader Group) scheme now. Applications can be made via our website. If you're in the Core Group, though, you'll receive a letter from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) to let you know the payment (£140 this year) will automatically be credited to your account. Hope this helps poppasmurf. Let me know if you need any more information as happy to help. Malc

Hi Michael Our Warm Assist Variable tariff ends on 30 June 14. We're writing to all customers affected to let them know what's happening. To lessen the impact of this change, we're giving those customers affected a one off payment of £140. This will be credited to accounts this month. Unless they tell us otherwise, customers on Warm Assist will automatically be put on to our standard tariff, Energy Plan, to cover usage after the change. There aren't any restrictions or tie-ins with Energy Plan and this leaves customers free to switch tariff/supplier at any time without penalty. We do have other tariffs available but these are contracted products with certain conditions that customers might not agree to. For anyone affected, I'd pop the usage in kWh on to one of the comparison sites. This will list all the options both with us and with the other suppliers. Hope this is of interest. Malc

Hi all Thought I’d pop on with a bit of information following this morning’s news. To confirm, following Ofgem’s recent investigation, we’ve reviewed the way we sold energy between June 2010 and December 2013. We were concerned we might have given some of our customers the wrong information when they chose to switch to us. To sort this, we’ll be contacting those customers we believe were affected. These accounts will be reviewed and, if customers are worse off as a result, we’ll be offering compensation to cover any financial loss. If anyone switched to us between June 2010 and December 2013 and think they may have been affected, they can also contact us to have their case reviewed. There’s a dedicated support team dealing with this. Their contact details are on our website under ‘Help and Support.’ The same page has a Compensation Form customers can use if they prefer. Additionally, there’s a section of FAQs that might help. This includes details of how the compensation has been calculated. Hope this is of interest. Malc

Hi OohGemStar I'm really sorry we caused you a problem last week. I hope all's been sorted now. For electricity, the amount of Emergency Credit set on meters depends on the area and type of meter (single rate or Economy 7). It can go up to £30 but is never less than a fiver. As Sidewinder says, your electricity won't be cut off at night even if you run out of credit altogether. We'll give you until the next day to top up. With gas, the emergency's usually set at £5 although, again, there can be local variations. Once set, it's very rarely changed. There've been some system issues recently and I'm wondering if these caused your issue. Only speculating, though, and best to check with our prepayment guys (contact details are on your bills). They'll be able to see what's been happening on your meter. Alternatively, if you let me know your details, I'll check with them for you. Malc

Hi prestonpiston I'm sorry we didn't call you back when promised. Thought it might help if I go over what usually happens in these situations. Have you let us know about the vulnerability at the property? If you have, the account will have been flagged with the details and this will have been taken into consideration before the warrant was applied for. Usually, where there's someone able to buy credit and top up the meter, we'll continue with the application. This does, though, depend on the nature of the vulnerability. As you're the account holder, this may have complicated matters. It takes a long time to reach the stage where we install a prepayment meter under warrant. Before this we'll make many attempts to contact you. This includes phone calls, letters, home visits, emails where appropriate etc. We'll offer various payment arrangements to help spread the outstanding balance over a more manageable period. It's only after all this fails that we'll apply for a warrant to fit a prepayment meter. We'll also let you know the date and time of the hearing and give details of your right to attend. When fitting a gas prepayment meter, the engineer needs to do a purge and re-light. This is to make sure all is safe. This can only be done if there's someone at the property. If no one's home, the engineer will fit a blanking disc to stop gas reaching the meter until this work can be done. We'll be happy to remove the blanking disc and do the above work. There's a charge for this but the cost can be put on to the meter if you wish. Alternatively, you can ask an independent gas safe registered engineer to do this work. Once done, you'll be able to use the meter including the Emergency Credit facility. The costs you mention plus the outstanding balance will be put on the meter to collect at a set amount each week. If you talk to us about your situation, this can be taken into consideration when setting the weekly collection rate. If you feel we've fallen down on any of this you need to talk to our Warrants section. Contact details will be on the paperwork you mention. They can also arrange for the blanking disc to be removed and the necessary work done. As you're the account holder, our advisors are right not to talk to anyone else about this. To do so without your permission is a clear breach of the Data Protection Act and will have serious consequences for the advisor concerned. You can, though, ask for the account to be noted with your permission to speak to someone else. Might help going forward. Sorry this is a bit long winded but hope it points you in the right direction. Malc

Hi HelloDarkWorld Sorry for the late reply. I've been out of the office since last Wednesday. Not sure if you saw my second post on this thread above (post # 23). Our Caring Energy team are the people to speak to. They've specialist knowledge of all the options available and will be happy to help. One of the possibilities I was thinking of was help through the Water Trust Funds. The help available depends, though, on who supplies your water. I'd contact your water supplier and see if they support the Water Trust Funds and, if they do, what help they're able to give. Our Caring Energy team will be able to give more detailed advice about the Water Trust Funds as well as details of other schemes. Sorry again for taking so long to come back but hope this gives you a couple of pointers. Malc

Hi rebel11 Totally agree. I'd encourage any customer worried about their bills to talk to us. As above, there are things we can do to help. This includes spreading balances over more manageable periods, setting up payment arrangements, making sure they're on the best deals for them, checking bills are accurate and looking at ways to help them save energy and money. There are other things I didn't mention earlier as I didn't think they applied to the OP. These include fitting prepayment meters to help customers budget for their energy usage. Balances can also be put on these meters to collect at an agreed weekly rate. If none of the above are suitable, we can look at a scheme called Fuel Direct. This gives customers the option of having deductions taken automatically from their benefits to pay for their energy plus a small payment towards any arrears. It may be the OP wasn't given all these options when they called. Given the circumstances, I'd suggest they talk to our Caring Energy team. They're far more clued up on all of the above and will be happy to help. There's more details about this team (including contact details) on our website. Hope this helps. Malc

Hi HelloDarkWorld I usually inhabit the Utility Board but spotted your thread and thought I might be able to offer a few pointers. You don't have to pay the gas bill you've just received all at once. We can spread the amount over the next quarter. Might make it a little more manageable. Also, if you're able to set up a Monthly Direct Debit, we can include your ongoing usage and spread the latest bill over a longer period. With a Monthly Direct Debit, there's a cash advantage too. This is through a lower daily standing charge. There's a small cash advantage for managing the account online as well. Is the bill based on actual meter readings or is it estimated? If estimated, let us have up to date readings and we can re-bill accurately. This will help you see how much gas you're actually using. Once you've an idea about your usage, pop this on to one of the comparison sites. This will give you details of all the tariffs available to you, both with us and with the other suppliers. Make sure you're on the best deal for you. Going forward, we'll be happy to work with you to help you use only what you need. Talk to us about this. Checkout out our website too. Particularly the Saving Energy Toolkit. Some good tips here to help you cut back. Check you're on our Priority Services Register. This is a record of any disability or vulnerability at a property that could be affected by a loss of gas supply. Could be useful going forward. I'm afraid, as you only take gas from us, we won't be able to help with the Warm Home Discount. This is only paid through electricity accounts. You'll need to apply for this through your current electricity supplier. Depending on where you live, there may be help available from some third party trust funds. Several UK water companies support trust funds which can be used to cover essential bills such as energy bills. Hope this is of interest. Let me know if you need any more details as will be happy to help. Malc

Hi SuperVillain Just to confirm what nottslad has already said. When supplies switch, it's the responsibility of the gaining supplier to let the losing supplier have the meter readings they intend to use to open the new account. The losing supplier uses the same readings to close their account. This is to make sure customers are only charged once for the same energy. Where there's a dispute between the two suppliers over the readings, there's an industry wide process to resolve this. Provided the difference is above certain thresholds, either supplier can start what's known as an Agreed Reads Dispute (ARD). This usually sorts a meter reading problem within approx 30 days. Hope this helps. Malc

Hi whatamess It depends on what's happened before as to the options we can offer. As Helena said, a series of failed payment arrangements may make it difficult to set up further arrangements. Each case, though, is looked at on its individual merits. Either Helena or myself will be happy to take a look if you drop an email with your details to the address in my Biography. Hope this helps. Malc

Hi whatamess As you say, Helena replied to your post on another forum yesterday. I've copied her reply below. Firstly I’m a bit surprised we wouldn’t offer you any kind of arrangement, that’s normally the preferred way to collect an outstanding balance. Although, if you have had arrangements in the past and these have always failed we may ask you to pay half of the balance first, then an arrangement for the rest. I think you should maybe have another word with us now you've made a payment towards the balance. If you could also make another payment then, it may make a difference. But shout up if you need me. Helena

Hi statch As nottslad says, E.ON has bases in many different countries. Not all of these are within the European Economic Area. Hope this helps. Malc

Hi HippoSleek_J I'm really sorry you didn't find our advisors helpful when you called. We're only obliged to read electricity meters once every 2 years, although we do like to do this much more often than this. It sounds as though the usage has been under-estimated for quite a time and we've sent a catch up bill now we've an accurate meter reading. You say the meter is outside the bed-sit. Is it in a communal area? If it is, is access to this area restricted? I ask this because there might be a case for the Billing Code. This is where we're at fault for not providing an accurate bill. If this is the case, we'll only bill for 12 months back usage from the date the problem was put right. If we haven't read or attempted to read the meter for a long time, this may be classed as being at fault - depends on the actual circumstances. However, if we've tried to read the meter but been prevented, then this wouldn't be down to us and the Billing Code wouldn't apply. I'm not saying the Billing Code will apply to your situation. It's just something to be aware of. Going forward, I'd suggest taking regular meter readings. To start with, take them daily for a week. Then, weekly for a month and then monthly. This will help you build up a picture of the ongoing usage. Talk to our Consumption Team. They specialise in helping customers understand their usage. To be honest, the spikes you mention don't seem particularly unusual. If I've read your post correctly, and apologies if I haven't, what you describe is fairly consistent when turning on appliances like kettles. As I say, have a talk to our Consumption Team. They'll be able to help much more. The charge of £93 is to fit a Check Meter. Check Meters run alongside the existing meter and monitor consumption for a couple of weeks. This charge needs to be paid in advance but will be refunded in full if the meter turns out to be faulty. There's also another possible test. This is called a Standard Load Test. Here, an engineer will visit the property to carry out certain tests on the meter itself. This takes about 30 minutes and isn't as thorough as a Check Meter. There's no charge for a Standard Load Test. I suspect the first advisor you spoke to was talking about a Standard Load Test whilst the second was referring to a Check Meter. The tariff will be on the bills. It's usually on page 2 under 'The Details' and 'electricity charges.' We'll have also sent out a 'Welcome Pack' when the account was first set up. This will have given details of the tariff, too. Once you've a good idea of your usage, pop this on to one of the comparison sites. This will list details of all the tariffs available, both with us and with the other suppliers. I do understand the anxiety receiving a large bill can cause. Therefore, ask for a payment arrangement to spread the balance over a more manageable period. We'll be happy to do this. Hope this is useful HippoSleek_J. Give me a shout if you need any more details. Malc

Glad to help Jam. If the mini test was done before 9pm and only rate 1 moved, this will be the day rate. If we're charging this at the off peak night prices, this will be wrong and the readings will be transposed as above. The test your mum is doing today should confirm this. She only needs to take the readings about an hour apart, though. Please ask her to take one set of readings, use a high capacity appliance like a kettle and then, about an hour later, take another set of readings. This will usually be enough to tell us what's going on. As a guide, depending on the region, the off peak rate will be somewhere between 6.5p and 9p per kWh(without VAT). The day rate will be significantly higher. You've answered the hot water question so this rules out the immersion heater possibility I mentioned. Do you know if the actual readings since the March estimate have been used to bill the account and, if so, when? I'll be happy to let you have the relevant contact numbers. I've tried sending a PM but it's not letting me. If you PM me or drop an email to the address in my Biography, I'll give you the numbers. Alternatively, just call the number on the bills and an advisor will put you through. Hope this helps Jam. Malc

Hi Jam There's a few possibilities that come to mind. I'm wondering if we've charged your parent's usage the right way round. That is, the night usage at the higher day rate rather than the lower night rate and vice versa. Electric storage heaters charge up during the cheaper off peak night hours. This is usually where the bulk of the electricity is used with this type of heating arrangement. If this usage has been charged at the higher day rate, this would inflate the bill. This is easy to check. Just take two sets of meter readings on the same day between 9am and 9pm but at least an hour apart. See which register has moved. Compare this with your parent's latest bill. If we've charged this day reading at the night rate then this is the wrong way round. This is called transposed readings and we've a specialist team who deal with these issues. They'll fix the problem and re-bill the account correctly. Another possibility is a faulty time switch. This could mean a large part of the usage is being recorded on the wrong register. Again, this will affect the billing. You can check this by keeping an eye on the meter and noting what times the off peak rate kicks in. If this is the case, we'll arrange a visit to fix the fault. Once fixed, we'll re-bill the account based on the past usage history before the fault occurred. We've a specialist Time Switch team for this, too. If either of the above applies, contact the relevant team (Transposed or Time Switch) and give them the meter readings/times taken. They'll be able to sort the account out from there. You haven't said how your parents heat their water. Properties with storage heaters often have electric water immersion heaters as well. Sometimes, customers leave these on 24/7. This can really rack up the usage. I'm not saying this is the case with your parents, it's just something to be aware of. You mention an estimated bill in March. There could be an element of a catch up bill here. How many bills to actual readings have been sent since March? I do understand the anxiety an unexpected large bill can cause. Therefore, if the billing does turn out to be correct, ask for the balance to be spread over a more manageable period. We'll be happy to do this. If the billing is correct and your parent's usage has gone up alarmingly, we can work with them to try to help them understand what's caused this sudden spike. Hope this helps point you in the right direction Jam. Give me a shout if you need any more information as will be happy to help. Malc

Hi CV21 I'm afraid, now you've received a final position letter from the Resolution Manager and gone to the Ombudsman, this isn't something I can really comment too much on. As far as a general position is concerned, customers named on the account are the ones we'll chase for payment. From what you've said, this certainly sounds like a Third Party dispute. One thing I would say is, whilst there's an open complaint on the account, all follow up should stop. If that didn't happen then you should raise this with the Resolution Manager looking after your complaint. Sorry I'm unable to help further. Malc

Hi Alan Sorry not fully answered before. It wasn't possible to combine the two tariffs. Our intention is to show clearly how we've charged for the energy used. This means detailing the usage, daily Standing Charge and price per kWh. Age UK does this but Staywarm didn't. Staywarm customers also had to meet a number of conditions before becoming eligible for the product. As well as age, things like the size of the property, number of occupants and the need to pay with a Monthly Direct Debit came into play. With the AgeUK tariff, apart from age, all the other factors have been stripped away. Our standard tariff is a rolling, non-contracted product with no tie-ins. All our other tariffs, including AgeUK, are contracted products. We're not able to put customers on to a contracted product without talking to them first. We've written to each Staywarm customer to explain the changes and asked them to contact us. In this way, we can help them find our most suitable alternative tariff. If customers don't contact us, where possible, we're calling them to talk about the changes. As above, compared with our other tariffs, the number of customers still on Staywarm is a very small proportion of our overall customer base. I'm not, though, at liberty to post actual numbers on a public forum. This is restricted business information. Similarly, I'm not able to comment about another supplier. Hope this reply is a bit fuller. Malc

Hi mrbigjase The unit prices for our Prepayment customers are a little lower than those for customers with credit meters. Prepayment customers, though, aren't able to take advantage of the discount for paying with a Monthly Direct Debit. Hope this is of interest. Malc

Hi Alan Staywarm hasn't been available for customers to switch to for over a year now. Consequently, the number of customers remaining on this product has dwindled significantly. To the extent, that it now forms only a very small proportion of our overall customer base. We've reduced the number of tariffs offered to credit customers to 4. This involved removing several other tariffs from sale. As there are relatively few customers remaining on Staywarm, it was decided this was one of the tariffs that had to go. Although choosing to remove Staywarm has affected some customers, an overwhelming number are unaffected. This is what I meant by the decision 'being in the best interests of the majority of our customers.' Sorry I wasn't clear before Alan but hope this is a better explanation. Malc

Hi westerndevon It takes a long time to reach the stage where we apply for a warrant to enter a property and fit a prepayment meter. Before doing this, we'll make many attempts to contact a customer. This includes bills, phone calls, letters, emails (where appropriate) and site visits. Where we can't make contact, we do usually follow the prepayment route to recover the debt. You really need to speak to us about this. If you contact the phone number on the E.ON headed paper, this will take you through to our credit management team. They'll be able to advise the stage we've reached. They'll also discuss the possibility of a payment arrangement to cover the ongoing usage and clear the debt over a period of time. This, though, will depend on how long the debt has been outstanding, the stage we've reached and the account history. On your online account, the tariff will be shown on the right hand side on the first 'Your Account' page when you log in. It'll be under 'Your Plan.' You'll certainly be on a tariff. If you haven't spoken to us about this before, I suspect you'll be on our standard tariff, E.ON Energy Plan. As I say, this will be confirmed on your online account as above. Hope this helps point you in the right direction. Malc

Hi MaxxPower As a result of the need to reduce the number of tariffs offered, we've had to make certain decisions that, we believe, are in the best interests of the majority of our customers. We've removed a number of tariffs in recent months. As there's only a small proportion of customers remaining on Staywarm, it was decided to include this product among the tariffs no longer offered. Also, as we continue to offer a tariff exclusively for people aged 60 and over, we're unable to offer Staywarm as well. Hope this explains. Malc

Hi Corrections34 I'm really sorry this hasn't been sorted out yet. I've just contacted the complaint handler and asked him to give you an update as to where he is at with your complaint. Don't worry about debt follow up, though. This is suspended whilst there's an open complaint on the account. Sorry again about the delay. Malc