As far as I am aware 2Grumpy E-on have been the supplier from the word go (when property was built) but as previously explained E-on have been billing the builder at their head office in another city for the last 6 years for my property. I have posted photocopies of the tenancy agreements - just the first page with DOE and last page with signatures - am I in breach of data protection by doing this? Many thanks as always.

The current tenant has only started paying E-ON recently as was visited by one of their representatives toward end of last year. They asked for the tenants tenancy agreement - but the tenant couldn't find it so the rep wrote on a piece of paper the tenancy start date that was verbally given. E-ON have insisted they seen a copy of the tenancy agreement and that it stated a start date of June 2010 when in fact the tenant didn't move into the property until Dec 2010!!! My tenant has been trying to argue this point to them since!!! My tenant now informs me that E-ON have calculated a start meter reading going by the wrong start date of June 2010 and are allowing the tenant to have a payment plan to pay off the debt that has accrued. I am posting E-ON all tenancy agreements that I have - I also have accurate meter readings at every change of tenancy since the property was purchased. Yet again - looks like I was the only one interested in keeping tabs on gas usage since 2005 as E-ON certainly weren't - if they don't even have meter readings!!! My tenant also informed me that when the rep that visited her was leaving he said he would take a current meter reading - my tenant then found the rep outside reading a neighbouring properties meter - she also had to argue the point that he wasn't reading the correct meter - he eventually agreed to read the correct meter in the end!!! Anyway I will get everything posted to E-ON that I have and see what they come back with. At the end of the day so much time has now lapsed that when they do indeed get in touch with each tenant they will be entitiled to claim through the billing code. Only one of my previous tenants are contactable and I will contact them to make them aware of the situation. (one of my tenancy's was abandoned and the other has moved abroad somewhere)

Thanks sidewinder. I think the post is going. The service is changing and the tasks associated to the post are also changing. HR are currently working on the salary grading for the new post. The business isn't in trouble as such and has a fairly healthy bank balance and accounts, but the government funding that is associated with part of my post is being cut/stopped so this is why the service and job is being forced to change. This previously happened a few years back in a certain local authority area and my employer did offer redundancy to the employees affected but this was on a much smaller scale and only affected a handful of staff. The change that will affect me will also affect apx 70 other members of staff in same position as me. I don't have Union representation and as far as I know there is not enough members of staff in the union for the union to want to be involved. Basically the changes are a done deal but there has been consultation (well with a handful of staff representatives) which i'm sure means the employer can tick the box to say that staff have been involved in negotiations. There will definately be job losses but probably for staff on lower grades than myself and the employers have intimated this fact for the last 12 - 24 months; but everyone still in limbo at moment. At the end of the day it looks like i will still be working just as hard with a different job title for apx £4,000 less salary, although this figure is an estimated guess at the moment as i have not been consulted in the salary benchmarking for the new post. So if like the handful of staff that were offered redundancy a few years ago - I am offered redundancy - If I take this offer - do I have to take it straight away before the 6 month protected pay comes into play?

My workplace is going through managing change and my post is being devalued and re-evaluated. It looks like my working hours will be decreased by up to 10 hours and i will be working for at least £3 per hour less. My post title will also be being changed. My question is once the changes come into play - do i have to accept? Or can i demand redundancy? I have been informed that a 6 month protected pay will be in operation - i take it if i accept the protected pay for 6 months this will mean i cannot get redundancy payment??? I have worked for company for 14 years. Any help greatly appreciated.

Okay just off the phone from the directors office. To be fair the man dealing with my case is very easy to talk to and has considerably better customer service skills than the original person that was dealing with my case. I have now been informed that as I rent my property out - I am not covered under the billing code as this is classed as me having a business for financial gain. I explained that I certainly don't financially gain from renting out my property as the rental only covers just over half of my mortgage and I then have factoring fees etc on top of that. He insists that this is not taken into account. I feel that E-ON are getting away with this because they have found a loop hole in the system to enable them to class me as a business customer and NOT a domestic customer. This is my only and principle house that I own - the reason I don't live in it is that my job requires me to live on site at my workplace. He also still insists that it doesn't matter how many years have lapsed (whether it be 5, 6 or 10) E-ON are still entitled to back date as the builder didn't inform them and it's not their fault. At the end of the day - I was too truthful as I should never have told them that I rented out the property and then I would have been covered by the billing code!! Any thoughts on E-ON using this loop hole - it sounds to me like they are getting away with it!!! Just my luck I suppose for being too open and honest!!!

Exactly Surfer01 - I didn't actually have access to the internet back in 2005 when the property was purchased - I think E-ON have such a cheek to make the above statement in an email and on discussions over the phone - trying to imply that I am dishonest!!! At the end of the day if they had billed me or told me that they were the supplier (or anyone had informed us of the supplier) we would have gladly paid the bill as we have with every other bill!!!

Received an email and voicemail today from E-ON. The email is asking for specifics on who the tenants were over the last 5 years and asking for specific meter readings and forwarding address of all tenants. The email also concludes with the following statement obviously still laying blame with me; With regard to E.ON (previously Powergen) we are, like the other 5 major UK suppliers (British Gas. Npower, Scottish Power, Scottish & Southern and EDF), a National Supplier supplying energy throughout the UK and will not appear in local media. Our name is well publicised in the national media as are the other main suppliers. A “Google” search would show you all the suppliers to contact should the need arise to search which company supplies a property. For the physical gas supply, this location is serviced by an Independent Gas Transporter (IGT) not National Grid/Transco. Does anyone have any further advice on what to do next - should i supply the details they ask for or should i demand the deadlock letter and proceed to ombudsman?? Many thanks in anticipation.

I am also in the same boat as you with E-on who have done exactly the same to me as they have done to you but my bill is for over £2,000 dating back to 2005!!! They have given me the same answer as you - so I have demanded a deadlock letter to enable me to progress my complaint with the ombudsman - surely the ombudsman will realise that E-on are incompetent??? Why should we have to pay for E-on's poor business skills and huge mistakes??? I think you should progress your complaint to the Ombudsman - or has anyone else managed to tackle them with legal representation and win recently? Good Luck and i'll not be far behind you - so please keep us up to date mrsc1.

Received standard letter today from E-ON informing me that they are looking into my complaint with an enclosed copy of their complaints procedure. Hopefully I will get that deadlock letter soon. :o/

Hi Malc Thanks for coming back to me. I realise that after the 56 days have passed I can go to ombudsman - but would rather get the deadlock letter now to enable me to progress ASAP as I don't have the energy or good health at the moment to fight off the DCA's for that length of time. Thanks again though - will keep you posted.

Yip good advice Surfer01 - I will do that. thanks

I have typed up a letter re the screenshots and deadlock letter and tried to email to E-on Director of Customer Services through their website email link - but not enough character spaces to allow me to email the whole letter. Does anyone know the direct email address of the director? I will of course post a copy letter tonight in the mail to the address in Nottingham. Many thanks

Thanks Surfer01 - I have now taken 2 days annual leave since last week to try and sort things out - I can't believe the time, effort and expense this is costing me due to E-ON obviously not knowing how to conduct business. I have asked for the screenshots twice now and was told NO - and gaining this information would make no difference to the billing code. I was advised over the phone by E-ON that the account was 'set up' (not sure if that means registered) in May 2011. I will persevere though but am obviously extremely worried about my credit rating as I feel the one + only reason E-ON have closed the complaint within2 days of me opening it is so that this then allows BCW to carry on using their bully tactics with me. I will request the deadlock letter today. thanks again. Jack

Received a phone call this evening from the complaints team saying that several managers have looked at my case and my complaint is not valid and is now closed!!! They state that it is my fault that I didn't contact E-on (even although there was no E-on back in 2005) in these 5 or 6 years and the billing code states that it is up to the customer to contact the energy supplier. He then said that it is not good enough to say that you contacted other suppliers and Transco etc as the customer has to supply the company who is the supplier!!! How on earth can someone contact the supplier when they have made NO contact in all these years. I stated that I had never even heard of E-on and didn't even realise that they were a supplier in my area!!! He said the case has to be closed right now to enable the collection of this £2,137.05 and why was I even bothered as it would be my tenants who would have to pay it!!!! It is the principal of the situation and the stress, time off work and my name being black listed that is the bother and the way in which E-on treat people!!! I don't think any amount of fighting is going to change my situation as E-on not even willing to listen - shocking customer service!!!

will do surfer01 thanks

I have just sent an email to the director of complaints which is rather lengthy - although after reading some other posts concerning E-ON I am NOT very hopeful.

Okay managed to register a formal complaint with E-on and got a complaints ref number off them - so that's a start I suppose. Got a phone call this evening from E-on saying that they have checked their system and my case is NOT eligible under the billing code - so this bill has still to be paid!!! They have agreed with me that they never sent any bills to the property (supply address) as they have been sending them to the builder/developer of the flats for the last 5 years!!! The address of the builders/developer is in another city some 50 miles away!!! I then asked E-on - if they weren't receiving payment from the builders why on earth at some point over that 5 years did they not post a bill to the supply address??? The answer I got was "because the builder never informed us" Well i'm sorry why should that be my problem??? He then said that if I had tried to contact E-on over these years then the billing code would be eligible - I said that until last week I had never even heard of E-on and that I had several times tried to contact our local energy suppliers who were scottish gas, scottish power, hydro electric - and was told by all of them that the property was not showing up as registered. I told them I had also been given a number to phone by one of the energy companies to obtain an MPRN number - when I phoned them they said it was impossible to get this number as the builders had still not regisetered the property. How can I contact E-ON if I have never even heard of them??? Seemingly they weren't even called e-on in 2005!!! I ended up going round in circles and the guy was getting frustrated by saying things like " we have billed for the property - just not to the property address" HONESTLY!!! My answer "If at any point Steven (guys name) you had sent a bill or an enquiry letter to the property I or my tenants would have happily paid the bills as we have done for every other bill in the property" "Why have E-on NEVER sent correspondence to the property address???" His answer "Because the builders never told us they no longer owned the property" He also told me that they carried a Land Registry search in Feb 2011 and found out that we had purchased the property in 2005 - so they then got BCW involved!!! He then told me as he was reading the notes (that incidentally he has to go into the builder/developers file to find) that the account for my property was actioned by E-on on 22 May 2011!!! This is how I see it - E-on have carried on billing the builder/developer for 5 years and not received payment (the builder actually went bust the year after our flat was built as we never got any snagging completed etc) then eventually in Feb 2011 decide to do a land registry search and find me - then get straight onto DCW as realise that they have made a BIG error and hopefully BCW will bully me into paying for E-on's unbelievable mistake!!! I am sorry - but surely I have some sort of case??? I am going to email the Director of Complaints. Any other advice guys? Many thanks

2Grumpy - the current tenant is being billed by them (started in summer last year), I just found this out this week. The bill that I am being charged for is for supply period 22/11/05 (I purchased flat on 11/11/05) until 01/06/10 so basically they don't get in touch with me ever and certainly NOT over the 6 1/2 years I've owned the flat then get the debt collectors onto me for 4 years 7 months worth of gas!!! I have accurate meter reads for all use over the 6 1/2 year time period - but I actually think they may have missed the boat by not even attempting to bill us over that time period.

Also thanks to Malc and surfer1 for advice - greatly appreciated. Have tried to register a formal complaint with e-on who have got back to me to say someone will phone me back today. Jack

Thanks for that dx - to be honest I have never before came into any dealings with DCA's (thankfully & luckily). I will def stay off phone to them from now on and thanks for alerting e.on rep for me - starting to feel slightly less sick about it all now. Cheers Jack

I purchased a new build flat in 2005 and tried in vain to get someone to bill us for the gas supply. We didn't have a problem paying the electric bills. I phoned all the usual gas suppliers but each one said that my property was not registered. I then phoned a company with the meter installation number to be told that until the developers registered the property we could not be billed. I then rented the flat out and it has been rented out for almost 6 years. Each tenant informing me that they were unable to pay the gas either. I have taken meter readings at each change of tenant and have the readings in my note book. I have this week received a final notice from Buchanan Clark & Wells (the first I have ever had any correspondence from them) on behalf of E-ON Energy (who have never billed me or contacted me ever) for £1,737.44 + £399.61 in admin charges = Total £2,137.05!!! Buchanan Clark were actually quite cheeky to me when I phoned them, I then said that I have never received a bill from E-ON and the property has been rented out since 2005 - Bichanan Clark still insisted on the phone that I have to pay it!!! The only way I can get out of paying it (they say) is if I produce tenancy agreements for every tenant since 2005 - then they will try and trace these people. I then phoned them back today to tell them that one of the letting agents that rented my flat out has gone bust for last few years so I would be unable to get tenancy agreement for one of tenants...... ... they said that I would have to try and chase up the local authority to see if they would discharge info about who ;paid the c/tax for that period to prove that we were not staying there. Why should I have to be the one that does all the work for them??? Can anyone give me any advice - I have tried to phone citizens advice - but they are busy and not taking any more calls today. Many thanks :o(