Utility companies..E.on

[CAAD]

Are Utilities companies not covered by the Consumer Credit Act 1974?

 

Im having problems with Eon..as in my other post..Advantis..advice needed!

[palomino]

In short, No.

 

Supply agreements with utilities are not credit agreements and are not covered by the Consumer Credit Act.

[CAAD]

So can they take me to court..as thats wat they say theyll do now!???

[Huff&Puff]

Anybody can take anybody to court. Thy still have to prove that you owe the money though.

 

Some more details would be helpful.

[CAAD]

Hi Huff&Puff.. I did have a thread re the certain company who i keep getting nasty letters from. It was Advantis,but now its LCS based in Leeds.

 

This was the last post I put up on my Advantis thread...........

 

New Update...And more help needed Please! xxxx

 

Hiya Everyone ...Well I sent letter 18..the prove it one,then the next letter because they hadnt confirmed my details within that time limit! Then I received a letter from Advantis saying..FINAL RESPONSE.

stating that THEY ARE NO LONGER DEALING WITH MY ACCOUNT,that E-ON HAD NOTIFIED THEM TO CEASE COLLECTION. that THE ACCOUNT HAS BEEN CLOSED AND NO FURTHER ACTION WILL BE TAKEN BY THEMSELVES!!!

 

But they also let me know that Utility companies are not covered by the Consumer Credit Act 1974? Is it not?? Wat rights do i have then?

 

Anyway today I receive a Demand letter from a New DCA, LCS regarding this same account,telling me to pay up etc..

 

Where do I go from here...

 

......... Ive now had another letter(because I ignored that 1st one) saying thyll send a rep round or theyll advise a solicitor to take me to court.

 

What rights do they and I have?

 

I really need all this before Xmas..wat complete S***heads!!!!!!!!!

 

Thanks

Edited December 1, 2009 by CAAD
make it bold

[Bazooka Boo]

What is the utility bill for? Gas Leccy?

Did you move properties and not give them a final reading, or leave with bills owing?

Was it a shared property?

How long have they been trying to get you to pay this bill?

[Blondmusic]

I would suggest sending Eon a Subject Access Request to see what info they hold on you.

 

I would also suggest you contact the Director of Customer Service by email and he should be able to sort it out.

 

[email protected]

[Bazooka Boo]

Heres some reading for you;

 

The Code of Practice for Accurate Bills (the “Billing Code”) was launched in July 2006 along-side the Energy Ombudsman.

Five of the main energy supply companies in the UK have signed up to the Billing Code, namely British Gas, npower, EDF Energy, E.ON Powergen and Scottish Power. The Billing Code provides consumers with additional protection over and above that required by the regulator Ofgem for accurate and informative billing.

The Code includes a requirement for consumers to be protected from debt where the supplier is at fault for not billing energy supply. Where the supplier is at fault, consumers cannot be back-billed beyond 12 months from the date on any subsequent bill.

 

 

The billing code - Legal seagulls

[palomino]

The Code includes a requirement for consumers to be protected from debt where the supplier is at fault for not billing energy supply. Where the supplier is at fault, consumers cannot be back-billed beyond 12 months from the date on any subsequent bill.

Does this apply to business acounts or only domestic accounts?

[palomino]

The billing code - Legal seagulls

 

I think this link has gone bananas - it goes to disneyland.info.

[pgordonuk]

I think this link has gone bananas

 

A Bit like the DCA's we deal with then!!!

[Bazooka Boo]

I think this link has gone bananas - it goes to disneyland.info.

 

:eek:So it does....Apologies, try this.

 

Not sure why? But here is what it says on there, if you want to see it for yourself then just enter 'The billing Code' into the search bar above.

The code of Practice for Accurate bills (the Code) has been developed by the Energy Retail Association (ERA) with POwergen, British Gas, EDF Energy, nopwer and Scottish Power to address action raised in Ofgem's response to the Billing Super Complaint for domestic customers.

 

These companies all support the independantly-audited Code of Practice and are committed to the Code as a minimum standard of service for customers. The Code states that:

 

"From the 1st July 2006 where the supplier has been at fault in not billing a domestic customer the supplier will not send a bill which includes energy consumed more than 2 years previous to the bill being issued. From 1st July 2007 this period will reduce to 1 year" (Clause 3.5)

 

This Code is effective from 1 July 2006.

 

This policy does not apply to

 

• Business customers
  
• Customers paying on a prepayment meter (there is a seperate policy for PPM)
  
• Customers obtaining energy illegally (e.g. interfering with their meter)
  

 

2.1 Energy Consumption

 

2.1.1 A bill has not been sent in two years

Where the supplier is at fault in not billing a customer in the previous two years, we will not bill a customer for more than two years worth of consumption unless it's in the customer's favour; the consumption relating to the oldest period (i.e. the period older than two years) will be withdrawn.

 

For the purpose of 2.1.1, the supplier is at fault where they have made no attempt to bill or communicate with an existing customer during the previous 24 months.

 

Specific exclusions

 

The supplier is not at fault where

• A new customer has failed to notify the supplier that they are living in the property and we have sent letters to the address or we have continued communicating with the previous occupier
  
• The property is newly built and the supplier is unaware of its usuage
  
• The customer has deliberately taken steps to avoid a bill being sent
  

 

2.1.2 An inaccurate bill has been sent previously

Where the supplier is at fault in under-billing a customer by sending inaccurate bills, when issuing a corrected one, the supplier will not collect for any additional consumption (i.e. the shortfall between what was bills and what was used) that is more than two years old. This difference will be withdrawn if applicable.

 

Specific exclusions

 

The supplier is not at fault if

• The energy billed previously was based on incorrect information and the correct information was not available to them at the time (e.g. technical specifications of the meter (such as number of dials))
  
• For technical reasons, a bill issued previously has to be withdrawn and reissued
  

 

However, in these cases, the supplier will review each case individually and may apply a "poor service" adjustment to the account if it is appropriate.

 

For the purpose of 2.1.2, the supplier is not at fault if they can demonstrate that they have taken all of the following actions:

• A. Read or attempted to read the meter at the premises within the last 24 months
  
• B. Provided opportunities for the customer to submit their own meter reading at any time on any day; and
  
• C. Any bills sent to the customer are clearly indicated as estimates (if applicable) and that these have been based on any previous history, or (if not available) on average consumption for a similar property.
  

 

2.2 Insufficient payments - Fixed direct debit and Regular cash payment

 

For customers who are paying on an agreed budget scheme, we will review their account at least once every 2 years to ensure that their payments are sufficient to cover their energy usuage. Where the supplier is at fault in failing to carry out such a review, we will not hold customers responsible for any deficit resulting from underpayments from any period older than 2 years (from the date when the account is next reviewed); the deficit resulting from the underpayment to the oldest period (i.e the period older than two years) will be cancelled.

 

Specific exclusions

 

Customers must have been paying the agreed installments; those that have missed payments or failed to pay the agreed amount will not be covered by this policy.

 

For the purpose of 2.2, the supplier is not at fault if we have carried out all the following actions in addition to A and B above:

• D. The customer has been correctly set up on the suppliers billing system and they have been sending statements showing actual or estimated consumption.
  
• E. The supplier has assessed the payment within the last 24 months based on actual or a reasonable estimate of the customer's energy consumption or the supplier has sent letters to the customer requestion a factual reading to enable them to reasses their payments.
  
• F. For direct debit customers only, the payments have been set up correctly and the supplier is taking the pre-agreed payments.
  

 

3. Poor service

 

Where the supplier ar enot at fault, customers are not entitled to have any amount of their energy bill cancelled. Should the supplier believe compensation is required due to service issues, this will be considered seperately as poor service.

 

4. Staff training

 

The supplier should endeavour to follow this policy and staff will be trained appropriately. If an error in the application of this policy occurs, the supplier will correct this as soon as they become aware of it.

 

5. Compliance

 

This policy will be audited both internally and externally at agreed regular periods. Customers who are unhappy about the way their account has been dealt with can follow the suppliers complaints procedure. If this fails to remedy the complaint, the customer can refer the dispute to the Energy Supply Ombudsman.

 

In line with actions agreed with the ERA, suppliers will record, monitor amd report their performance against the Code.

[Bazooka Boo]

Does this apply to business accounts or only domestic accounts?

Domestic accounts only unfortunately.

[Slicker]

Same problem here,

 

I gave British gas my final readings 2 year ago. Through LCS, I now have got an outstanding bill (apparently). Funny enough, 1 year ago, I got a cheque from British Gas as I overpaid.

 

Any advice?

[CAAD]

Thankyou so much for all your replies. To be honest,with Xmas coming up I just chose to ignore this debt and forget about it for abit..Now Im back!!! And got to get it sorted!!! I got another little snidey letter saying how someone will be coming to vist me within the next week!

 

It is a bill from Eon originally,for electric used at a previous address..Sept 2008- feb 2009. They say I owe over £500 and i definately dont! And I moved out of that address Jan 6th!

 

So basically my word against theirs!! What letter shall i send to the leeds ****????

 

Thankyou all once again!

[Huff&Puff]

Don't send them any letters, just ignore them. They won't send anyone to visit, but even if they did, you can tell them to bog off (in word of your own choosing).

[Bazooka Boo]

It is a bill from Eon originally,for electric used at a previous address..Sept 2008- feb 2009. They say I owe over £500 and i definately dont! And I moved out of that address Jan 6th!

 

Have you got proof of all your payments when you were at this address? Bank statements showing payments maybe?

 

If so and you are 100% certain that you don't owe them anything, then a simple letter making reference to all of your payments for the period they are disputing, should sort this out.

 

You might also want to get the advice of OFgem.

Ofgem Home

 

Also deal direct with EON, not the leeds losers.

You can send them this letter tied to a brick.

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/resources/templates-library/86-debt-collectors/573-general-debt-letter-if-you-know-nothing-of-the-debt

 

And every time they send you hamster bedding, send them the same letter..losers.

 

You would be best contacting EON and asking them what this is all about, why have they tasked an incompetent DCA to do their dirty work for them and chase you for money you don't owe.

[CAAD]

Thankyou both for your replies...well no-one did turn up! surprise surprise!!!! So at the mo,im gna see if i get anything else! You know what i never did have much dca after me..only until i signed up for that credit thing.