Eon Revenue Protection Charges

[Laura Cooke]

Eon sent my vulnerable relative £679.44 charge 19-5-17 for Western Distribution visiting

 

Eon then sent an outstanding balance of £1,080.35

Eon have set the meter to take £5 a week towards the debt.

 

Doubt the property has ever had a meter reading in the 27 months that the relative has been at the house.

 

Relative is very challenging due to mental health and does not engage with anyone including mental health, gp, etc.

 

Relative is often not at the property for more than a night due to a break in at the property at the end of last year,

 

they have become too upset to stay there,

the doors were not secure after this

despite having attention and anyone could come and go into the property who might have knowledge.

 

An ex partner of my relative recently out of prison as been in and out of the property

we do not know about this

we do not know if they have been staying there

items have been stolen.

 

The family have had some security measures installed at the property in the last month

it now as a bolted 6 foot gate and new doors and locks and new glass in 2 outside doors.

 

I put in a EON Energy Fund application for my relative

the reply has come today stating the application was unsuccessful

 

when I contacted EON Energy Fund they stated that EON had told them not to accept the Energy Fund application

 

this is so wrong

my relative has not stolen electric

they simply have not been staying at the property or using any energy,

 

there was no electric or gas on in the property when relatives attended to work on the house and I doubt it has had any gas on for some time

there was so much mould and damp.

 

We were advised by EON to put at least £7 a week on the electric key to cover the debt and standard charge this we have been doing,

relative went home for one night then left again

 

it has disturbed them this break in

then the knowledge that the ex partner has been using the property,

 

we understand that the ex partner as been recalled to prison.

 

What can we do about these charges and the fact that this Energy Fund application as been unfairly denied.

[unclebulgaria67]

Who owns the house ?

 

What is the eligibility criteria for the EON energy fund ?

 

What reason was given for the unsuccessful application ?

 

Has a copy of the report into the condition of the meter been received ? If there was an allegation of tampering, there would be a report with pictures of the meter and details about what issues were found.

 

Do you have copies of any statements of accounts where EON have provided a full breakdown of any debt ?

 

Ideally your relative should send a data protection subject access request to EON to get hold of all records. Perhaps print off the letter contained in the link and send it on their behalf, just printing their name.

[Laura Cooke]

House private rented

 

Relative fitted criteria they are in ESA support group and on PIP

 

Reason given for unsuccessful application was EON had told them not to allow the application.

 

No report just a letter 6th April 2017 from Western Power Distribution a computer generated letter saying they called on behalf on EON to inspect equipment and that it was not as originally installed and may have been tampered with.

 

Only a statement on 9th May 2017 showing previous balance 22nd November 2016 as £114.47 then says adjustments £6.78 refund on 26th November 2016, £0.50 Cr Ex gratia 26th November 2016, £679.44 Revenue Protection Charges 9th May 2017 total charges this statement £280.16. How much electricity you`ve used £266.82, vat at 5% on £266.82, Balance £1,080.35. (This balance could be different th what`s shown on your meter as the meter readings may now be out of date.

 

Where shall I address a subject access request to what do I ask for?.

 

Letter received 19th May 2017 stating Your Revenue Protection Charges/Energy Used. Stating "your new meter will collect your current balance at £5 a week. We`ve sent a message to your meter to update the debt setting and your meter will update after you`ve topped up 3 times on 3 separate days.

 

I rang Eon on 30-5-17 spoke to an arrogant man in the Revenue Protection team explained why no electric was being used he did not want to know replied "We will be monitoring the property regularly"

[Laura Cooke]

Tried to upload copies of letters scanned them but no idea how to share them

[honeybee13]

Try clicking on the word 'upload', Laura, it takes you through to a screen with instructions.

 

HB

[unclebulgaria67]

I get the feeling more has gone on with the meters/supply than you may be aware of. I can't believe that EON will not have obtained a full report including pictures of alleged meter tampering. All the cases i have seen online have had such reports and energy companies have supplied these eventually.

 

What involvement has the landlord had with the supply problems and other issues mentioned ?

 

I would want to know the justification for the revenue protection charge. Have there been problems in meter readers gaining access to the property i.e there has been several refusals to allow meters to be read ?

[Laura Cooke]

Not aware of anything other than what I have said concerning the meter. No aware there as ever been any supply problems Landlord as sold the house due to retiring he showed the buyer round a few weeks ago only comment was that the house is in good order.

 

I had no idea what this Revenue Protection Charge was relative as stated further up rarely engages with anyone so doubt Eon have ever been in the house up until Western Power Distribution went in. It is difficult to get to know if Eon have ever read the meters previously relative displays such challenging behaviour and refusal to engage with people as brought many problems.

 

I would imagine any Utility company would have alarm bells ringing at not having been allowed in the property to read the meters however Eon were made fully aware of the customer being vulnerable with mental health issues so I was given permission to deal with the account.

 

Perhaps the Subject Access Request would shed some light as Eon have not told me anything, I do not think they should have told Eon Energy Fund not to allow the application I put in relative has not done anything wrong.

[unclebulgaria67]

Get the SAR off to EON head office. Just amend the letter to state what you want to see. E.g copies of all statements, all system entries regarding the account, copies of all records regarding meter reading issues, copies of all records relating to revenue protection, copies of all reports related to Western Power Distribution inspection.

 

Once the house is sold and the new owners change the supply into their name, the remaining debt will appear on EONs accounts. Debt collection activity will then commence. Getting the SAR info from EON is going to very helpful.

[Laura Cooke]

Appreciate your advice been looking for a template letter for Sars cannot locate anything and any idea of whom I address it to and the address please

[dx100uk]

eon head office use a search engine

click sar in any of the last posts in your thread

[Laura Cooke]

Thankyou

[Laura Cooke]

Just a few questions the Sars must be signed and name printed too?

 

Address I have found is Westwood Business Park is this head office?

 

Can I use the wording on the template but add the bits suggested to me by unclebulgaria67

 

Do I address the letter to anyone in particular or just Eon Uk?

 

I know the Sar as Eons address on but does it need to have senders address on or is the account number sufficient?

[unclebulgaria67]

Just a few questions the Sars must be signed and name printed too?

 

Address I have found is Westwood Business Park is this head office?

 

Can I use the wording on the template but add the bits suggested to me by unclebulgaria67

 

Do I address the letter to anyone in particular or just Eon Uk?

 

Jusr print initial and surname. Unless your relative can sign it.

 

Senders address will probably need to be the property address where EON provide energy and not where you live. If you want the SAR info to come back to your address, your relative would need to tell EON your address for correspondence.

 

Westwood is the UK head office. SAR need to be for attention of Data Protection Officer.

 

Yes use the template and add the bits in saying what you want to see.

[dx100uk]

Just a few questions

 

 

the Sars must be signed and name printed too? wont hurt

 

Address I have found is Westwood Business Park is this head office? looks like it

Can I use the wording on the template but add the bits suggested to me by unclebulgaria67 yes

 

Do I address the letter to anyone in particular or just Eon Uk? see below

 

I know the Sar as Eons address on but does it need to have senders address on or is the account number sufficient?

yours as well

 

 

now if you'd follow the info in the sar link

theres a data protection register

this is the details for eon

its was already there..

 

 

https://ico.org.uk/ESDWebPages/Entry/Z7344422

[Laura Cooke]

Thanks for the info I struggle to navigate on the site

[E.ON Company Rep: Malc]

Hello Laura and sorry for the late reply. Probably too late now but the address to send SAR requests is as follows:

 

E.ON Energy Solutions

Trinity House

2 Burton Street

Nottingham

NG1 4BX.

 

Don't worry if you've sent the request to another address. It'll be forwarded to the above.

 

From what you've said, it sounds as though Western Power Distribution reported possible tampering with the meter at your relative's home. At this point, our Revenue Protection team will have taken over. They deal exclusively with allegations of energy theft and follow guidelines given us by the industry regulator. What usually happens in these cases is this team will investigate the allegation and, if valid, arrange for the meter to be replaced. Often with a prepayment meter. From your posts, it sounds as though this might have happened here. Are the meters outside or would we have needed to go in to the property?

 

Also, based on the information we have, we'll have estimated how much energy we think was used but not recorded by the meter due to the tampering. This could be the £679.44.

 

I'm guessing a lot here but, as Revenue Protection are involved, your relative's account will have been ring-fenced and for the time being will only be dealt with by these advisors. The SAR will be able to show more of the detail about why we were alerted to possible meter tampering and what the subsequent investigation discovered.

 

Sorry again for the late reply and if my speculation is off track.

 

Malc

[Laura Cooke]

Thanks for the reply Malc Daughter was not at home for sometime the meter is a prepayment key. She does not use much electric or gas £35 gas as lasted her 2 months. so I would be puzzled at a high electricity bill for possible electric having been used. It is all very puzzling.

 

If Western Distribution did enter the house which they must have done daughter is not aware of it as she was not staying at home due to an ex boyfriend locating her new address and was harassing her so daughter went to stay with a friend.

 

Anyone as been able to access the house as it had been broken into and no matter how many times we tried to secure the doors as you could not lock them (Can now new locks and glass) we called and the doors were open again. Landlord fitted new locks at the front and we fitted new locks to the back and erected a high gate with bolts.

 

We know someone as been staying at the house we have no proof of who other than things are missing, and mail was going missing and being interferred with. I informed the Police that I thought an ex boyfriend had been using the house and had heard he was in prison now however Police called at my home recently to let me know that the ex boyfriend is out again.

 

I assume the Sars will shed light on this, I am a bit disappointed with Eon instructing Eon Energy Fund not to accept my daughters application when in a telephone conversation with Eon that they advised me to put a claim in to the Energy Fund. And the reason given for not accepting the claim was given as daughter does not meet the criteria, she is disabled and vulnerable with mental health problems.

[E.ON Company Rep: Malc]

Thanks for the reply Malc Daughter was not at home for sometime the meter is a prepayment key. She does not use much electric or gas £35 gas as lasted her 2 months. so I would be puzzled at a high electricity bill for possible electric having been used. It is all very puzzling.

 

If Western Distribution did enter the house which they must have done daughter is not aware of it as she was not staying at home due to an ex boyfriend locating her new address and was harassing her so daughter went to stay with a friend.

 

Anyone as been able to access the house as it had been broken into and no matter how many times we tried to secure the doors as you could not lock them (Can now new locks and glass) we called and the doors were open again. Landlord fitted new locks at the front and we fitted new locks to the back and erected a high gate with bolts.

 

We know someone as been staying at the house we have no proof of who other than things are missing, and mail was going missing and being interferred with. I informed the Police that I thought an ex boyfriend had been using the house and had heard he was in prison now however Police called at my home recently to let me know that the ex boyfriend is out again.

 

I assume the Sars will shed light on this, I am a bit disappointed with Eon instructing Eon Energy Fund not to accept my daughters application when in a telephone conversation with Eon that they advised me to put a claim in to the Energy Fund. And the reason given for not accepting the claim was given as daughter does not meet the criteria, she is disabled and vulnerable with mental health problems.

 

Hello Laura and it sounds as though your daughter is going through a terrible time. I hope things start to improve for her sooner rather than later.

 

From what you say, it looks like there's a definite possibility the meter has been tampered with and energy theft has taken place. The SAR will shed more light on this. It's good the Police are involved as they might be able to give our Revenue Protection team some good insights into what has happened at the property.

 

I totally understand your frustration that help isn't available through the E.ON Energy Fund. Part of what this fund does is to help pay current or final energy bill arrears for those who qualify. If energy theft has taken place, it might be difficult to distinguish between genuine arrears and what part of the balance is down to theft. I'm not saying this has influenced the decision not to allow your daughter's claim as I'm speculating and don't know. Again, the SAR will shed more light on this.

 

Once this has been sorted out and meter tampering has either been confirmed or ruled out, I'd encourage your daughter to apply again. Previous applicants can reapply after 3 months if the circumstances change. If energy theft is confirmed, a Police report would be very helpful in establishing this and will help with your daughter's application.

 

Sorry if my speculation isn't accurate Laura and really hope your daughter starts to see better times.

 

Malc

[Laura Cooke]

Thankyou Malc I suppose at some point I will be clearer well I hope so anyway

[Laura Cooke]

Sent off Subject Access Request by recorded delivery to Eon on 3-7-17 never had a response

[Laura Cooke]

£10 cheque sent to Eon for the Sars on 3-7-17 it was signed for on 5-7-17 but it has never been cashed

[unclebulgaria67]

£10 cheque sent to Eon for the Sars on 3-7-17 it was signed for on 5-7-17 but it has never been cashed

 

I think it is 40 (?) calendar days for a response, so you could chase up with EON and threaten to ask the ICO to intervene if necessary.

[Laura Cooke]

Thanks for the response yes it is 40 calendar days done a Sars before never had anyone ignore it just wondering how many days more I should give them if I write to them?

[unclebulgaria67]

Thanks for the response yes it is 40 calendar days done a Sars before never had anyone ignore it just wondering how many days more I should give them if I write to them?

 

14 days more should be enough. They have had 2 months already.

 

Suspect someone binned it, as they did not want to deal with it. They would have cashed the cheque, if someone was going to deal with it.

[E.ON Company Rep: Malc]

Thanks for the response yes it is 40 calendar days done a Sars before never had anyone ignore it just wondering how many days more I should give them if I write to them?

 

Hello Laura and sorry for the late reply. Not been in the office recently.

 

Sorry, too, you haven't had a response to your request for an SAR. I know we're working through a backlog at the moment but this is now well beyond what I would've expected. Don't give us any more time. Drop us a line and we'll see what's going on. Try our online Live Chat service. Advisors are available from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday and between 8am and 6pm Saturdays. Might save the hassle of waiting on the phone as our lines are very busy at the moment.

 

Please ignore this if you've already been in touch.

 

Malc