Eon - Arvato asking for money for a non existant account

[LarissaJ]

Hi there, looking for some advice on how best to handle this situation.

 

We bought a new house, but rented it for 3 months prior to completion. We did not live in the house until the completion date, so the gas and electricity meters were started that day, with OVO energy, which was the same meter readings given by the previous owners, when they left.

 

Unbeknown to me, the previous owner had given Eon (her supplier) my name and they have been contacting me to pay just over £300.

 

I have spoken to EON on the telephone, to put them in the picture and have returned emails, but they kept sending the demands. They have now sent it to Arvato, who have strangely said that the balance is £40

 

They obviously have no signed contract or anything from me, as they only know my name from the previous owner. What is the best course of action?

 

Thanks in advance

[BankFodder]

Do you know the whereabouts of the previous owners? I would suggest that you write a letter to OVO confirming that you have had no account with them for the date stated and that you are fully aware that they have be given your name by a third party. Provide them with the name and the address of the third party and then go on to remind OVO that they have a statutory duty under the Data Protection Act to process your data lawfully and fairly and that unless you receive written confirmation that they have now corrected their files, that you will begin a complaint to the Information Commissioner about their data breach and additionally to the energy ombudsman. Tell them that this letter is a formal complaint to them and is intended to begin the process of the eight-week procedure towards an energy ombudsman complaint.

 

Don't necessarily expect this letter to work the magic trick, but at least you will have a written record that you have stated your position. Come back here when you hear more

[Bazooka Boo]

Don't discuss this over the phone with them anymore, unless of course you're recording them?

 

You need a paper trail of evidence.

[dx100uk]

well deal direct with EON/OVO

arvato are a powerless DCA

not bailiffs

 

i'll ping the EON rep see if they can pop in tomorrow and assist...

[LarissaJ]

If you could ping the eon rep, then that would be great.

I'm still getting letters, despite putting them in the picture.

Thanks!

[dx100uk]

from whom?

 

dx

[LarissaJ]

from EON

[E.ON Company Rep: Malc]

Hello LarissaJ and sorry for the late reply. Only just spotted your post.

 

 

I have to say, I’m guessing a lot here but it sounds like we already supplied the property when you took over responsibility on completion. I also suspect the previous owner told us of the change of responsibility so their account could be closed. This automatically leads to another account being set up to cover the usage going forward. As the existing supplier, you would’ve become our customer as soon as energy was used under what’s known as a deemed contract. These are used throughout the energy industry to take away the need to disconnect supplies when responsibility for properties changes. Makes it easier for those moving in.

 

 

Did you then contact Ovo to take over the supply? Did you contact us at any time to let us know you were now responsible for the property?

 

 

Changes of supply go through in about two and a half weeks so, I suspect, the amount we’re asking for is to cover the period between you taking over ownership and the change of supply going through. If this is the case, we’ll have issued a final bill showing the start and end dates as well as the meter readings used. If you believe these are wrong, I’d suggest talking to our Home Moves specialists (contact details are on our website). Let them see the Change of Ownership document (they only need to see the relevant dates and not anything personal) to establish the date you became responsible for the property.

 

 

Do you have meter readings for when you took over responsibility and for when Ovo took over? If you do and these are different from what’s been used, again, our Home Moves team will be able to use these to rebill the final bill accurately.

 

 

Sorry if my speculation is off track LarissaJ and for all the questions but hope this helps point you in the right direction.

 

 

Malc

[E.ON Company Rep: Malc]

well deal direct with EON/OVO

arvato are a powerless DCA

not bailiffs

 

i'll ping the EON rep see if they can pop in tomorrow and assist...

 

Hello dx and hope you're well. Have you been trying to contact us recently? I haven't had a notification from CAG for quite a time. Don't know if there's a problem with private messages?

 

Malc

[dx100uk]

all is ok

no alerts of recent/.

[E.ON Company Rep: Malc]

all is ok

no alerts of recent/.

 

Thanks dx.

 

Malc

[AndyOrch]

Hello dx and hope you're well. Have you been trying to contact us recently? I haven't had a notification from CAG for quite a time. Don't know if there's a problem with private messages?

 

Malc

 

You have cleared your PMs ins/outs Malc and not exceeded your limit ?

 

 

Andy

[E.ON Company Rep: Malc]

You have cleared your PMs ins/outs Malc and not exceeded your limit ?

 

 

Andy

 

Thanks for the heads-up Andy. Have just tidied up my ins/outs.

 

Malc

[AndyOrch]

[LarissaJ]

Thanks Malc.

 

You are pretty much right with what you say, although we didn't move into the property until months after the previous owners left. The final meter readings that the previous owner agreed on the date they moved out, were the same readings we gave to OVO. So there would've been no overlap for eon. It has now been passed to Wescot credit, so I suspect that this deemed contract has been cancelled? I did try to create an online account to speak to somebody again, but it said there was no account?

 

Hello LarissaJ and sorry for the late reply. Only just spotted your post.

 

 

I have to say, I’m guessing a lot here but it sounds like we already supplied the property when you took over responsibility on completion. I also suspect the previous owner told us of the change of responsibility so their account could be closed. This automatically leads to another account being set up to cover the usage going forward. As the existing supplier, you would’ve become our customer as soon as energy was used under what’s known as a deemed contract. These are used throughout the energy industry to take away the need to disconnect supplies when responsibility for properties changes. Makes it easier for those moving in.

 

 

Did you then contact Ovo to take over the supply? Did you contact us at any time to let us know you were now responsible for the property?

 

 

Changes of supply go through in about two and a half weeks so, I suspect, the amount we’re asking for is to cover the period between you taking over ownership and the change of supply going through. If this is the case, we’ll have issued a final bill showing the start and end dates as well as the meter readings used. If you believe these are wrong, I’d suggest talking to our Home Moves specialists (contact details are on our website). Let them see the Change of Ownership document (they only need to see the relevant dates and not anything personal) to establish the date you became responsible for the property.

 

 

Do you have meter readings for when you took over responsibility and for when Ovo took over? If you do and these are different from what’s been used, again, our Home Moves team will be able to use these to rebill the final bill accurately.

 

 

Sorry if my speculation is off track LarissaJ and for all the questions but hope this helps point you in the right direction.

 

 

Malc

[Bazooka Boo]

Please IGNORE wetloths, they are a powerless circus outfit, who have zero legal rights to chase whatsoever.

 

It's in the hands of Eon, and that's who you deal with.

[E.ON Company Rep: Malc]

Thanks Malc.

 

You are pretty much right with what you say, although we didn't move into the property until months after the previous owners left. The final meter readings that the previous owner agreed on the date they moved out, were the same readings we gave to OVO. So there would've been no overlap for eon. It has now been passed to Wescot credit, so I suspect that this deemed contract has been cancelled? I did try to create an online account to speak to somebody again, but it said there was no account?

 

You're welcome LarissaJ. Happy to help.

 

The deemed contract won't, though, have been cancelled. It will cover the time between when you became responsible for the property and Ovo taking over the supply. Even if there wasn't any usage, there will still have been daily standing charges.

 

One thing to be aware of, if there wasn't any usage for the duration of the account, it might be possible to remove the daily standing charges. It depends on the circumstances. The moment energy is used or a contract is accepted either verbally or online, standing charges need to be paid. They'll be removed if a customer is on our standard tariff and hasn't formally accepted a contract and where no energy has been used since responsibility was taken on. This seems to be the situation you're describing. As earlier, I'd recommend talking to our Home Moves team. Any meter readings from the time would help here.

 

Hope this helps LarissaJ.

 

Malc