[alangilby123]

Is anyone else having problems with demands to clear a debit amount?
My current fixed contract started on 16 September 2024, and the costs are spread over the 12 months to 15 September 2025.
I could be considered prudent, since the start of the contract coincides with the heavier usage months for gas and electricity, which means the account will always be in debit balance until the contract end date approaches.
I received an email at the beginning of June 2025, suggesting our monthly usage was £8 per month, on average, higher than anticipated, and therefore our current debit was £467 behind where it should be, and would we arrange a one-off payment to clear this accrued debit.
Based on being 9 months into the contract, if the average additional usage is correct, then the additional amount would be 9 X £8 =£72.
Suprise, suprise, no-one could produce any figures to support the £467 arrears, plus the direct debit was unilaterally increased from 16 July 2025 by £50 per month, and there was no facility for the customer to reduce this figure.

Has anyone else experienced these intimidating, jackboot tactics, not based on any factual calculation, and had to fight tooth and nail to re-establish the contractual arrangement to an equitable footing?

[meldrewreborn]

@alangilby123

if your actual consumption exactly matched the estimate upon which the Direct Debit was based in September 2024, then your experience would be unfair. That utopia isn’t real life and the consumption will always be different to some extent.

you haven’t said what your DD was before the change and haven’t said what you account balance (debit) currently is. Those figures might explain a lot.

having said that I have found that a DD review can be erroneous, especially if the EAC figure of your consumption differs markedly from reality. We’re not far from September now so if you then find that your account has swung into significant surplus you would have grounds for complaint. Otherwise not.

[alangilby123]

@meldrewreborn.
The DD was calculated by EON, based on previous usage with them, and the anticipated annual consumption was divided into 12 equal DD payments.
You seem to miss the point that EON indicated the the average consumption over the previous NINE months was £8 higher than estimated. You do not have to be a mathematical genius to determine that £8 average extra for nine months does not equate to £467 debit balance above the DD amounts paid every month, which were determined at the contract start to meet the anticipated annualised usage.
For completeness, it turns out that the smart gas meter was not actually working, and the additional monthly usage was based on EON's estimate. Now I have supplied an up to date meter reading, it transpires that the estimated additional usage was not real anyway.
Also for completeness, I requested detailed calculations of the perceived calculation of the £467 overspend from the anticipated status nine months into a 12 month contract. To date that remains unpresented, which cleaerly undermines any credibility/ integrity of the initial claim.
Also, for completeness, having presented up to date meter readings, and presented historic usage of gas and electricity for the balance of the contract year to 15 September 2025, Eon have now confirmed the current balance debit is in line with expectations, and have now withdrawn the threat to increase the monthly direct debit by £50 fron 16 July 2025

[alangilby123]

@meldrewreborn
Now that the account has been recalculated using actual meter readings, the account balance at 9 June 2025 is £270DR. However, a dd payment of £227 has been claimed on 16 June 2025, which means, as of today, the account balance is £43DR, plus any usage from the 9 June. That is a far cry from the £467 demanded for instant one off payment at the beginning of the month, to bring the account to where it should be!!
Need I say more?

[meldrewreborn]

@alangilby123

So, for completeness the gas meter was not sending readings and Eon Next estimated your consumption using the EAC figures on your statements which were erroneous and inflated you bills and now that those have been corrected, everything is back on track.

I think that had you included those important details in your original post you would have got a rather different response. As it is my impression that the omission of those details was deliberate in order to show Eon Next in a poor light. Believe me, there are plenty of times that Eon Next deserve stiff criticism. In this case the fault lies with a non functioning smart meter, reliance by them on an inaccurate EAC, production of excessive bills as a result.

Equally if somebody is aware that a meter is not reporting, then the simplest thing to do is to submit monthly readings until the problem is resolved. Of course if you were unaware of the problem you couldn’t do that.

But relying on Smart meters to deliver correct readings 100% of the time is not a good policy, and customers should keep a close eye on statements and ready to act if they contain estimates rather than actual readings.

I get that you are a bit bitter over all this which has taken some time to resolve. But there are lessons to be learnt here. Things don’t always work as they should.