[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.

[alangilby123]

@meldrewreborn GOOD MORNING
I am still most concerned at the statements you are making in terms of your assessment of adjustments required to my direct debit.
I appreciate this increase has not been implemented, but the fact that you still maintain it is required is quite alarming.
Your assessment of £50m per month increase based on an assessed additional average of £8 per month usage is illogical.
I am afraid the EON staff do not understand the mechanics of the contract they have entered into. The anticipated usage is assessed by yourselves at the start of the contract, and this is divided into 12 equal payments across the 12 month duration of the contract.
Because the start date was 16 September, this coincides with the heavier period of gas and electricity usage, which means that my running balance will ALWAYS be negative, and will only catch up in the Spring and Summer months when the usage drops off.
Every quarter EON staff advise me I have a negative balance, and demand an immediate lump sum payment, and an increase in the monthly direct debit. Because they do not comprehend the mechanics of an amortised contract, they focus on the same litany of "you have to pay for what you have used".
This approach is outwith the contract arrangement in place.

Judging by the numbers of EON personnel who communicate that I have a negative account balance, demand an immediate lump sum payment, and advise an increase in the monthly direct debit, then there is a fundamental issue that EON operatives have not been trained in the implications of an amortised contract.

There MUST BE personnel in your Organisation who do understand the nature of the contract in place, and it must be beneficial to get these individuals involved and obviate the distress and concern this Quarterly argument initiates.
I have also requested we jointly approach the Ombudsman for his determination on what is, clearly, incorrect with the methodology, and application of the EON algorithm.

I acknowledge that at the start of the contract year, an estimation of annual usage is made to determine the monthly direct debit .
I also acknowledge that circumstances may change, and actual usage may be higher, or lower, than originally assessed.
However, I strongly dispute an assessment that suggests, on average, we are using an additional £8 per month, and the conclusion you presented that I needed to make an immediate lump sum payment of £467, and increase the monthly direct debit by £50 to cover the perceived usage of £8 average extra per month. Your request is totally disproportionate to the potential additional usage.

[geoffers]

Originally Posted by alangilby123

@meldrewreborn GOOD MORNING
I am still most concerned at the statements you are making in terms of your assessment of adjustments required to my direct debit...Judging by the numbers of EON personnel who communicate...There MUST BE personnel in your Organisation who do understand the nature of the contract
etc etc

@alangilby123 - this is a customer to customer forum... @meldrewreborn is just another customer (not an EOn staffer) just trying to help by presenting his take on the issue

[meldrewreborn]

@alangilby123

As @geoffers has pointed out I don’t work for Eon Next nor anyone else, work is akin to a 4 letter swear word for me. I only know what is contained in your posts and my own experience.

the setting of a Direct Debit is an agreement rather than a contract. As it involves assessing your future consumption at set prices it’s highly likely to be wrong in some respect. So suppliers will monitor the agreement and take action if the previous assumptions appear to be wrong. I think everyone will recognise that it’s more likely that they’ll act more quickly if your account is in debit than credit, and that is another debate.

in your case Eon Next got your billing wrong by applying an inaccurate estimate when your smart meters stopped temporarily sending readings. There is fault there. But looking at your DD level was the correct thing to do, if they believed (incorrectly) that you were heading for debt.

I’ve had the same experience and faced them down with logic. Their reliance on industry computed levels of energy consumption, rather than using their own data lies at the root of these issues. OFGEM requires suppliers to use their own most accurate data available to them in setting DDs, which they don’t do if they automatically use EAC as their starting point. Customers need to be strong, as you have been, in getting errors rectified. You should also be entitled to compensation.

But what you initially posted on this public forum was “economical with the truth” perhaps because you thought you were dealing solely with customer services. Now you know differently.

My advice? Keep track of your account (readings, prices, and EAC) better in the future. Even though I think I’m on top of things, I know that suppliers would like to finance their business using my money as their capital, and I resist that. I also recognise that customer debt to energy companies is at record levels, and that paying for energy used on time has become a bit optional. Which costs other customers more, and I don’t like that at all.

[alangilby123]

@meldrewreborn
First of all, allow me to apologise for getting the wrong end of the stick. I assumed, incorrectly, you were an EON hitman to keep the punters in check.
I am new to the community, so not really familiar as to whether the topic exists where I could tag into a conversation.
The issue of the faulty smart gas meter is a red herring, which I was totally unaware of until I was hit with a demand to pay my account balance, estimated at £467 Debit.
The issue was they had determined an average additional £8 per month usage, which since the start of the Agreement on 16 September 2024, which after 9 months equates to £72 above the initially established DD , clearly not £467.
The problem is that EON staff do not comprehend their own "contract" arrangements, and solely focus on a current running balance, oblivious to the agreement that over a 12 month period the object is that the costs will level out to ZERO at the end of the 12 months, acknowledging that actual usage could vary from the initial estimate, and SMALL adjustment may be necessary.
I obviously had the feeling I was banging my head against a brick wall, and reacted accordingly.
Trouble is they still believe they are right and I am wrong, and believe they have made a concession as I was clearly so cross.
I have requested they waive the 8 week delay time from a complaint submission to putting the matter for Ombudsman review, since I suspect they are treating all their customers with a similar heavy-handed approach. Reminds me of the Post Office with their handling of sub-Postmasters.
Needless to say, they are pretending my request for escalation does not exist.
I thought your last input got right to the source of the issues, although you thought I was a bit biassed and devious by throwing in the faulty Smart Gas meter.The practical difference was the average overuse may be £2 per month rather than £8 per month, neither of which are material in the world of estimating.

[meldrewreborn]

@alangilby123

EAC figures are crucial in the setting of direct debits. The only problem is they can be of great variance to real world consumption. When I swapped out an inefficient freezer for something much better, it took a full 2 years for my electricity EAC to fully reflect the new situation. There were several months when the figures didn’t change at all. When I had a smart meter installed, my EAC suddenly shot up for a couple of months before reality was restored. While Eon Next supply data into the industry wide EAC system, they cannot control what comes back out, nor can they explain it. But they do use it. Nor do they even look at one’s annualised advance - consumption in last 12 months.

heating is the great variable from year to year and the severity of the winter can make a big difference. It’s entirely possible to get Eon Next to back down, and I confess to promising to take a similar issue to the ombudsman if they didn’t reduce my monthly DD by £5, largely because their calculations were based on inaccurate EAC data. But you have to be super confident of your position, and understanding exactly how they (or their computer!) are getting to theirs is absolutely vital. Logic wins out in the end, once you can convince customer services why their position is untenable, but it’s not easy.

The EAC system may work well on large scales, but at the micro level of one household it can’t deal with the variables that can change what we use.