[daddycool]

Mother moves into care home. Was over £600 in credit. Tried to stop any more DD payments being taken.
Their response is "if we stop the direct it means that we will need to change the tariff oto on receipt of bill which has a higher unit rate , as our direct debit customers receive a reward"
Apart from terrible English in above, they are saying that it is basically our fault that we are in credit and have to keep paying them money to put in their bank account even though usage will be minimal.
The government grant would be sufficient for some months.

I've had to get credit refunded and keep a DD mandate.

Talk about a lack of any ability for understanding in a crisis.

[JoeSoap]

@daddycool

If you want to keep the account open for whatever reason you can request a refund of all the credit balance, if you haven't already done so, and move to a Variable Direct Debit where you only pay what's on the bill each month but keep the DD discount.

[Anasa_EONNext]

Hi @daddycool Anasa here 👋 I'm sorry to hear you've had some issues with your Direct Debit and you've now had some more issues...

It sounds to me like your meter readings where estimated which is what happens if you're not able to provide up to date reads. They are estimates and could be higher or lower than your actual usage so once we do have up to date reads we'll make sure you're billed only for what you've used.

Have you thought about having a smart meter installed so that we can remotely grab your reads? 🤔 If not don't worry we can always take the reads when you get chance to go back to the property.

Now as for your Direct Debit it is a bit tricky as we can reduce it for you but if you're account gets reviewed we may suggest an increase and we'll let you know if payments need to go up but you can always get in touch and we'd be happy to lower it again based on your usage/circumstances.

You say your reads have been regular which is great! It might be an idea to set up a variable Direct Debit as @JoeSoap suggested so you won't built up any credit and just pay for what you've used.

Let us know what you think.. and if you do need to make any changes please get in touch with one of our Energy Specialist who'll be happy to put things in place for you, or you can make your changes via your online account.

[retrotecchie]

@daddycool

Sorry this has been your experience. Why not just notify Eon that you are just closing the account, using the home move thingy on the main website?

https://www.eonnext.com/help/moving-home

[daddycool]

@retrotecchie thank you. We are not closing it as not yet ready to sell the house and need utilities until then, but minimal. Then I will be able to close it altogether as you say.

[daddycool]

@JoeSoap thank you. That sounds like exactly what I want. I will check that with them. Shame they were not equally as helpful with the options.

[JoeSoap]

@daddycool

You’re very welcome. See link below for DD details…
https://assets.ctfassets.net/gmgnreshss7h/73aJWQiTaT96SpbScmbqGF/fba74e6de590b0093ae13c89a73b1d96/20201215_External_Comms_ManagingYourDirectDebit-v4.pdf

There have been cases in the past where some customer service advisors have been unaware of variable DDs so you can refer them to the link. The option is available for both fixed and standard variable tariffs (like Next Flex).

If you come up against any opposition then you can also refer to the thread in the following link which needs to be read all the way through to get to the conclusion…
https://community.eonnext.com/thread...ll=1#post12780

[Han_EONNext]

Good afternoon @daddycool

I am so very sorry that it has been such a ride getting the account sorted out!
That is correct about the tariff rates being different depending on payment, and cancelling your DD means that the energy unit rates will be higher.
How about a variable direct debit instead? This is when you pay for only the energy that you use 😊, in this situation where you are keeping the supply but are estimating you will use minimal it may be beneficial to you?

I am also sorry that you are struggling to get a refund. However no matter how you pay or what tariff you are on we can request a refund for you with absolutely no problems.

I am going to drop you a PM to get some account details from you and we can work out what is best you guys and what to do with the account going forward.

Hannah

[daddycool]

I've had a further incident of issues with morals with EON.
After EON help with the above, the monthly amount was reduced, but that was no good as it automatically increased it and as a result the account is now over £600 in credit.
Annoyingly, EON fraudulently put on a meter reading taken in June 2023. That would not have been possible as I am the only one with the login details, and BOTH of them were miles higher than the actual usage, and I was abroad!!! I suspect that EON pay someone to go and take readings, and they simply made up something, which allowed EON to take all the additional funds. Shocking behaviour, really.
I look forward to EON comment.

[JoeSoap]

@daddycool

Is this still your mother's house you're talking about? If so, did you change to a Variable DD as suggested? If you did this and submit monthly readings then your monthly DD will be charged to cover only what you actually use in the billing period and no credit balance would ever build up.