why force customers onto monthly billing

  • tone's Avatar
    Level 1
    Why are you forcing customers onto monthly billing? I currently have a 2 year fixed tariff on quarterly billing. I don't want monthly billing. On top of that I can't have a smart meter so have to submit readings monthly shortly. Can I stay on quarterly billing?
  • 4 Replies

  • Best Answer

    Beki's Avatar
    Best Answer
    Hey @tone, thank you for taking the time to post on the Community :)

    Here at E.ON Next, our goal is to bring the energy industry into the future! As part of this, we want large bills and outstanding balances to be a thing of the past; so in order to achieve this we release bills on a monthly basis so customers never have 3 months of usage to pay for all at once!

    Not only is this easier to budget, if there are any issues whatsoever, by being billed monthly we’re letting you know the situation more often; giving you the opportunity to pick up the phone and talk to us! We’ll also let you know if a better tariff is available; this way you don’t miss out on something that might come and go within a 3 month time period.

    I hope this helps, Beki 😁
  • theunknowntech's Avatar
    Level 80
    I think it's worth noting that pretty much all suppliers are deprecating support for quarterly billing across the entire market these days. The number of tariffs from any supplier which still support quarterly bills is rapidly shrinking and will continue to do so. If you're currently on quarterly billing right now, I'm afraid this will only remain the case until the end of your current contract. Ultimately, it's in your best interests because it genuinely does help to balance the books on both sides and spreads the load out. No matter which supplier you're with, if you were paying into the account on a monthly basis anyway, this will still be the same in the future - you just won't have to wait as long for the number crunching.

    There's some seriously huge changes going on with just about everything related to payments for almost all products and services these days. I don't like to go too far off topic, but you'll notice things like how eBay is doing away with the one-click payments feature that exists with PayPal at checkout, so you have to do the full checkout process each time. That's just another example of how times are changing. You have to keep up with the times, or get left behind I'm afraid.

    With that being said, the priority services register is worth a look. If you are eligible for it, one of the features is to have a meter reader come out every month and take meter readings on your behalf at no extra charge.
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  • Tractor333's Avatar
    Level 1
    I agree sending monthly bills is just plain anoying, especially when your online payment doesn't work - posting checques as the only way to pay isn't exactly the future
  • meldrewreborn's Avatar
    Level 91
    Monthly billing helps the suppliers cash flow. Quarterly billing in effect gives you a loan of the energy you used before the quarterly bill comes in.

    So while I can see why its attractive from your point of view, I can also understand why the supplier thinks differently. And with monthly billing those who fall into the "don't want to pay group" get flagged up more quickly.