[Joh]

Has anybody else been experiencing a long delay in getting a response about a back billing query?
I messaged eon in early March as I had been billed for usage from over a year previously. My understanding is that we can only be billed for usage in the last year. As well as my email in early March I've also spoken to eon twice on the phone and emailed them again. In mid April I was told that my query had been looked at and they seemed hopeful that I would hear back shortly. In response to my more recent email I've been told that the query is with the relevant department but there is no indication as to when I might expect a resolution. In the meantime my direct debit has been increased as the bill has put my account into debit. Any advice please?

[HelenaP_EONNext]

@Joh Welcome to the Community 🙂 Back billing queries can take around 8 weeks to investigate.

Ofgem has rules in place on when we can charge customers and to prevent back-billing beyond 12 months where we're at fault. The back billing team would need to investigate the billing on the account and any unforeseen charges first.

Have you discussed your direct debit options with our energy specialists? As they may be able to help you to find a payment option that's more suitable for you. You can find all of our contact information in this thread 'How to contact E.ON Next'

Here in the community you'll find others that have experienced similar situations to yourself! such as in this thread 'Back billing - experience and resolution'

[meldrewreborn]

@HelenaP_EONNext

Early March to now is more than 8 weeks.
personally I’d go to the ombudsman in order to up the pressure.

the only thing about back billing that I’m uncertain of is how it relates to cases where the customer has been billed, but under billed due to estimated readings - and there I presume the extra consumption can’t be billed if it relates to periods 12 months or more previously.

[HelenaP_EONNext]

@meldrewreborn Good question 🙂

Back billing would review the account but any additional payments due to unbilled usage more than 12 months before a corrected bill is sent/error detected, would not be requested. Although anything over the 12 month period would not be charged, anything within the 12 months would be.

Although, the account would need to be investigated to check possible factors of the readings being estimated and to ensure back billing protection applies.

[meldrewreborn]

@HelenaP_EONNext

Thank you.

[Joh]

Thank you both for your replies. I have been told that the back billing section have a backlog but it is now nearly 3 months since my initial query. This seems like an unreasonably long time. They have unfortunately charged me for the bill that was more than a year old which has put my account into debit and so my direct debits have been increased. I have phoned and emailed a few times with no result. So if I don't hear anything back by next week I'm going to the ombudsman and to a newspaper consumer advice column.

[HelenaP_EONNext]

@Joh You're welcome! 😊 Have you received any further updates on this?

If you are having issues with phoning and emailing, have you tried using our social media options? You can contact us via Whatsapp (0808 501 5200),