Friend has been placed into debt because of EON - What can she do?

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  • Askinforafriend2024's Avatar
    Level 1
    Hello.

    Posting on behalf of a friend.

    She is with EON and she woken up to EON charging her over 2k for gas she hasn’t used and it has now placed her in debt.

    She is a single person who lives alone in a small 1 bed flat. She has no dependents.

    EON have said the charge is based on her usage from March 2024 til present. She doesn’t ever use the hob and/or cooker. She doesn’t use the oven. She has a multitude of health conditions so finds it very difficult to cook and only uses the bath. We are struggling to understand how EON are attempting to charge her over 2k for just using the bath. Surely her water bill would have gone up too? It hasn’t FYI.

    She normally pays a fixed tariff of £52 - something she has done successfully for as long as she has been with EON and has always been in credit on her account.

    She has called and queried it and the colleague she spoke to did not seem to care and only said they could escalate her compliant but there was a back log of two weeks. I don’t think she can contact the ombudsman until 8 weeks have passed. We have suggested to call EON everyday to ask for an update and pressure them to rectify their gross mistake and theft.

    She cannot work due to her health conditions and disabilities. She has Crohn’s disease and neurodivergence and narcolepsy and is already in quite poor health and this is causing her an exacerbated amount of stress and anxiety.

    What can she do if anything? Has anyone else been through this before and can provide us some advice?

    My friend is in incredibly poor health. She is in and out of hospital and being placed in debt because of this is causing a significant amount of unnecessary stress and anxiety?

    Thank you in advance.
  • 4 Replies

  • meldrewreborn's Avatar
    Level 91
    @Askinforafriend2024

    First of all welcome.

    We understand your concern. But assuming there is an error somewhere in all this, the matter will only be resolved by analysis of the facts.

    Assuming were talking about gas you need to look at the bill/statements and check the accuracy (or more likely the inaccuracy) of the readings, particularly if they are estimated readings. Compare the reading to those on the actual meter. Then the root cause of the issue will be identified.

    If a new meter has been installed recently, then errors in the end reading of the old and start reading of the new have caused problems.

    On the forum most contributors like me are just other members of the public, contributors with Eon Next in their titles work for Eon Next.

    There's probably a simple explanation but without facts we can't help to diagnose the matter for you and your friend.

    Don't post personal information here - its a public forum.
  • HelenaP_EONNext's Avatar
    Level 14
    @Askinforafriend2024 Hello and Welcome to the Community!

    I'm very sorry to hear of your friends' current circumstances and the stress this is causing them. I have sent you a DM to see if I can give you a bit more advice around this for you to pass on to your friend!

    Has your friend had an affordability conversation with our energy specialists or the affordability team? As they can point them in the right direction to receive the correct advice and any support they may be entitled to, to assist with any changes in circumstance.
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  • meldrewreborn's Avatar
    Level 91
    [QUOTE

    Has your friend had an affordability conversation with our energy specialists or the affordability team? As they can point them in the right direction to receive the correct advice and any support they may be entitled to, to assist with any changes in circumstance.[/QUOTE]
    @HelenaP_EONNext While I appreciate that the information given in the initial post may not be correct , I think its clear that the issue is primarily one of mistaken billing , hence "charging her over 2k for gas she hasn’t used and it has now placed her in debt". Once that has been resolved other advice may be appropriate.

    Can you please encourage @Askinforafriend2024 to report back on the outcome, to better inform forum users.
    Current Eon Next and EDF customer, ex Zog and Symbio. Don't think dual fuel saves money and don't like smart meters. Chronologically Gifted. If I offend let me know by private message, but I’ll continue to express my opinions nonetheless.
  • HelenaP_EONNext's Avatar
    Level 14
    @meldrewreborn That's a great point, we certainly need to look into all the avenues to provide the correct advice and support!

    As well as looking into any potential faults caused by possible incorrect billing, it can also sometimes be good to have all the options available while a fault is being investigated. This can help people receive extra support and advice whilst the issue is being investigated to hopefully relieve some of the stress whilst waiting 😊