[DoctorMac]

Hi All,

this is the first time I have posted here and may be my last (as I may be booted off). I have been trying to get a correct final bill out of Eon Next since the 18th October 2022 and I have failed. This is my story as I cannot see any other way to have it told as Eon Next are not cooperating and are just being plain dumb.

This all started when I accepted a change of meter over to a Smart meter, it was installed on 7th April 2022 (after a few issues). By the beginning of October 2022 it was clear that Eon Next had no idea how to bill from this new meter so I moved over to Octopus Energy (another disaster). On the 18th October 2022 I left Eon Next and expected a final bill to be created in the next few days. Nothing turned up. So after a while I called in Feb 2023 and they said they would fix it. Great a new bill arrived in the next few days which was completely incorrect wrong consumption and wrong tariff. Went back at various times during that year and the following year (2024). Still wrong tariff being used until I got a final bill March 2024 which has a really bad estimate of energy usage, using the wrong tariff and charging for consumption estimated between 1st October 2022 and 18th October 2022 (more than 12 months ago which is prohibited by OFGEM back billing rules). Gave up with Eon Next and opened a case with The Energy Ombudsman in April 2024 have got the final adjudication which was in my favour and asked Eon Next to rebill taking the back-billing into account, a customer compensation of £250 and a letter of apology.

All good in the world. A new final bill was raised by Eon Next showing the billing recalculation and the customer compensation (all great) but they then brought forward my debit from an incorrectly calculated final bill and applied that. So now not so great. I have tried to raise a complaint with Eon Next, but they say no you cannot as we have solved this issue and The Energy Ombudsman has closed the case as Eon Next has done as requested (a complaint will now be opened with The Energy Ombudsman).

The upshot of this (TLTD): Complain at Eon Next failed, take them to The Energy Ombudsman worked, application of remedy by Eon Next failed. Next steps makes as much noise as I can about this, open more complaints and raise a Statuary Demand for my money. Eon Next does not apply back billing correctly.

I am sorry for the long winded, but for any one who is thinking of using The Energy Ombudsman it does not always get what you want.

The Energy System in the UK appears to be broken.

Thanks for reading

Regards

DoctorMac

[retrotecchie]

@DoctorMac

Just for context, After you changed over to a smart meter, were E.On Next able to get readings from your meter? If not for whatever reason, did you not keep tabs on your energy account and submit readings manually where smart readings hadn't been taken? Did readings show up as Smart, Manual or Estimated on your statements?

When you switched to Octopus, were they able to correctly take regular smart readings. I'm suspecting not as you say that was a disaster. In what way?

What tariff did you think you were on that E.On billed you incorrectly against? Were you on a fixed deal or were you on a variable tariff? If variable, you are aware of the changes in prices every three months? Especially when energy prices were spiralling upwards.

I just want to have your situation in context because the answers to my questions may offer some explanation as to what has happened.

[DoctorMac]

@retrotecchie

Hi, All very valid questions:

I had a chat with the meter installer and he confirmed that the meter was on the network and from his point of view it was sending information back.

Not sure if Eon ever got the readings, yes I kept an record of the energy consumption with photo (time stamped). I gave Eon Next manual meter readings as well.

My tariff was changed with out my knowledge not sure when this was as no one can tell me. My old meter was a dual rate, but the new meter had three registers one for off peak and two for peak usage. My tariff was a dual rate tariff, however some time after the 18th October 2022 Eon Next changed the tariff from a dual rate to a single rate as they could not understand how to get the new meter reading into the old tariff which then causes all of my bills from that point forward to be higher than expect.

This was a variable tariff and yes during 2022 the rates changed on the 1st October 2022, Eon Next had change my tariff from a dual rate to a single rate on the 7th April 2022 (which coincides with the meter change over). I have manual calculated my usage using the tariffs enforce at the time as I had all of my consumption data.

What happened is that Eon Next could not get the reading from my new meter into the computer system. The Old meter was easy two rates peak and off peak, the new meter has three registers - 02 = Off Peak rate, 03 = Peak Weekday, 04 = Peak weekend. So the system should have just added together register 03 and 04 to get peak usage and then just read 02 as off peak. This would have then matched the computer and all would have been well. However someone at Eon decided that this was not possible/did not understand and change my tariff to a single rate and then just added all of the registers together and got a wrong bill.

Octopus Energy had the same issue so it will be off to the ombudsman to get this one sorted out next.

Regards

[meldrewreborn]

What a shambles. On the basis that you can establish precisely what charges Eon Next should have charged you and what offsetting compensation you are due you will either still owe money to the supplier, or will be owed money.

in the former case I’d pay that sum to them, and in the latter case I’d use money claim online to sue for that amount. I fully understand why the ombudsman is unattractive to you.

the problem seems to have arisen from the installation of an incorrect meter type, and eon next’s inability to deal properly with that error. We’ve been told in the past that all the energy experts are trained to the same standard and should be able to deal with any issue. Your experience says otherwise.

most here are other customers, but a reply from somebody with the company name in their handle works for eon next. The general line is that the forum is not a back door to better customer service, but sometimes exceptions are made.

[DoctorMac]

@meldrewreborn

Yes this is a shambles. It just looks like that Eon Next has not correctly rebilled the final bill as it did not remove all of the erroneous bills raised before the Ombudsman Decision.

This is just a compounding of errors.

My biggest issue now is that the Energy Ombudsman has marked the case as resolved as Eon Next has told them they have applied the remedies requested. These have not been actioned correctly hence the issue with the final balance owed to me.

Overall this feels like a stitch up as the companies do not appear to be able to apply the OFGEM Back billing rules correctly and they appear to just change tariffs when it suits them. I suspect that all of the companies are similar.

This story is really just a warning to others that the Energy Companies do not have the best interest of the customer at heart (private company mostly profit driven) and the Energy Ombudsman may request a remedy, but do not take the complaints satisfaction in to account before closing the case.

Now have a complaint raised against the Energy Ombudsman to reopen the case and hopefully get Eon Next to apply the remedy correctly.

Not sure how this will go.

Regards

[DoctorMac]

@DoctorMac

This is just an update to this thread. Still fighting with Eon Customer Services as they keep telling me that Back Billing does not apply although consumption is over 12 months ago. So no just waiting for a query outstanding with The Energy Ombudsman if still no joy from this whole process then it is off to raise a money order with the courts. Even if I do not win I should at least get an answer as to why back billing does not apply.

I will keep updating the thread so every one can see how incompetent Eon Next are.

Regards

[meldrewreborn]

@DoctorMac

without the full detail were unable to comment, although we’re supporting you all the way. Companies that cannot explain their billing cause endless problems for consumers.

[DoctorMac]

Hi,

just an update from the Energy Ombudsman about the back-billing rules as they see them.

1. If you are in credit they are really not for you as they were designed to stop people get shock bills
2. Tariff issues are not covered by the back-billing rules (the OFGEM Website says inaccurate bills and not inaccurate consumption)
3. They use their own opinions to guide the outcome of an investigations (where I would suggest that using case law, wording and precedence maybe better)

Upshot of this is that as it stand The Energy Ombudsman is not on the side of the consumer (not in my case) and the decisions are opinion based and not fact based.

Maybe it is not worth using them and maybe if you have an issue with an Energy company using the courts maybe a better route.

Regards