Why won't eon next change people to a credit meter

  • Goibb's Avatar
    Level 4
    @ChrisEdd @meldrewreborn @ldorelli

    my Ombudsman decision is due on 1st December. I will update when I have received it.
  • ChrisEdd's Avatar
    Level 1
    @ChrisEdd @meldrewreborn @ldorelli

    my Ombudsman decision is due on 1st December. I will update when I have received it.
    Fantastic thank you so much and thank you for re-tagging me. Will be interesting to see how they try justify it to the Ombudsman.
  • Shepard's Avatar
    Level 1
    @Goibb

    any update?

    Same boat here, I asked multiple times to be switched to a credit meter (or smart meter, whatever is available that is not a pre-payment!) and got told "we can't do it right now".

    I have been trying once a month for the last 6 months. I wonder how hard it can be.
    Last edited by Shepard; 08-12-22 at 10:23.
  • Goibb's Avatar
    Level 4
    @Shepard

    I received the decision last week but didn't want to pre-empt because I was told Eon might choose to appeal it. I have no idea yet if they will.

    The outcome of the decision was that Eon have a regulatory responsibility to offer a wide range of payment optipns, including direct debits, and that their justification that they couldn't run a credit check was not reasonable so the ombudsman has decided they need to install a credit meter free of charge.
  • Anasa_EONNext's Avatar
    Community Manager
    @Goibb Anasa here 👋 Thank you so much for sharing your customer journey with us, it would be great to see the end result as you mentioned that its possible there would be an appeal?

    Just to clear things up a little it's not company policy to not change a meter from a prepayment to a credit meter the process is that we're making any changes based on a case to case situation and not having the right system is not the reason why some exchanges don't go ahead so we'd encourage anyone that needs to discuss this to do so regardless of your situation, each customer is different and has different needs and these options need to be thoroughly discussed before it gets as far at the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman is correct we should and do have a wide range of payment options and each case is reviewed individually for what is best for the customer and their needs for any meter exchanges. I'm sorry that in your case this was not resolved for you but as I said I love to know more about your customer journey after Ombudsman ruled in your favour. 😊

    As I mentioned above we know it's not been an easy road for our customers with the transition from EON Energy to EON Next. 2023 will bring a lot more changes for the better and we love hearing all your feedback both positive and negative to help us get to where we need to be.
    Last edited by Anasa_EONNext; 27-02-23 at 11:36.
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  • Shepard's Avatar
    Level 1
    Just to clear things up a little it's not company policy to not change a meter from a prepayment to a credit meter the process is that we're making any changes based on a case to case situation and not having the right system is not the reason why some exchanges don't go ahead so we'd encourage anyone that needs to discuss this to do so regardless of your situation, each customer is different and has different needs and these options need to be thoroughly discussed before it gets as far at the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman is correct we should and do have a wide range of payment options and each case is reviewed individually for what is best for the customer and their needs for any meter exchanges. I'm sorry that in your case this was not resolved for you but as I said I love to know more about your customer journey after Ombudsman ruled in your favour. 😊

    Thanks for getting back at us! Unfortunately, I don't think I agree with you on "we are evaluating case by case". Here's attached my discussion with EON Next customer service.
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    It is clear it is not a "discussion". Customer service just replied we don't offer this service.

    I had this conversation on the phone as well, and again they just told me "we don't offer this service right now, it will arrive in the future".
    Attached Images Attached Images  
  • meldrewreborn's Avatar
    Level 91
    @Shepard

    there were debates about this last year here. Fundamentally the company were not fitting credit meters when requested even in the most valid cases. The excuses were many and varied, but the effect was virtually total. So the theory is that of course you can get a credit meter, the practice is that you can’t.

    suppliers are keen to expand the use of prepayment, and if the right steps are taken this is entirely justified - customers must pay for what they use. On the other hand suppliers must recognise that customers with good credit scores and payment history’s should be allowed to switch to credit metering swiftly.

    As ever statistical data on the subject is severely lacking but the old phrase “being economical with the truth” seems totally appropriate.
    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.
  • retrotecchie's Avatar
    Level 92
    @meldrewreborn

    There is a simple answer to this problem. Switch to a supplier who is willing to provide credit meters. The customer who doesn't get what they want from a supplier has every right to take their custom elsewhere.
    Don't shoot me, I'm only the piano player. I DON'T work for or on behalf of EON.Next, but am willing to try and help if I can. Not on mains gas, mobile network or mains drainage. House heated almost entirely by baby dragons.
  • Anasa_EONNext's Avatar
    Community Manager
    @Shepard There does seem to be a bit of confusion with getting the right message across the board, I'll pass this on as feedback as it is something that we do review on a case to case situation and you should not have got a generic response without exploring your situation further 😊
  • Anasa_EONNext's Avatar
    Community Manager
    @meldrewreborn You're right, there were cases where the reason was valid and we as specialist were getting push backs, there was a lot of incorrect information about why we could not exchange the meters, we've looked into this and as it stands at the moment we do look into this case by case and everyone's circumstances should be looked into and you should not be provided with a generic response, as you know it can take a bit of time for everyone in the business to get on the same page and we do try and get the most up to date information out here on the forum first.

    I know it can seem like a negative when things go wrong and someone posts it on the forum but it gives us a massive opportunity to see this and feedback to make improvements, there are so many things that have come to light just by you lovely volunteers being here for and our customers venting their frustrations. 😊