Hi, We have also had an unreasonably high bill from EON - for gas. EON supply gas and electricity and we have been paying around £50 a month direct debit. Our latest bill which has taken into consideration the monthly direct debits, was for £1000+. We have had our boiler checked and it is running of full efficiency and we have checked for gas leaks. There seems to be no reason why the bill would be more that 4 times our previous bills and during the summer months, our heating is off. We are a bit confused about the calculations that EON do to work out how much gas we have used. We also asked EON to come and check the meter, but there is a hefty fee for getting it checked - if it turns out there is a fault, they will refund the fee, but who's to say that they won't just say no anyway? Has anyone got any suggestions? Does anyone know what act they are governed under to see if they are acting lawfully? Any help would be most appreciated.

My guess is that the last bill and the monthly payments were calculated using estimated readings. You should check that the meter reading corresponds to the latest bill and, if you suspect a fault, monitor your meter on a day-to-day basis. Obviously, if everything is turned off for an afternoon, the meter should not move.

micah's mum:

Has anyone got any suggestions?

Need to be harsh to be helpful, but you have asked for suggestions.

In spite of your denial there are several reasons why everything EON have said is true. Its also possible there has been a billing error but please look at your bill before assuming anything unlawful. The only bill that is worth discussing is a bill in which both the previous and most recent readings are actual readings and not estimated readings.

If you post the readings it may be possible to explain.

Hi micah's mum,

The latest bill you’ve received, was this for £1000+ worth of charges? Or is it the charges are less but it is an accumulated balance that has built up over a period of time?

If it’s the latter then the likelyhood is that the Direct Debit has been set lower than necessary over a period of time, leaving the account in debit.

The Direct Debit will now need increasing to cover your usage and to repay the underpayments.

If this is the case you can negotiate the new Direct Debit amount with E.ON to ensure its set at a manageable amount.

If the large bill is for one quarter (not a catch up) then something is likely to be amiss here, it is definitely worth checking this first before going any further.

It’s important to check all other avenues before insisting on a check meter to test the accuracy as meters are rarely faulty and the cost is around £93 and payable by the customer.

Happy to help if you have any more questions micah’s mum.

Brian