Hi malc you are about right i may not of got the refund as at the same month of the review i changed tariffs no problem with that on the account it stated i owed some but at the same time my dd was taken and should of put it i credit just one of those things as you say i was on a good deal at first but took on fixed 5 because as with my other tariff its dear upfront but you gain in the long run as i cannot see prices going down also i should offer an apology as i took on eons offer of full insulatio wall roof etc so i am using a lot less as i stated my usage has come down but tarriff rate gone up im sure it will level out ill stay with eon but will be interesting to see my review in spring if im right my review should reduce my dd if not ive got used to paying the higher dd OH FOR THE SIMPLE THINGS

Hi billbo

I'm sorry you didn't receive a refund last spring. This is clearly wrong as any balance of £5 or more should've automatically have been refunded following the Annual Review. Did you speak to us about this and. if you did, what was the explanation?

At this time of year, I would certainly expect there to be a significant amount of credit on your account ready for the anticipated higher winter bills. Additional discount is given in recognition of this.

The Annual Reviews are carried out between April and June. At this time last year, you were on the Fixonline 8 tariff so the review would have been based on these prices. As you know, this was a heavily discounted tariff so, with your reduced usage, it sounds as though dropping the Direct Debit to £77/month was probably the correct thing to do at the time.

However, at the end of Fixonline 8, you opted to go on Fixed Price 5. This doesn't have such a favourable discount and, indeed, carries a premium above standard rates. This will have led to an increase in the Direct Debit.

Depending on the month in 2012 your particular Annual Review is scheduled for, the increase would have aimed to achieve as near to a zero balance as possible by this time. Therefore, the amount we expect you to use by the review would have been spread over less than a 12 month period. This probably accounts for the higher than expected increase.

In August, you arranged to reduce these proposed monthly payments. If our previous estimate had been reasonably accurate, I suspect this will have led to us detecting a shortfall following the next bill.

Consequently, the Direct Debit would have automatically been raised to cover this expected shortfall and achieve the zero balance we aim for in the spring. With fewer months to go before the review it would, I'm afraid, again have been higher than if spread over a full year.

This type of arrangement is favoured by many of our customers as it helps stop accounts running into debt. However, we are aware not everyone likes this method and are currently looking into this as part of the Reset Review I mentioned earlier.

I realise I'm speculating rather a lot here billbo but difficult to do much more without looking at your account. Am happy to do this if you wish. Just drop an email to the address in my Biography and I'll gladly take a look.

Sorry again about the lack of a refund last spring and hope the above is of interest.

Malc

malc i understand what ou are saying but on my account my usage is down on previous years also my dd has gone from £77.00 to £136.00 iam on fix 5 which is a slightley higher tariff rate aprox £200 a year on the standard ergo i am not using anymore gas or elec in fact less also £200 divided by 12 =£16.66 not the £59 pound they want extra that is why i agreed to the dd of £100 whiuch is mathmaticaly reasonable NO IT SEEMS TO ME THAT EON WANT MONEY UP FRONT SIMPLE AS THAT also you say every £5 over you get money back you dont in spring 2011 my account was in credit and i got no refund???????? i have reviewed my account and at the yearly review eon rduced my dd from £88.00 to £77.00 so even eon realised i was paying to much or using less your figures not mine??????

GeeTee:

Malc.

I've tried several times to talk to someone but everytime I phone I get the message "we are experiencing a large volume of calls with long waiting time. Please call again."

I have been recieving estimated bills for my gas since I joined but when I checked my reading with what E-ON had on their records they were very similar, so it wont be a top up bill.

As far as I know there is no debt on the account. I've certainly never received any communication from E-ON stated that my direct debit is not covering the amount before now.

My usage hasn't changed in the last 2-2.5 years.

If you can help resolve thismatter that would be great, if not then I see no alternative thatn to swap suppliers.

Regards

Sorry you've had problems talking to us GeeTee. I do know we've had high numbers of calls in recent weeks.

I'd be happy to take a look for you. Just drop an email with your details to the address in my Biography and I'll jump on it.

The estimated bills could've skewed things a little but I doubt this would've had such a great impact but you never know. Best thing is for me to take a look.

Look forward to hearing from you.

Malc

billbo:so much for barganing got a bill this week even with the fact my accumalated monthly payments of a hundred pounds meets this with plenty left over in the account they have upped my payments to 136 pounds i am a member of have your say forum at eon and broched this subject to no avail i belive that they want custemors in credit no matter what i am moving to scotish power as they at least pay you when in credit the extra money should be earning me intrest not them this is a con hope you are listening regulators

Hi billbo

This may be down to our aim of achieving as near as possible to a zero balance on the account by the time of the Annual Review in the spring. Even though the account is in credit, this may not be enough to cover the amount of energy we predict you'll use before the Annual Review. These predictions are based on past usage and your current prices.

If there's more than a fiver of credit left on the account in spring, this will automatically be refunded.

I'm sorry you feel your input to the 'Your Say' panel was to no avail. You may have read about our new CEO's plan to examine every aspect of our relationship with our customers. It's called the Reset Review and we're looking to re-evaluate all our processes to help improve the customer experience.

We'll be asking customers to share their feedback and opinions with us on how we can do things differently and better.

The 'Your Say' panel will play a large part in this review, which we anticipate will take about six months to complete thoroughly.

Among the many issues covered will be our Direct Debit policy. Whilst many customers prefer our current arrangement with the spring review as it helps prevent debt building up on accounts; others would like a rolling 12 month arrangement starting from the date the Direct Debit is taken up. This will certainly be considered and the views of the 'Your Say' panel will form an important part of the outcome.

Again, sorry you feel your previous input was ignored but you may wish to try again now the Reset Review is underway.

Hope this is of interest billbo. Give me a shout if you need any more info as will be happy to help.

Malc

Malc.

I've tried several times to talk to someone but everytime I phone I get the message "we are experiencing a large volume of calls with long waiting time. Please call again."

I have been recieving estimated bills for my gas since I joined but when I checked my reading with what E-ON had on their records they were very similar, so it wont be a top up bill.

As far as I know there is no debt on the account. I've certainly never received any communication from E-ON stated that my direct debit is not covering the amount before now.

My usage hasn't changed in the last 2-2.5 years.

If you can help resolve thismatter that would be great, if not then I see no alternative thatn to swap suppliers.

Regards

GeeTee:

After working away for the week I finally got to open my mail this morning.

Got a lovely letter from E.ON stating that they had done their review and that they would have to increase my direct debit from £60 per month to £314 per month to start on 2nd Feb 2012.

Looks like I will be swapping suppliers in the new year.

Hi GeeTee

That's a staggering increase. May I ask a few questions?

Is the account billed up to date to accurate meter readings? Have previous bills been estimated and now you've received a catch up bill? Is there any debt on the account?

If we've been billing to estimates and now caught up following an actual meter reading, ask for the resulting balance to be spread over a similar period. This may reduce the monthly payments.

Has your usage changed significantly?

Sorry for all the questions GeeTee but trying to understand why such a large increase. Talk to us and ask for an explanation. Give me a shout if you need any more info as will be happy to help.

Malc

so much for barganing got a bill this week even with the fact my accumalated monthly payments of a hundred pounds meets this with plenty left over in the account they have upped my payments to 136 pounds i am a member of have your say forum at eon and broched this subject to no avail i belive that they want custemors in credit no matter what i am moving to scotish power as they at least pay you when in credit the extra money should be earning me intrest not them this is a con hope you are listening regulators

After working away for the week I finally got to open my mail this morning.

Got a lovely letter from E.ON stating that they had done their review and that they would have to increase my direct debit from £60 per month to £314 per month to start on 2nd Feb 2012.

Looks like I will be swapping suppliers in the new year.

Hello everyone

I’m writing from Consumer Focus about the issue of E.ON’s policy around monthly Direct Debit payments, specifically its 'Spring Review' policy.

Our discussions with E.ON about the DD policy are ongoing. However, the evidence Consumer Focus has been able to obtain to date is largely anecdotal. In order to continue to take this issue forward with E.ON, and ensure consumer concerns are taken seriously by the company, we need to be able to present actual complaints from customers who have been/are being negatively affected by this policy.

If anyone on the forum has a complaint related to the Spring Review policy then please feel free to email us at contact@consumerfocus.org.uk and put ''E.ON Spring Review'' in the subject. We will need specific details about the impact that E.ON’s policy has had on the ability to manage your energy account.

Consumer Focus also regularly analyses complaint data collected by Consumer Direct so another option is to contact them. Consumer Direct will also be able to able to give you advice about how to resolve your individual complaint, which is something Consumer Focus unfortunately can’t provide.

Consumer Direct can be contacted on 08454 04 05 06 or use their online complaint form: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Diol1/DoItOnline/DG_195918

If you are in a vulnerable situation and need more assistance to take up a complaint against E.ON you can speak to Consumer Focus' Extra Help Unit. The Extra Help Unit receives its work via referrals made by Consumer Direct. You will need to contact Consumer Direct, who will then assess whether to refer you to the Extra Help Unit depending on your circumstances and the seriousness of your complaint.

Once again, thanks for your input and comments.

Consumer Focus Energy Team

hi malc im in credit on the account and my actual consumption has gone down when i had my yearly review i was told my dd would be put at 77.00 reduced. i have contacted eon and after some shall we say bartering we came to a 100.00 dd figure meet in the midle they said because i was paying a higher price for my kwh on gas and elec because it was fixed they made the assumption my bill would go up as i argued that no one could predict what i would use next year and after that. i worked out that by moving from the privious tarrif even though discounted i allowed 200 .00 approx extra per year ie 100.00 dd if ive got it right and prices keep going up i should benifit middle next year when next set of price rises come in. if not its still ok as i am not tied by any switching fees so i could just switch to another tariff lets wait and see my money is on rises???????? thanks for advise

billbo

Hi billbo

Difficult to say without more info but suspect it’s partly down to the change of tariff.

Fixonline 8 was a heavily discounted online tariff. However, Fixed Price 5 is a different type of product, in that, it doesn’t require online management and guarantees prices will not increase until 1 July 2013. As such, it carried a premium above standard rates at the time it was taken out.

This means, I’m afraid, not only do you lose the high level of discount applicable to Fixonline 8 but you’re also paying more for prices being capped for almost 2 years.

However, this might not be the whole story.

Has your usage gone up during the past 12 months? Is there any debt on the account?

I would make sure the account is billed up to date using actual meter readings. Give us a call and ask for the Direct Debit to be reviewed. The agent will be happy to explain how the arrangement has been calculated.

Sorry I can’t be more specific billbo but hope this points you in the right direction. Give me a shout if you need any more info as will be happy to help.

Malc

hello malc could you explain why my dd so high i moved from fix online 8 to fix 5 i was paying 88.00 they now want a hefty121 dd stating price rises i know what the price differnce between my two tarriffs was equated to approx 200 extra a year where does the extra 200 come from also why quote price rises im fixed??????????????

Roadking:If you are registered to use their website you can put in your meter reading monthly this will produce a bill, you should also have a letter giving you the cost of a unit which you can use to calculate the amount. I understand you can also ask for a usage meter which shows usage and cost although I have not been offered one but my son has one.

Hi Roadking

Customers registered with our website can request a free energy monitor through their online account.

Just log in with the username and password. Click the 'Energy Fit' link in the left hand menu. You can then click the 'Starter Pack' link on the new menu and we'll send you a pack including the monitor.

Hope this is useful Roadking. Give me a shout if you need any more info as will be happy to help.

Malc

Louise25:You say that you calculate your usage yourself?

How do you do this? I've never understood what all these 'units' mean, and I've always thought E.ON are overcharging us massively.... but it's difficult to do anything about it if you don't understand what anything means!

Hi Louise

Your annual usage will be stated on page 2 of one of your bills under the heading 'Key Facts.' It will be given in kWh for both the gas and electricity.

Alternatively, give us a call and we'll be happy to tell you both you're ongoing and past usage. Drop an email to the address in my Biography if you prefer; I'll be happy to help.

Malc