Posted 12 October 2023

Am I being robbed? £400 in credit with Eon but they say I am £80 in debit

I was with Eon but transferred to octopus on 8th August

On 28 July my bill says £238.67 credit

They took a direct debit on 4th August for £255.11

This would put my account £255.11+£238.67=£493.78 in credit

their bill says that from
28th July 2023 - 7th Aug. 2023 I used£79.38

£493.78 - £79.38= £414.40 credit

They have sent a bill saying that I am £72.38 in debt to them

this is a difference of almost £500


4216470_1.jpg
4216470_1.jpg


I have been on messenger chat with them and they have advised

I have looked on the account and on the 28th July 2023 the outstanding balance was £248.11, a payment was made on the 4th August 2023 for £255.11, the account was then £7.00 in credit. The electricity charge for the 28th Jul 2023 - 7th Aug 2023 £79.38, balance £72.38, then the account was billed for the same period but the charge was lower £73.21, balance £145.59, we reversed the charge for £79.38, so the reminding balance is -£66.21.

they have uploaded the following screenshot to explain why I owe them £66.21


4216470_1.jpg

Can anyone explain this?
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  1. MonkeyMan90's avatar
    You was £248.11 in DEBIT on the 29th July. They then estimated that from 28th July to 7th August you would use £79.38 meaning you would be £327.49 in debit. You paid your DD of £255.11 on the 4th August which would mean you are still in debit by £72.38. So the energy company are correct you do owe them money
    MonkeyMan90's avatar
    You need to ask them. But according to all screenshots you've sent you owe them £72.38. The 3rd screenshot shows you've never been in credit. (edited)
  2. Helpful567's avatar
    Author
    Had submitted this to the energy ombudsmun - they agree with my case.

    So from being from approx £80 in debt to Eon, the ombudsman has said that I will get £500 refund plus £100 compensation.

    A lot of stress but a good result in the end.
    Benjimoron's avatar
    We never doubted you.
  3. sm9690's avatar
    Do you submit regular (monthly) meter readings? Because in the screenshot they sent you, it says billed to estimates
    deleted9453's avatar
    Makes no odds as payments exceed billed usage from what we can see. Over one day the bill goes c.£400 awol.

    Op also states electronic meter implying smart meter.

    As yet we are still lacking any usage readings.
  4. gravy_davey's avatar
    I'm going to echo what's already been said. Look at your meter readings and calculate your energy usage and cost from day 1 with Eon. It'll take a while, whether you use a spreadsheet or a notepad and calculator. This is the only way to prove what the correct amount should be. The math isn't adding up with the billing and at the moment you're asking Eon to mark their own homework.
    mutley1's avatar
    it's one of two thing. the running balance that was displayed on 28 and 29 July is incorrect because of a system error or the final bill is incorrect because it hasn't taken into account the correct running balance. i don't think the OP needs to go back to the start as that could have been 20 years! i would go back a couple of years and start from there to see if the running balance is wrong as it sounds like the running balance may be wrong or the final DD in August hasn't been updated correctly on the account.

    OP, you haven't got a memory issue and you happened to have asked for a refund of your credit balance and have just forgotten about it??? or you cancelled the DD and so the August DD did not actually leave your bank or it has been returned? (edited)
  5. Benjimoron's avatar
    I wonder if they will now send you a final bill including the £400 so you'd end up having to pay it straight back to them anyway?
    Helpful567's avatar
    Author
    Have not heard anything from Eon yet, so it is still possible that this could all go wrong
  6. Helpful567's avatar
    Author
    Further online chat

    me: Please can you advise what you see when you look at the part of the bill which has a red mark around it

    I see the words “£238.67” credit

    Your message above says that it was “outstanding balance £248.11” on 28 July

    eon: Please accept our apologies, the account is showing a credit balance before any charges have been applied. We are currently working on the billing on the account to make it more user friendly
  7. Willy_Wonka's avatar
    What do the readings say on the last bill from EON?

    And what do the readings say from the start date with Octopus?

    If they match then it is not an overcharge
    Helpful567's avatar
    Author
    Please look at the two bills

    Why is there a difference of almost £400 between 28th July and 29th July??????


    The bills do not match the screenshot that they sent me


    Please also note that I have an electric online meter
  8. Helpful567's avatar
    Author
    51181840-EkweZ.jpg
    This was the email that they sent to me on 29th July. They had attached a pdf bill which states

    51181840-J7BOc.jpg (edited)
    deleted9453's avatar
    51182005-BJSGG.jpgAdds up to a credit. But that was your balance on 28th July. Not sure how you where then in debit a day later. Makes no sense.

    You need to work out the bill based on the meter readings and work back from there with the DDs you have made.
  9. mug's avatar
    What was the balance for 28th June 2023? From the 3rd screenshot it seems it should be £285.43 DR.

    You could go through all your bill, total up the electricity used and take away your payments, it's a pain but it'll give you an idea who is correct.
    Helpful567's avatar
    Author
    51182205-85JVl.jpg
  10. mutley1's avatar
    Your balances are probably based on estimated readings whereas your final bill, where they say you owe them money, is based on actual readings.
    Helpful567's avatar
    Author
    I thought that a smart meter sends them accurate readings
  11. Helpful567's avatar
    Author
    If you want to complain to the energy regulator about an electricity company then you have to follow their company complaint system first.

    The company has eight weeks to resolve this.

    My discussions with them have been via facebook messenger. (I initially chose this method instead of telephone because I am at work during the day and it can be difficult to get time to call them)
    Ironically, this now gives me a conversation trail that I can pass onto the regulator. (Although I need to find a way to download / print the conversation)
    - I have asked Eon to confirm in writing (on messenger) that that are closing my complaint so that I can pass this onto the regulator.
    - Eon have confirmed that complaint is closed

    I have therefore been to regulator website today to submit my information. (It was surprisingly easy to do this) (edited)
  12. mutley1's avatar
    you will need to lodge a formal complaint with eon. there is contact info on their site with contact details for complaints. they will then look into this formally and respond to you. at the moment you have only enquired about the bill, you haven't yet lodged a formal complaint.
    Helpful567's avatar
    Author
    I have been in facebook messenger conversation with them. (Initially this was because it was difficult to get time to speak with them during the working day but this has also provided a useful written record of conversations)

    They opened formal complaint case.

    Things have not progressed and I asked them to confirm that they have closed the complaint. - now that they have done this, I can take this to the regulator for review. (If they had not closed the complaint then I would have to wait 8 weeks before doing this)

    I have been online with regulator website today

    - surprisingly easy to provide my details and there was an option to upload evidence (I have uploaded every pdf bill that they have sent to me. I was also able to create a pdf of my facebook messenger chat and uploaded that as well)
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