ARE CUSTOMERS BEING LIED TO IN THE UK’S NEW POWER GAME?
Did you guess how much your electricity bill was actually going up by?
Well, a major power company might have done just that – GUESSED your estimated usage.
The Society has transcripts of Eon customer services claiming their estimated bills are actually plucked out of the air while previous charges are ignored.
Yep … GUESS-IMATES!
Yet, the relatively new utility company, Eon-Next, seems to have turned a blind eye to the worrying comments from their staff – and have ignored offers to let them hear the recordings.
An initial official statement just said: “We know these are difficult times for our customers and we’d urge anyone who is struggling to get in touch.”
Since Eon Next took over Npower less than three years ago, it ranked bottom of the table of 17 energy companies rated in the Which? Energy satisfaction survey. It received a customer score of 51pc. 63pc of Eon Next customers did also say they were satisfied.
Its parent company Eon, meanwhile, came in joint 12th along with Sainsbury’s Energy, Scottish Power and SSE. All four suppliers had a customer score of 55pc.
However, in 2019 bosses bragged publicly that E.ON had completed the migration of two million former npower customers in record speed.
So, why were customers being told only weeks ago that ‘because it is a new company, certain infrastructure isn’t yet in place?
FIVE HOURS of recordings in The Society’s possession also reveal staff ‘making mistakes’ by telling customers:
1. Pre-payment meters cannot be changed for credit meters
2. Eon has not completed its infra-structure
3. Pre-payment meters can work out cheaper than other payment methods
4. Bills are ‘guessed’ at instead of being estimated
5. Records to base bills on are available … but ignored
So, just how DIFFICULT is it to make a deal with Britain’s major providers?
And what about the elderly and the vulnerable who are trying to cope with new tech and ever-present fears over money– how do they get things sorted?
Journalist and broadcaster Leigh G Banks spent weeks on the phone to the likes of E-on Next.
He ended up with demands for money he didn’t owe, had his electricity bill trebled by a new credit meter and was lied to or mislead…
Leigh said: “E-ON Next guessed at our usage of electricity – even though they knew exactly how much we used – and trebled the bill!
“How do the elderly, people on benefits and those on low wages get by?”
Leigh said: “We have full recordings of conversations with representatives who ‘spill the beans’ on what is really happening to their customers.”
These are the questions EON’s public relations office have refused to answer:
1. Has E.on Next at any stage in 2022 had a policy of NOT replacing pre-payment meters?
2. Was the infra-structure for replacing these meters in-place immediately after the takeover?
3. Why would customer service people tell customers these meters couldn’t be changed?
4. Does E.on have access to customer records of usage?
5. If not, why not?
6. Are bill estimates simply guesses?
7. Are bill records ignored?
8. If they are used, why are bills generally estimated at three times the reality?
9. What happens to the over-charges made?
10. How much customer money does E.on hold at any one time?
Eon however blanked these questions and replied: “As we have now responded to you many times and have sent you our formal and final statement, we will not be providing any further comment in relation to your query. Regards.”
Eon was one of eight UK power companies identified this year as having ‘minor weaknesses’ by power watchdog Ofgem. The companies causing concern were Eon, Ecotricity, EDF, Octopus, OVO, Shell, SO Energy and Utility Warehouse
Waiting for ofgem comment.
#OFGEM #POWERCOMPANIES #SMARTMETERS