EON changed my MPAN profile class and are now billing me for Economy7

[Wylderose]

April 2021 - I changed supplier from Bulb to EON. EON changed my profile class from 01 to 02 and after emails back and forth stated that they were not charging me as a dual rate meter but only on single phase. They did not however change my MPAN to reflect the 01 profile class

Move on to November 2021 - I was informed that my account was being transferred to Eon Next

April 2022 - New account is open with Eon Next who are charging me Economy 7 rates because Eon did not not change the profile number back to reflect that I have a single phase meter.

The result of this is that my billing has doubled from £1011/annum to over £2000 and my direct debits will be increasing by over 100%.

I have supplied EON ad EON Next with proof of my previous MPAN and also previous annual bills that show that I am on a single phase meter and no-one will speak to me, change my MPAN code back or sort out my tariff. Where do I go from here?

I have a Smets2 meter and hey presto - all of a sudden they can't read my meter despite this being the most up to date meter in the industry and supposedly one that all electricity suppliers are able to read.

How do I get them to take note and make the required changes. If anyone has any advice I would certainly appreciate it.

Thank you

[Wylderose]

Good morning. I am bumping this thread because in the almost 2 weeks since I posted asking for help, it has been viewed and passed over by those with knowledge of how to address issues with energy companies who have posted in other posts relating to energy providers.

I appreciate that you all give your time freely to advise on your specialist areas, but I would not be asking for help if I did not need it.

I have so far:

1. Filed a formal complaint with Eon : via Resolver - relating to the fact that they changed my Profile number in May 2021 without my permission to reflect that I am an Economy 7 customer. I am on a single phase meter. I have proof of my previous meter installation, the fact that it was a single phase smets2 meter, two years continuous billing as a single phase meter and the initial meter readings provided to both Bulb and Eon when I transferred to Eon. Also the email conversations with Eon in which they stated they would rectify the Profile number and admitted that I have single phase meter. I stupidly assumed they had done so because all my bills were reflected as balances on my on-line account and I only ever received one statement from them. I have submitted a SAR to include all the information sent to them by Bulb that would enable the set up of my metering

2. Filed a formal complaint with Eon-Next via email including all the same information - 2 weeks went by with no response or contact from them. This is not an acceptable timeframe to deal with a formal complaint so I opened a case via Resolver and submitted all the information again, including a SAR request. I am assuming that given the fact that Eon and Eon-Next have different addresses that they are two wholly independent companies.

I have had no response to the formal complaint either by email or via Resolver, so I sent a follow up email to Eon-next's formal complaint email and still no response. This is due for escalation 04-05-22.

In order to contact Eon-Next (physically impossible via the phone) I have had to open a twitter account because they do not have a chat facility on the website - highly unprofessional and of course Twitter is public information and you are unable to download chat transcripts from DMs. I have been royally fobbed off.

Eon-next's advisor has told me that they are not incorrectly processing my data by not changing my MPAN Profile number to reflect single phase supply and that they are therefore not incorrect in processing my supply as Economy 7 because that is what my profile number tells them my supply should be. They are also convinced that personal data only relates to Name, DOB, address etc. Documents on the ICO website from consultations with Ofgem indicate that the processing of any information relating to a customer's MPAN number for the purposes of collection of data from the meter and subsequent billing constitutes processing of personal data.

Eon-Next also state that my Smart meter - a Smets2 meter that does not lose contact with the supplier or DCC - cannot be read and that this is due to the fact that they cannot take monthly readings only from it. So basically they have got some sort of programming error on their side that they don't know how to fix and they state that until such time as it is fixed they are not prepared to change my meter Profile number or rebill me from Actual readings provided.

Despite advising Eon-next that I cannot physically get down to floor level due to disability, to provide them with readings, they ignored that fact and insisted that I provide actual readings. I provided actual readings by getting a family member to come to my house and physically take and photograph the readings on my meters. Eon-Next have Not produced a bill based on actual readings and have debited my bank account with direct debit that has increased by 125% based on incorrect Economy7 billing.

Because they are not prepared to correct my account, am I entitled to insist on a Deadlock letter?

I cannot change provider until they fix the incorrect information as I will just end up with the same problem replicating elsewhere - Does anyone here know if the Information Commissioner will act on a complaint such as this and enforce GDPR?

Does anyone have any knowledge of whether the Energy Ombudsman will enforce this and award compensation?

Initially all I wanted was my Profile number correcting and my billing correcting. I have now been pushed to the limit and they will compensate me for the stress they have put me through and the time I have spent trying to have this corrected.

How can I get this sorted out because being billed at 33.15p/kwh is vastly different from the 27.86/kwh that it should be.

[echat11]

Hi Wylderose

a) Send Bulb / Eon both a Subject Access Request. They have 30 days to provide all the data on the account, make sure you get Proof of Postage.

b) Lodge a Formal Complaint with Eon in writing (follow their complaints procedure -https://www.eonenergy.com/contact/complaints.html, explain what's happened, why it's wrong and what you want them to do about it.

When you get their final response / deadlock letter, if you still aren't happy lodge a complaint with the Services Ombudsman.
Tell them that if the meter / readings aren't corrected, you will lodge a complaint with the ICO. Make sure you get Proof of Postage.

Make sure you include the following in your complaint -

Explain that they are breaking the law / regulations:-

OFGEM through the Electricity Act 1989 and Gas Act 1986 are very clear on misleading information being sent to customers. The Standard Conditions of electricity / gas supply license states:

Condition 0. Treating Domestic Customers Fairly -

0.3 The Standards of Conduct are that the licensee and any Representative:

a) behave and carry out any actions in a Fair, honest, transparent, appropriate and

professional manner;

b) provide information (whether in writing or orally) to each Domestic Customer

which:

i. is complete, accurate and not misleading (in terms of the information provided or

omitted);

Update the thread.

[Wylderose]

EonThank you for your response EChat

Eon Energy have already had a formal complaint, SAR for all information held electronically, telephonically from chat extracts and in particular the switch data information provided by Bulb. I have supplied then with all the information that proves my account was a single phase metered account and that my meter was single phase only. Plus the emails to and from their customer services that stated they would rectify my account. I received contact from Eon via Resolver yesterday and they have stated that they are investigating.

Bulb: What would be the value of a SAR to Bulb for the same information? Bulb are in administration

Eon-Next are playing hardball. They will not respond to me other than by Twitter and the guy who has responded is an Aussie who does not know what GDPR entails and is quoting incorrect information. They too have had a SAR request, a formal complaint submitted via email (as this is an acceptable method as per their website) and also via Resolver. I have not provided the above quote but have referred them to rulings by ICO on the subject of data processing that involves MPAN's and billing for energy supply purposes

I have informed them of my intention to file a formal complaint with the ICO and informed them today that if they are not prepared to provide a reasonable response that I want a Deadlock letter and I will take the matter to the Energy Ombudsman. I believe this changed last month - used to be Ofgem

I am extremely stressed over this and even though I have taken action feel totally out of my depth

[echat11]

a) As you've complained and aren't getting anywhere, Ask them for a Deadlock letter, lodge a complaint with the Services Ombudsman (OFGEM has never looked at individual complaints). https://www.ombudsman-services.org/

b) Send it to them, the Administrators should have access to data, nothing lost in doing that.

'Bulb: What would be the value of a SAR to Bulb for the same information? Bulb are in administration'

[Wylderose]

Thank you. SAR to Bulb has been sent electronically at the moment - will be sent via recorded delivery tomorrow when I am in work. I have also requested that my account be returned to Eon under the Erroneous Transfer Charter as I did not agree to this switch to Eon-Next.

[Wylderose]

So far

1. Bulb energy have come back to me with a "privacy email address" for submission of the SAR and then confirmed that they will forward the connection details sent to Eon within one month.

2. My complaint to Eon has been ignored and must have been passed back to eon-next because an advisor from eon-next has responded to say they will look into my issue. Not good as I want to be transferred back to Eon and then for them to sort my account out. After that I will find another energy company.

3. Eon-next have now amended my tariff from 33p/kwh to 27p/kwh but have not done anything about the incorrect profile, time switch or line loss codes so I am totally stuck because I can't transfer because they will only transfer me as an economy 7 account to another supplier and I will be back to square one again.

This whole situation is a farce.

I have asked for a deadlock letter and eon-next have gone quiet - just cut me dead.
I have asked to be transferred back to eon under the erroneous transfer charter - no response as yet - they have two more days to respond

I don't know where to turn or what to do next. What I do know is that this is making me feel ill because I am locked into a company (eon-next) that I did not ask to be switched to and feel as though I am in an impossible situation that I cannot get out of. I can't get my account corrected and I can't get switched away from this company


Help please

[echat11]

Eon Next is part of Eon, 'Eon Next is a new sustainability-driven gas and electricity supplier in the energy market and a new part of the Eon Group'.

Write a Formal Complaint to the CEO of Eon, explain whats happened, why it's their fault (that it's causing you stress / anxiety) and what you want them to do about it.

Email it to:

Michael Lewis
Chief Executive
E.on UK
michael.lewis@eon-uk.com

[Wylderose]

Thank you for all your advice EChat. While I was in the process of writing to Mr Lewis, I received an email from a Customer Services Manager and was fed the best C&B story I have heard in a long time.

Apparently when customers who have Smets2 meters switch, the meters just change the profile, time switch and loss codes all by themselves for no reason other than that they can. My god they must be intelligent.....

The person who emailed me then suggested that as they had now put my account on to flat rate billing, I should therefore leave well alone because I could end up with my meter going rogue and reprogramming itself next time I switch.

Hope you had a good laugh. I think he thinks I am a halfwit.

Anyway this led to a response being issued - Resolution declined. Change the meter back to the way it was.

Bulb have responded to my SAR request and have advised that they will provide the (Supply profile, time switch, line loss) data and all the information relating to my meter number that they sent to Eon when I switched supplier last year.

I also have a SAR in with ECOES who have also responded that they will get back to me within a couple of days and have opened a ticket.

It is my understanding that when a meter is registered on the database, this is done through ECOES and that the meter number is registered to the MPAN for the property. The supply number, time switch and line loss codes are registered to the meter by the supplier and all the information is then sent by ECOES to DCC who flash the meter with the information so that when the energy usage is fed back to the supplier the customer is billed at the correct rate.

As my meter was a new meter it's first registration would have been done by Bulb. When I changed supplier to Eon, they will have submitted profile, time switch and line loss information to ECOES with a request that the database be updated and DCC advised. (so much for my meter changing it's profile all by itself)

I have an outstanding SAR with Eon-next - no response as yet

I do not know whether Eon-next will comply with my request and whether they will amend my profile or not - It has gone very quiet. I expect the information from Bulb and ECOES within the next four weeks and I am hoping to then have enough hard evidence to file a formal complaint with the Information Commissioner and also with the Energy Ombudsman.

I also wish the market would ease up and make switches available because I have lost all faith in Eon-Next as a company. Their customer service is really bad.

[Wylderose]

Update:
I have now received the SAR info from Eon and from Bulb. It shows that Bulb correctly updated my details to the MPAS database and that Eon changed it.
Eon have offered to change my meter - have not admitted fault but 10 days have gone past and still I have no date to do so.

I have contacted them again and they have until close of play on Monday 23/05/22 to provide a confirmed date for switching my meter. After 5pm on 23/05/22 a formal complaint against Eon will be lodged with the Information Commissioner and the letter that I was writing to Michael Lewis when they came back with the offer to change my meter will be sent.

I have been as patient as I am prepared to be and their stalling tactics are wearing very thin.

[echat11]

Update:
I have now received the SAR info from Eon and from Bulb. It shows that Bulb correctly updated my details to the MPAS database and that Eon changed it.
Eon have offered to change my meter - have not admitted fault but 10 days have gone past and still I have no date to do so.

I have contacted them again and they have until close of play on Monday 23/05/22 to provide a confirmed date for switching my meter. After 5pm on 23/05/22 a formal complaint against Eon will be lodged with the Information Commissioner and the letter that I was writing to Michael Lewis when they came back with the offer to change my meter will be sent.

I have been as patient as I am prepared to be and their stalling tactics are wearing very thin.

Update the thread when you get further responses.

[Wylderose]

Eon have now retracted their offer to change the meter, claiming that it is a Business Decision and that to change it would Blacklist my MPAN. They are also claiming that it is a well known problem that meters change their profile class, timeswitch and line loss factors all by themselves. I guess they thought I was just a brainless bimbo.

They have issued a Deadlock Letter. I don't think they had any intention of sorting the mess out that they created and were just stalling for time until the 8 weeks from start of complaint were up.

Formal complaint opened with Ombudsman Services, letter sent to Michael Lewis (michael.lewis@eon-uk.com - this just bounces back from Eon-next complaints department) and a formal complaint will be filed with Information Commissioner in the morning.

[echat11]

The important thing is to get the facts across. If someone from a department contacts you, follow up with that person. What departments do, is spread the ownership of the Complaint, the only way to get a matter resolved is to only communicate with the person that contacts you first and make then understand the problem and take ownership.

[Wylderose]

I have done that. Information commissioner will not help. The person at Eon-next has not addressed anything but has just closed me down and issued a deadlock. I am completely stuck. Left being discriminated against by every energy company out there because Eon dropped the ball and because Eon refuse to fix the error. I now cannot take single rate energy from the broad spectrum of the market and I am locked into companies that only deal in Economy 7. My meter does not have 4 cables coming from the bottom so it is not a 5 port meter as this has a 5th cable that goes to the Econ7 system.

And to top it all Eon will be cease trading soon according to the Customer Service guy who was dealing with me as they are pulling out of the UK market, hence the migration of their residential customers to this useless company that used to be British Gas before they bought it out

[echat11]

Let's see how you get on with the following -

'Formal complaint opened with Ombudsman Services, letter sent to Michael Lewis (michael.lewis@eon-uk.com - this just bounces back from Eon-next complaints department) and a formal complaint will be filed with Information Commissioner in the morning.'