A CATALOGUE OF INCOMPETENCE, FICTITIOUS BILLS & HARASSMENT - AVOID THIS COMPANY! About nine years ago, I moved into a rented flat in South London. The flat was electric-only, and E-ON were the energy supplier for the previous tenant, so contacted them to inform them I’d moved in and set-up an account with them. It was the top floor flat of a house conversion, with one ground floor flat and one basement flat beneath mine and three separate electric meters in an outside cupboard under the front stairs to the property. I was told by the letting agent, my electric meter was the middle one, so gave E-ON an initial reading from that meter on the day I moved in, which was accepted, and over the years I paid E-ON by card as soon as I received a bill via email and entered meter readings on their website taken from that middle electric meter every so often when requested. INCOMPETENCE EXAMPLE ONE: I received a meter reading request email from E-ON in early July 2021, so went down to the meter cupboard, took a reading from the usual middle meter, but the E-ON website wouldn’t let me enter it in the meter reading fields of my account portal. After several failed attempts, I noticed the meter serial number on the meter readings page had been changed, so went back down to the meter cupboard outside to cross-reference that number with my meter, only to discover that number now corresponded to the meter on the right and not the middle meter that I had been giving readings from for years. The middle flat directly below mine was untenanted at the time, so couldn’t query anything there, so I emailed E-ON to ask why the associated meter had been changed on my account. I was asked to take and email E-ON photos of both meters, which resulted in an eventual reply from the “Eon Next Energy Specialist” stating the meter on the right was the one attached to my flat and that the amount owing was almost £300! Each month, I had been used to paying around £60 per month for my electric usage, so a £300 bill was a more than a shock, so continued to query the following with E-ON; - If the meter on the right was the one attached to the flat, why had E-ON been accepting readings on the middle meter for years? - Why had E-ON been accepting payments based on the middle meter readings for years? - Why, all of a sudden, had I been switched to another meter? - What evidence did they have (I.E. a confirmation letter from the National Grid) that the meter on the right was 100% my electric meter? Despite sending numerous emails to E-ON, I received no answers to any of my questions. No evidence as to why the meter on the right was deemed to be mine. Instead I received a barrage of texts and paper bills demanding payment and threatening further action if I didn’t pay. I went back to my online portal to see if I could record the discrepancy between meter readings and an obvious switch to another meter, but the readings history had been wiped and only “estimated readings” remained based on the meter on the right. With no evidence to the contrary, I was left with no choice but to find the money to pay E-ON, as I didn’t want to be taken to court and incur more fees. Although, I do still have the email chain with the “Eon Next Energy Specialist”, which I will be providing to the ombudsman and my solicitor, if required. INCOMPETENCE EXAMPLE TWO: I completed on the purchase of a flat in South London and received the keys on April 28, 2023. As the new flat required major work to remove the gas boiler (and install an electric immersion heater instead), gas cooker (and install an electric cooker instead), seven gas radiators (and install 3 electric radiators and an electric heated towel rail instead) and an electric shower, I didn’t move into the new flat until May 14th, 2023. I informed E-ON that May 14th, 2023 would be my final day in the rented flat, provided them with a final electric meter reading, which they accepted, and was eventually sent the final bill for that property, which I paid and received an email receipt for. I went straight to the new flat, after collecting the keys on April 28th, where I discovered a “To the Occupier” letter from E-ON addressed to my flat. I opened it, only to find out that the previous tenants (the flat was previously a rental before I bought it) had run-up a gas and electric bill totalling £2,016.14 and had moved out without paying. I took photos of both the gas and electric meters and readings, emailed them to E-ON along with documented proof that the purchase of the flat had completed on April 28th, 2023 and I had not been living at the flat prior to April 28th. The E-ON representative I spoke to said she had accepted these on the system and that I wouldn’t be liable to pay the previous occupiers of this flat’s bill and my liability for gas and electric would start from April 28th, 2023. CONTINUED: Since then, there have been numerous letters sent via post to this address, both from E-ON addressed “To the occupier” and from a debt collection agency on behalf of E-ON addressed directly to Mr Lukasz Wierzbicki and Mrs Joanna Wierzbicka demanding payment for the aforementioned amount, with debt collectors stating they are likely to call round to my flat to “recover the amount owed”. INCOMPETENCE EXAMPLE THREE: As this was a new home for me, and following my previous dissatisfaction with E-ON, I opted to switch suppliers to Octopus Energy on May 13th, 2023. As the flat now no longer contained any gas-powered appliances, etc, I signed-up as an electric-only customer. Although, I didn’t realise, until the plumber I had employed to carry out the aforementioned work on my flat told me that I would still be charged a daily standing order for the rental of the gas meter, even though I wasn’t using any gas at the property. He informed me that I should get the gas meter removed or I would continue to pay for a gas supply and meter that I wasn’t using. I contacted Octopus Energy, who informed me that, as I had registered as an electric-only customer, they couldn’t action the removal of the gas meter and I would have to contact my previous supplier E-ON to arrange a gas engineer to remove it. After five days of getting the run around by various E-ON customer service agents, either via phone or via email (and every day getting charged for the rental of a gas meter I wasn’t using), I was informed they could send a Gas Engineer to my flat for the fee of £148.32, which I paid E-ON, and an engineer came to my flat and removed the meter and capped off the gas supply on May 24th, 2023. Just before the meter was removed and the gas was capped off, I took and sent E-ON a photo of the gas meter and reading on May 24th, to prove no gas had been used since I took possession of the flat on April 28th). I also paid in full the standing charge for the gas meter rental and all electric used from April 28th up to the date Octopus Energy took over as my electricity suppliers. I received a final payment receipt on June 22, 2023 and a “sorry you’re leaving us” email from E-ON, and assumed that was the end of the matter and my association with E-ON. INCOMPETENCE EXAMPLE(S) FOUR: - JULY 12, 2023 I receive an email from E-ON asking for a meter reading. - AUGUST 5, 2023 I receive an email bill for £2,825.46 from E-ON for a period of “Gas usage” from 15th June - 4th August 2023. - AUGUST 5, 2023 I telephoned E-ON and asked one of their customer service people why I have received this, ESPECIALLY WHEN I PAID THEM TO HAVE THE GAS METER REMOVED AND CAPPED OFF, and why my account was still active. I was told “they would look into it.” - AUGUST 17, 2023 I receive an email bill from E-ON, this time associated with my previous rented flat, asking for a sum of £15.69 for a period from July 9th - 13th, 2023. - AUGUST 17, 2023 I emailed E-ON’s complaint dept, as I handed the keys back to that property on May 14th and haven’t even been near that flat since May 14, let alone been inside it using electricity. I also made a complaint about the HUGE gas bill I was sent for my current property for the period of time after I paid E-ON to have the gas meter removed and settled my finals bills. I also wanted to know why I was still registered as an E-ON customer, after being with Octopus for over three months. - AUGUST 22, 2023 I finally received a reply from E-ON Customer Complaints, asking me for a clear picture of the meter and the meter reading! A PICTURE OF A NOW NON-EXISTENT METER THAT I PAID THEM TO REMOVE 3 MONTHS AGO!!! - AUGUST 22, 2023 I replied with a screen grab of the email I’d previously received confirming the payment to remove the meter and transaction ID, which they should have had on their system and also recounted much of the above statement to them. - AUGUST 30, 2023 I receive text message from E-ON asking me for a meter reading. - AUGUST 30, 2023 I receive a letter from E-ON demanding I “pay your balance of £2,825.46” - AUGUST 30, 2023 I receive an email from a different person at E-ON saying “I've personally raised a complaint on your account so that we can resolve this as quickly as possible for you.” So, my previous complaint didn’t count, but Jessica @E-ON’s “personal complaint” now will? - AUGUST 31, 2023 I reply to “Jessica” at E-ON Customer Services, again stating the same problems I’m having and asking for confirmation that my name has been removed from their system and both accounts have been closed, just like I was lead to believe they had been when I made final payments on both. - AUGUST 31, 2023 I receive an email from E-ON. This time, it’s Samantha stating: “I hope you're well I can confirm that the change over for Flat 15 is in process but it's not fully completed until we receive a finalised gas reading from your new supplier. Once we get that it will no longer be possible for you to be charged. For the moment I have reversed all charges to before the 20th of May. There has been no notification of a change over for 21C Mosslea Road yet and the process will the the same where we will wait for the Change of Supply Read to confirm a supply switch over. Once these are received these, we can remove some but not all your data as it's a legal requirement to keep some information on file. Please let us know if you need anything else,” - AUGUST 31, 2023 I replied with a photo of the space in the kitchen where the gas meter was and now only two capped-off gas pipes remain, asking how anyone can send a meter reading from a gas meter that no longer exists? A METER THAT I PAID E-ON TO HAVE REMOVED MONTHS AGO! - AUGUST 31, 2023 I receive this reply from Samantha: “I'm sorry, I realise this is frustrating. Thank you for sending the meter picture.I will attach it to the account for future reference. I know you have sent us a reading in the past when you first moved in but did you record a final reading when the meter was removed? An estimate has been produced using the reading you gave us and as we have nor received a reading form this meter for a long time the billing is not as accurate as we would have liked. I have taken note of your dissatisfaction for the I'm sorry I didn't pick up on this issue right away and didn't get it right the first time but I'll use what you have said to learn how to deliver a better service in future.” As mentioned above, I sent them a metre reading from the day the meter was removed, so they could see no gas was used from the day I received the keys for the property, until the day the meter was removed. I paid all final bills to E-ON for both this and my previous rented property and received receipts to prove payment. - AUGUST 31, 2023 I receive a text from E-ON saying “Your balance of £2825.46 is still overdue. Just click on this link …. Thanks , E-ON Next.” My best friend died of Cancer recently, and I’m currently in isolation, feeling like death as I have just tested positive for Covid, so REALLY don’t need E-ON harassing me to pay bills that aren’t mine left by previous occupiers of this flat, fictitious bills generated for gas supplies that aren’t connected and trying to charge me for energy usage for properties I’ve not lived in for weeks. I’ve kept all correspondence, all evidential proof of all their harassment and incompetence, which I will be passing on to the ombudsman and my solicitor if necessary. AVOID EVER SIGNING UP WITH A E-ON AS YOUR ENERGY SUPPLIER. THEY’RE USELESS WHEN YOU’RE A CUSTOMER, THEY DON’T LISTEN AND THEY DON’T SEEM TO WANT TO LET YOU LEAVE WHEN YOU’RE NO LONGER A CUSTOMER OF THEIRS!!