An energy supplier's catastrophic series of errors has left a bereaved young customer battling a £3,360 bill and a trail of incomprehensible statements. E.ON Next has admitted to a litany of failures, including a malfunctioning smart meter and incorrect back-billing, after targeting a 26-year-old Londoner who lost both her mother and aunt to cancer.
A Catalogue of Billing Errors and Bereavement
The customer's ordeal began in 2022 when she discovered her aunt had been paying massively inflated energy bills for their shared three-bedroom flat. Following her aunt's adoption of her after her mother's death in 2015, the pair were shocked by charges reaching up to £1,000 a month. The customer closed the old account and opened a new one in her own name with E.ON Next.
An agent took meter readings, a smart meter was installed, and a final bill astonishingly showed the old account was more than £6,000 in credit. E.ON refused to release this as cash, instead transferring the credit to the new account to cover future bills.
The Shocking £12,960 Bill and Debt Collectors
The situation spiralled further in 2024, after the customer's aunt sadly died. E.ON then deducted £3,360 from the credit, claiming it was for energy used since early 2022. When the customer complained, the supplier's response a month later was staggering: a new bill for £12,960 issued in the name of her late mother, who had passed away in 2015.
This colossal sum was allegedly for energy dating back to May 2021. Upon contesting it, the company escalated the matter by instructing debt collectors. The intervention of the Energy Ombudsman was required to get the £12,960 bill cancelled and to order E.ON to comply with back-billing regulations, which limit charges for unbilled energy to 12 months.
E.ON's Muddled Explanations and Unresolved Debt
E.ON's explanations for the chaos, provided over several weeks, were as confusing as the bills. The company now claims the £6,000 credit was based on incorrect estimated readings, which is why it could not be cashed out—yet it was transferred to the new account due to "human error." It states the real credit balance in 2022 was £2,633.
Furthermore, E.ON admits it then incorrectly billed the customer for an outstanding balance that fell outside the legal back-billing deadline. The supplier also blamed a malfunctioning smart meter installed in 2022, claiming it was undercharging for actual usage, which it says led to the £3,360 shortfall in 2024. Crucially, this was never properly explained to the customer at the time.
Despite the Ombudsman's ruling, E.ON has not repaid the £3,360 it deducted. The company has since apologised for its "shortcomings" and says it has "enhanced" its bereavement policy. It states it has applied back-billing protection to both accounts, cleared all outstanding balances, removed negative credit data, and issued a goodwill payment.
Given the profound scale of the blunders, the validity of the £3,360 charge remains in serious doubt. With the Energy Ombudsman route already exhausted, the customer has been advised to seek legal guidance from Citizens Advice. The case highlights a shocking level of insouciance from a major supplier towards a vulnerable, bereaved customer.
