My daughter and I were on the housing register for 11 years before being given a flat last September. Unbeknownst to me, the previous tenant owed £2,000 to the gas supplier, E.ON, and a prepayment meter had been installed. Every time I topped up, a large chunk of my money would disappear and the supply would continually cut out. E.ON was clueless whenever I contacted them.
By December, the lack of reliable heating forced us to move out. The only solution E.ON could offer was to post a new top-up card during the Royal Mail strikes. When it finally arrived, it didn’t work. Only after I contacted Citizens Advice did E.ON discover the debt linked to my account. It removed it and promised to send a new top-up card, which never arrived.
I complained to the ombudsman, who, in March, ordered E.ON to fit a credit meter. It also ruled that the deductions made from my top-ups should be refunded and £150 in compensation paid.
All the company has done is pay the £150. The meter is still showing a £60 deficit and the gas is still cut off. I’ve been paying £135 in weekly rent for a property I can’t live in while sharing a bedroom in my dad’s house with my 12-year-old daughter. I’m in despair.
JH, Ashford, Kent
I keep thinking that I’ve plumbed the darkest depths of customer service, then a story like this comes along and I realise there are no limits to corporate incompetence. A small clerical error caused your months of misery. Small clerical errors can be made by any of us. What is unforgivable is that no one at E.ON had the heart or the wit to remedy it, even after the ombudsman laid bare its failings.
When you moved in you duly informed E.ON of your tenancy. E.ON now admits that this was “not recorded as it should have been” and your predecessor’s debt was added to your account. When an energy account is in deficit, a third of each top-up is deducted to repay the dues, which meant that your credit ran out faster than you could afford.
The blunder rendered you effectively homeless, and while that may not have moved E.ON to resolve the matter, the prospect of a headline had the usual energising effect.
The meter has now been changed and the deductions refunded. You’ve also, finally, received the letter of apology the ombudsman ordered in March. You have now been able to move back into the flat, seven months after you were forced out.
In light of this, the £150 award is derisory, but since you accepted the ombudsman’s decision, the case is closed and you would have to face the small claims procedure to recoup more of your losses. Your landlord has questions to answer, too, since you were left to pay the price of a previous tenant’s failings. You have a complaint lodged with the housing ombudsman.
Another social housing tenant, KL of Derbyshire, is also out of pocket because of a prepayment meter. She has been endeavouring since January to claim the £140 credit remaining on her meter when she moved out of her previous home. “I have lost track of the hours I’ve spent trying to get the money back from Ovo,” she writes. “I’ve been repeatedly assured a cheque had been posted, but it never arrived. I’m saving for my funeral as I am seriously ill and I need this money.”
Ovo told me that a cheque was sent, but to KL’s old address. It claims it was unaware that she had moved as she had changed suppliers while still living there. This makes no sense. She did not change supplier at that stage; if she had, the credit would not be in Ovo’s keeping. At my behest she was called by an official who she says implied that the cheque had not been sent after all. It now has been, along with a £250 goodwill gesture.
Bouquets for a kind Waitrose driver
My grandma had a bad fall last week and I ordered some treats and flowers for her from Waitrose. The delivery driver noticed her injuries and took the time to talk to her and help her with the shopping. He then returned and told her the flowers would be on them. I duly received an £8 refund. She was delighted.
HS, Edinburgh
I was enchanted by this story and made inquiries with Waitrose. Your grandmother’s guardian angel was John Norris from the Walton-le-Dale store in Lancashire. Customer feedback, apparently, regularly praises his kindness. A spokesperson told me: “Many of our [staff], who co-own the business, know our regular customers well and understand that for those who are unwell or lonely, they are a vital service – with a friendly face and brief chat being appreciated almost as much as the groceries they deliver. At their discretion, we empower them to offer little gestures and gifts ‘on us’ to help brighten someone’s day.”
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