A young Londoner, grieving the loss of her aunt, has been plunged into a protracted dispute with energy giant E.ON Next over a £3,360 billing shortfall blamed on a malfunctioning smart meter and a series of administrative failures.
A Catalogue of Errors After Bereavement
At just 26 years old, the customer, referred to as SA, is dealing with the aftermath of losing both her mother and her aunt to cancer. Her aunt adopted her after her mother's death in 2015. Following her aunt's passing in 2024, SA was left alone to confront wildly fluctuating and "nonsensical" energy bills.
The problems began in 2022 when SA discovered her aunt had been paying massively inflated bills for their three-bedroom flat. She closed the old account and opened a new one in her own name. An E.ON agent took meter readings, installed a smart meter, and issued a final bill showing a credit of more than £6,000.
E.ON refused to refund this sum in cash, instead transferring it to the new account to cover future bills. For two years, this credit was used. However, in July 2024, after her aunt's death, E.ON deducted £3,360 from the remaining credit, claiming it was for energy used since early 2022.
Debt Collectors and a Phantom £13,000 Bill
When SA complained about the £3,360 deduction, the situation escalated bizarrely. A month later, she received a bill for £12,960 addressed to her late mother, who had been the account holder until 2015. This colossal sum was for energy allegedly used dating back to May 2021. After SA contested it, E.ON sent debt collectors.
The intervention of the Energy Ombudsman was required to cancel the £12,960 bill. The ombudsman also ordered E.ON to comply with back-billing regulations, which forbid energy companies from charging for unbilled consumption more than 12 months old. Despite this, E.ON has not repaid the disputed £3,360.
E.ON's Muddled Explanations and Apology
E.ON's explanations for the chaos have been described as "mystifying." The company now claims the original £6,000 credit on the aunt's account was based on incorrect estimated readings, which is why it could not be cashed out—yet due to "human error," it was transferred anyway.
It states the aunt's actual credit in 2022 was £2,633. Furthermore, E.ON admits it then incorrectly billed SA for an outstanding balance that fell outside the legal back-billing deadline.
The company's central claim for the £3,360 debt is that the new smart meter was malfunctioning, leading to undercharging. It says this debt arose in 2024, though it failed to explain this to SA at the time.
In a statement, E.ON apologised for its "shortcomings" and said it had "enhanced" its bereavement policy. It claims to have applied back-billing protection to both accounts, cleared all outstanding balances, removed negative credit data, and issued a goodwill payment.
Given the extensive record of blunders, it remains impossible to verify if the £3,360 charge is accurate. SA insists the money should not have been taken. Having already exhausted the Energy Ombudsman route, she has been advised to take her paperwork to Citizens Advice to explore potential legal action.
The case highlights shocking customer service failures, made especially egregious when directed at a young, bereaved individual trying to manage essential utilities alone.
