Energy supplier E.ON has apologised after technical glitches meant some customers had their direct debit payments for March taken two weeks later than usual, while others were mistakenly overcharged.
E.ON has admitted that some customers of its renewable energy brand, E.ON Next, saw their March direct debits taken on or around 15 March instead of on the 1st of the month as usual. Customers from Sainsbury’s Energy, which E.ON operates, were also affected. E.ON blamed the delay on a “technical issue.”
E.ON supplies more than three million households through its various brands, but said only a “relatively small number” of customers had their payments delayed, according to the company.
A spokesperson for the firm said: “This issue is being resolved and we are contacting affected customers to apologise and inform them that their payment will now be taken on or around 15 March. This will not affect payments going forward.”
E.ON said that payments will automatically be taken at the later date and customers don’t have to do anything, except ensure they have enough money in their account to cover the bill.
However, customers who manually paid their bills after their direct debits to E.ON Next or Sainsbury’s Energy failed will not be charged twice.
E.ON added that April’s direct debits will be taken on the 1st.
Another glitch saw E.ON Next customers who pay their bills by direct debit incorrectly charged higher, non-direct debit prices.
Energy suppliers typically offer cheaper prices to customers who pay by direct debit. Signing up for a direct debit tariff can save you around 7% on your energy bills. With average bills set to climb to nearly £2,000 a year from April, that means you could save over £100 per year.
Once again E.ON said only a “small proportion” of its customers were affected by the glitch. It’s contacted those customers by email to apologise and also issued them refunds and “small goodwill payments,” which will appear as credit on their account.
An E.ON spokesperson said: “We are aware of this issue, which affected a small proportion of our customers and has now been resolved. Customers do not need to take any action. Credits will be applied to accounts where they are due along with a small goodwill payment as way of apology.”
E.ON recently drew headlines after its new fixed-rate energy tariff, which will lock in rates at the level of April’s new price cap for a year, sold out in hours amid fears that the cap could rise even further in October.
Source: The Daily Mirror: “E.on customers hit by direct debit error with monthly payments affected”
