Less welcome change to E.ON's billing process

Following hot on the heels of its move to bill all new cash and cheque customers on a monthly basis, E.ON has announced that it is to send only two bills a year to monthly direct debit customers.

Gareth Kloet comments; "E.ON is clearly trying to balance the books and is therefore robbing Peter to pay Paul by billing direct debit customers half yearly. We were pleased to see the monthly billing introduced for cash and cheque customers as it should encourage them to read their meters more frequently in order to pay for their actual energy use, rather than an estimated amount, but we are disappointed by this additional move.

"Although direct debit customers pay their bills on a monthly basis, they too still need to be encouraged to read their meters regularly, to keep their direct debit amount as realistic as possible. Receiving a bill just twice a year is likely to lead to far higher inaccuracies and problems for customers looking to transfer to a cheaper tariff in the future, as they could find themselves owing large amounts.

"Customers need to take control of their energy consumption. By regularly reading their meters and therefore knowing exact energy consumption, consumers can enter accurate information onto an accredited comparison site. They will then be able to scour the whole market to find the most appropriate tariff for their specific needs and see exactly how much they can save by switching."