AGE UK has been forced to reassess its energy deals for older consumers after a customer in his eighties was left to overpay by hundreds of pounds, Money reveals today.
Peter Cooper signed up with the supplier Eon in 2012 through a deal offered by the charity, believing he would be looked after, but he was sorely disappointed.
His problems started in March last year when he decided to switch supplier. Cooper was told he owed Eon £473 because he had used more power than had been estimated. He agreed to clear the balance in 12 monthly instalments.
The retired engineer thought the repayments would stop automatically after 12 months — but they did not, because a standing order had been set up rather than a direct debit, which is offered by some utilities companies.
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The latter can be set up with a time limit, so the payments automatically stop. Standing orders, by contrast, run until customers contact their banks to cancel them. Eon, which has had a tie-up with Age UK since 2002, accepts only standing orders, cheques, card and bank transfers for clearing outstanding balances.
Cooper, 82, discovered he had been overpaying only when his bank statements were checked by a neighbour who helps with his finances.
He complained to Eon, which refunded the £240 overpaid and added £50 as a gesture of goodwill.
“How many more people are paying without realising they have paid off their debts?” said Cooper, of Broadway, Worcestershire. “I had no problem in paying what was due, but I thought a company focusing on older people would be more helpful rather than trying to catch them out.”
What do Eon and Age UK say?
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Eon’s current deal via Age UK is described on the charity’s website as “a tailor-made gas and electricity package exclusively for people aged 60 and over”.
Age UK said: “Many older people tell us they prefer to make payment by standing order as it puts them in full control over the management of the payments they wish to make. However, it also means the onus is on them to stop the standing order once they have fully paid, or set it up in such a way that they can’t overpay.”
Following Money’s intervention, the charity pledged to try to prevent similar problems for other customers. It said: “We will look further, with Eon, into whether there is more we can do to help people to avoid accidentally overpaying.”
Eon said: “When Mr Cooper switched supplier in 2014, he requested he pay the balance on his account in instalments by standing order [rather than by cheque or transfer]. We agreed to this and sent written confirmation detailing the dates on which payments would be taken.”
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It added: “We would encourage any customer who has concerns with their bills to contact us.”
Do all energy companies behave in this way?
British Gas, Britain’s largest energy supplier, allows customers to clear debts by direct debit as well as by standing order, as do EDF, Scottish Power and SSE.
Npower does not allow direct debits to pay debts and warns consumers against standing orders. “There is a risk they might forget to cancel a standing order once the debt is cleared,” it said. “Instead, we’d suggest they make monthly payments by card, cheque or — probably easiest — via online banking.”
SSE said: “We would normally recommend a direct debit for the simple reason that once the final payment has been taken, it will automatically close down, so overpayment would not be an issue.
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“We will also discuss a timescale with customers to suit their circumstances, which means we can spread an outstanding balance over a number of years if necessary.”