Eon

[markcoznottz]

My mum still likes taking the paper bills to the po and paying cash. I think if you opt for paper bills they have to send them, I don’t know if there is a charge, I know some do. She has had a semi threatening text saying she must pay £X immediately or be subject to debt collection ‘fee’. No paper bill has been sent since the last one which was paid. I can’t find anything in the media, is this a Covid thing. Do they legally HAVE to send a paper bill if requested?

[ThumperMc]

Would suggest her calling Eon and talking about:

Whether its a scam, your spidey senses should be tingling even if hers aren’t.
Then your original question.

[Simpo Two]

Perhaps they've stopped sending paper bills and she wasn't notified. If there's a big gap since the last payment they're probably right.

Yep, call them.

[Condi]

Ring them up and ask, but I wouldn't expect them to send a text - they should write to her if she's on paper billing.


FWIW paper billing in arrears is the most expensive way of settling her account. She could probably save over 10% by switching to DD.

[markcoznottz]

Simpo Two said:

Perhaps they've stopped sending paper bills and she wasn't notified. If there's a big gap since the last payment they're probably right.

Yep, call them.

That’s the rub, can they stop paper billing on a whim?

[Gary C]

Don't believe there is any legal right to a paper bill.

They probably sent an email to say they were stopping them (!)

[condor]

I'm on quarterly paper billing and no issues. A reminder to pay is sent about 3 weeks after the quarterly bill.
Unlikely she would have had 2 bills lost in the post - so ring them and ask.

[Fore Left]

markcoznottz said:

My mum still likes taking the paper bills to the po and paying cash. I think if you opt for paper bills they have to send them, I don’t know if there is a charge, I know some do. She has had a semi threatening text saying she must pay £X immediately or be subject to debt collection ‘fee’. No paper bill has been sent since the last one which was paid. I can’t find anything in the media, is this a Covid thing. Do they legally HAVE to send a paper bill if requested?

You haven't actually said how long ago this was. If 3 months ago then, yes probably a scam. If 12 months, I would have still expected physical follow up letters, paper billing or not, so still probably a scam. Ring Eon and ask.

EON won't stop paper bills 'on a whim' Sign your mum up for an online account. You will still be able to receive paper bills but you'll be able to check the state of the account periodically.

https://www.eonenergy.com/help/billing-and-payment...

[Simpo Two]

markcoznottz said:

Simpo Two said:

Perhaps they've stopped sending paper bills and she wasn't notified. If there's a big gap since the last payment they're probably right.

Yep, call them.

That’s the rub, can they stop paper billing on a whim?

I would think that for anything important, and especially if the customer is on paper billing, they'd have to write.

e-mail/online is fashionable but not bombproof. I had some shares on a trading platform that changed its name. A few years later I thought 'Hang on, I'm sure I had some shares...' Luckily I remebered their name well enough to track down their new name. I contacted them to ask why they hadn't informed me. 'We sent you an e-mail' they said. Except it went straight into spam and I never saw it.

The amount of money that has and will be lost when people die and passwords are lost, or the executors never knew what they had, or because the hard drive is broken or the software too old to open, is going to be staggering I think.

On the bright side, the OP isn't with Scottish Power, the biggest bunch of useless monkeys I've ever had the misfortune to encounter.