Do you have an online energy account? Talk to E.ON for a chance to win a £200 voucher NOW CLOSED

[AngelieMumsnet]

E.ON has asked us to find out about Mumsnetters' experiences with using online energy accounts.

Here's what E.ON have to say "Do you manage your energy online? We're keen to find out how we can make our online service more customer friendly, and tailor it to your needs."

So, do you have an online account? How regularly do you use it, and why? If you don't have an account, why not? Is there anything your energy company could do to entice you to go online with them?

Would you like to see an app for energy companies? If so, what features should it have?

Is there anything else that you would like to be able to do online with your energy company?

Everyone who adds a comment to this thread will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £200 voucher (a "Compliments voucher" - a multi-store gift voucher that can be spent at 130 retailers and 450 independent stores making up over 20,000 outlets nationwide).


Thanks and good luck,
MNHQ

For prize draw terms and conditions please click here - by posting on the thread you are agreeing to these terms

[woodchuck]

I use online account management with BG, and find it ok, although I would definitely use an App that would be really easy for me to add my meter readings, and maybe remind me when my tarriff was coming to an end.

[katiej12]

Yes, I have an online electricity account- it's especially useful as we have monthly billing and can put in a meter reading each month so have an accurate bill, not estimated. An app would be absolutely fantastic please!

[flatmum]

I would also love an App - for IOS and Android. I run all my finances online - bank accounts, utility accounts etc - and the few that won't let you really get on my nerevrs (like Council Tax). I do monthly or bi-monthly audits tot ups of my financial "state of play" and it is extremely useful to have all the info at your finger tips without having to pay to wait on hold to speak to someone.

I am with E.ON - but have only recently switched. I switch every year or so according to who is the cheapest online supplier in my area. The EON site seems at the moment to do everything I need it to do - let me submit meter reading, show me what plan I am on and full financial history and copies of all bills. I also like to be able to see what my annual usage is.

[hunhun007]

Yes, we do have an online account; it is much easier and quicker to deal with any request, changes etc... and we can save some trees in the process :-)

[manfalou]

We have an online account with British gas where we pay our bills monthly by submitting meter reading and by doing so get nectar points each time but don't really check it.

An app would be great! It would be great to see the current state of the bill so we could see if we need to curb our usage a little for the rest of the month and as others have said, a 'tip of the day' type thing would be nice.

[Trills]

Yes, I've done it. I prefer doing things online to talking to people on the phone.

I recently received an email from Npower apologising for being slow in changing tariffs, but it looked like it had been sent to hundreds if not thousands of people rather than specifically to me.

[cece]

So, do you have an online account? Yes I do.

How regularly do you use it, and why? I use it about once every two months or so to input my meter readings and check my bill.

Is there anything your energy company could do to entice you to go online with them? cheaper bills if you are online only

Would you like to see an app for energy companies? Yes, it could be useful.

If so, what features should it have? Able to input meter readings and check current bill.

Is there anything else that you would like to be able to do online with your energy company? Ask for a refund if I have overpaid.

[CashmereMouse]

I have an online account and do use it regularly, mainly to give meter readings so that I can stop the electricity company ending up with more of my money is necessary.

Before I had an online account I unknowingly built up a credit of £500 because of how much money they were taking in my monthly DD, and how little electricity I was actually using! A paper bill twice a year wasn't much help at accurately representing my usage.

An app for the account would be brilliant, it would make it even quicker and simpler to give a meter reading. I'm currently with EDF and as far as I'm aware they don't have one.

[ShatnersBassoon]

I use EDF online. I don't use it often, usually just to enter meter readings when I get sent the reminder.

I don't really know what else I would use it for. The account is paid by direct debit so no need to pay bills.

[CashmereMouse]

I would also like it to be easier to obtain a refund when I've overpaid. Being told 'it will make your winter bills seem cheaper' isn't helpful, I want my money back in my bank account! not in yours!

[NumptyNameChange]

yes i have an online account.

this is how i use it: when remembering i pay say £300 onto the account leaving me signifcantly in credit. my bills then remain in credit. when they go back into deficit i have to job my brain to remember to go give them some money and then happily forget about it again.

i do not like direct debits or agreements of how much 'they' say i should pay per month. i also would prefer to pay ahead when i think of it and can afford to do so without concern rather than having to deal with hassle of regular bills turning up when busy and distracted and then being treated like a criminal for not dealing with them in time.

would rather pay a big chunk once a year and as you can't do this retrospectively i do it in advance.

[NumptyNameChange]

oh and i don't have to talk to anyone or fanny about on the phone to do it.

find online options way, way, way more convenient and less intrusive.

[NumptyNameChange]

frankly it's also a good way to disappear money. pay your rent/mortgage/water/utilities a year in advance.

[Digestive28]

We use an online company and love the app! Since having an app I have submitted readings much more often as it us so quick and easy to do. As a result of more accurate bills we have been able to keep a closer eye on bills and review the direct debits to save money.

[Steffanoid]

we use the npower online service to manage our account. an app would be great, any excuse not to speak to the incompetent idiots that they seem to employ

[babsmam]

I'm on line paperless billing.

Something to remind me to put in my meter readings would be good. I never do it often enough.

An app would be good if it's not too faffy to log into. My energy company website is a nightmare to log into and so I don't. I can never remember the log in details. Not with eon

[Lariflete]

I use an online account for our energy bills. I use it to enter meter readings from time to time but a phone app to do that would be great.
The provider we use at the moment also updates our account balance immediately which is useful and tells us whether the payments are likely to go up / down / remain the same.
I would like it if there was a chart or graph showing a breakdown of usage (i.e. how much we use powering television / cooking etc.), plus how we could reduce our energy bills.

[MavisGrind]

I have an online account with EON - only really use it to enter meter readings rather than for anything else as I prefer not to use paper accounts.

An app may be useful as I might think to add readings more regularly. However will now go and read the thread to see what others do with their accounts!

[DifferentNow]

I'm with npower and already use the app. It's actually very user friendly. Since downloading the app, I now do monthly reads which are quick and easy to do. I wish it would immediately update my billing though so that I would always know exactly where I am with it. It would be good if it could analyse my usage and alert me to a better tariff if one is available instead of swindling me until I cotton on.

[marvindarvin]

So, do you have an online account? yes

How regularly do you use it, and why? To ensure my bills are accurate and we're not stung with an unexpectedly high bill after the winter (and to ensure our energy supplier isn't sitting on pots of our cash - I need all our money to work for us, not sit in my supplier's bank accounts!).

If you don't have an account, why not? n/a

Is there anything your energy company could do to entice you to go online with them? n/a as we already are

Would you like to see an app for energy companies? Not really, it requires tools we don't have like a mobile to access it - I just want (and use) something simple, straightforward, that does what I need it to do. The delivery mechanism for that needs to be accessible as possible. As an app, I'm sure loads of people would use it, but it does pose a barrier for people that can't afford smart phones (arguably the ones who should most need to keep track of their account) or those who don't want to use it, or those who can't e.g. older folk. I view an app as a sort of "cherry on top" - it shouldn't be the main way customers can keep track of their account, it should be an optional extra way to. Not the core method, because of the barriers I've just spoken about.

If so, what features should it have? Don't really care, as I see an app as too restrictive for me to bother with (I couldn't access it). I guess if i were someone who knew how to use them and had a phone that supported it, ease of use - should be intuitive. Not all fur coat and no knickers ;)

Is there anything else that you would like to be able to do online with your energy company? Contact a live customer rep once signed in to deal with my account i.e. via some secure messaging system like email OR in real-time chat. I have a few suppliers (my bank) that offer this ability, it's much more convenient than having to phone and wait in a call queue. And the customer reps can deal with several people at once which might save them money. Note that it should be possible, if such a thing were rolled out, to deal with actions on the energy account - I have one supplier who does take live chat but it's just for sales/random queries, if you ask them to do anything on your account they tell you to call the contact centre anyway because they can't take private information to confirm you're who you say you are, and it's not in the logged in/secure area of the site - pretty pointless for existing customers really.

[lapsedorienteerer]

We have an online E.ON account (generally I have no problems with E.On). Only use it when I'm prompted to give meter reading. Pain to use as have to go to file to check login details each time, also each time I give meter reading online a nice person inevitably appears at front door 3-5 days later asking to read my meter (so why bother reading it myself?). Not sure that I'd use an app.

[sealight123]

I have an online account with my energy provider but I very rarely use it. It is something else to remember a password and login for. It is handy that it is there for emergencies but I prefer a person.

[MrsShrek3]

We're with E.ON and I use their app to keep track of our billing and occasionally to provide a meter reading - although as others have noted, about two days later a nice fella in a high-viz generally turns up and does it anyway.

The smart meter idea really appeals to me and having an app to keep track of everything that way, including current usage so that you could potentially respond to over-use in a particular area, or budget more efficiently.

The existing account managing app is an easier way to keep up than the main website, partly as I always "mean to" but somehow never quite remember at the right time to check on the laptop, and then generally forget some of my login info So the app where you log in once and stay logged in is soooo much better for goldfish memories like mine!