Tintwistle resident upset over bill ordeal

A Tintwistle resident says he is looking for compensation following an ordeal with energy provider Eon.

Gerrard Cain (pictured) said he was ‘terrorised’ by bailiff calls and letters for nearly £600 in unpaid bills - from a property that is no longer his.

The 74-year-old sold his house on Jenny Street in Oldham last March, but was still was being billed by Eon for gas and electricity throughout the year, totalling £590 by November 2019.

“I was being terrorised right through the summer with umpteen calls from Eon and receiving letters from bailiffs throughout June, July and August saying I wasn’t paying my bills and threatening court action,” said Gerry.

“I rang up Eon multiple times and kept getting different people - one lad on the phone said I should have just paid the bill and I would have got it back eventually.

“Finally a lady said she would lodge an internal complaint and that I now had permission to speak with the Ombudsman.”

Eon offered Gerry a written apology last week, but after months of stress, sleepless nights and hours of phone calls, he says it doesn’t cut it - especially as the ordeal came at a particularly difficult time following the passing of his wife.

“They offered me an apology asking would I accept it, with the Ombudsman saying I should - but I told them to stick it,” he said.

“I just think that they’ve tried to rip me off.

“After months of aggravation, I feel that I should be entitled to a similar amount of cash back from them.

“The Ombudsman said that the apology as compensation should be sufficient, but it isn’t sufficient to me.” 

After reporting the situation to the Ombudsman, they say that all Eon has to do is apologise for the incident.  

An Eon spokesperson said: “We are sorry for the distress this matter has caused Mr Cain and have given him a goodwill payment in acknowledgement of this. 

“We are unable to provide further comment on the specifics of this case as it is currently with the Energy Ombudsman,” they added.