EON Next deletes tweets blaming Martin Lewis for its website crashing
EON Next has deleted tweets blaming money saving guru Martin Lewis for its website crashing – with customers unable to login to their accounts to submit meter readings.
The renewables specialists, which are part of UK energy giant EON, responded to a number of concerned energy users on Twitter, and appeared to criticise advice from the MoneySavingExpert.com founder.
One Twitter user, @brucedaisley tweeted: “@eon_next, hi I’m trying to give you my latest meter readings before the price increases.“The website isn’t recognising my password, isn’t allowing me to change my password and your phone lines are down…”
In response, an Eon Next employee wrote: “Hi Bruce, Martin has once again created unprecedented demand bringing down Britain (laughing face emoji) but don’t worry, we can take your readings here and get them recorded for you. Just contact us by private message and we’ll sort it for you.”
Another tweet from Eon Next in response to @radiokate1 said Lewis’s advice meant the phone lines and websites of every supplier were being “hammered today.”
Lewis has been advising households to check and report meter readings to their suppliers before the painful 54 per cent spike in the consumer price cap kicks in tomorrow, sending energy bills for average use to nearly £2,000 per year.
The tweets were later deleted but are still circulating online with users takin screenshots of the comments and sharing them on their profiles.
EON has now apologised for the tweets and has described the comments as “ill-considered” remarks from one of its energy specialists.
A spokesperson for the energy firm told City A.M.: “This was an ill-considered and off the cuff remark made by one of our Energy Specialists and in no way reflects our position. We have an excellent working relationship with Martin Lewis and his team, and we apologise for any offence caused. We ourselves have spent the past few weeks advising customers to submit accurate meter readings ahead of April 1.”
It also confirmed that any meter readings taken today can be updated to customer accounts online in the coming days, and that smart meter data will automatically be shared with them.
EON is not the only supplier facing complaints today – with customers from British Gas, Shell Energy, EDF, and Scottish Power all reporting problems in submitting meter readings.