Eon is rounding UP my bills

S.J. writes: Over the past three months, I have called Eon three times to report that my monthly electricity bill has been incorrect. £125.7051 has been billed as £125.73. £136.2275 has been billed as £136.25. £106.5393 has been billed as £106.56. This is not a case of a rounding-up error, since that would only round up to the nearest penny. In each case, 2p has been added. Just a couple of pence multiplied by a few million customers adds up to a significant amount.

YOU helpfully signed a letter to authorise Eon to give me its explanation, having calculated that if 2p is added to every bill, this could amount nationally to about £68,000 each time bills are issued to its three million or so other customers. Eon’s explanation is that this rounding up does not just affect you. It affects everyone.

Apparently, prices run to three decimal places, but only two decimal places are shown on bills. For example, one of your bills shows you used 567 units of electricity at 18.79p each, which you calculate should produce a bill for £106.5393. Eon says the unit price is actually 18.793p, which means the bill should really be £106.55631 – and it is this figure which is rounded up to £106.56.

A spokesman told me: ‘This is commonplace in our industry.’

Clearly every penny counts, and some pennies count double!