Energy Supplier Discussion

Wow that’s brilliant thank you and I’m sorry to hear of all your issues :open_mouth:

The ones I’ve experienced are listed in complaint #4 which is still in progress so I may open one as well and hopefully they will support each other.

My British Gas complaint to the ombudsman got a similar amount of compensation from an erroneous bill of £2,500 that resulted in huge financial impact for years. The ombudsman acknowledged that is was poor but they said it has to be inline with all other compensation that they’ve awarded. :roll_eyes:

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Oh and I’ve also got an ICO case against them in progress from omitting data that I know should be there because I copied the chats into a text file at the end before closing after the first time of not being sent the transcript at the end.

That should be next month, a three month processing backlog atm.

@Ordog
The Ombudsman Services case is easy to make, I wish everyone knew about it. You have to be patience in getting a decision but its quick to make a case.

  1. Wait 8 weeks (or get a deadlock letter ref which states they can’t provide a resolution)
  2. https://case.ombudsman-services.org/
  3. You be asked basic details like name, address, otm account number.
  4. You then type what your complaint is, and what you want as a remedy.
  5. You then wait a day or so whilst they check its going to valid
  6. They then ask to upload any evidence you want to include, pdf, imgs etc
  7. You then wait for the company to respond or comment on uploads.
  8. You can then comment on their response.
  9. It then gets assigned an investigator who’ll take a couple weeks to decide an outcome.
  10. You can then agree or dispute.
  11. The company can then agree or dispute.

So when they ignore your complaint you have to wait 2 months, then its another 1 month of the case to get a resolution.

However Outfox put in 6 disputes which slowed it down for me, as it takes a couple of days for Ombudsman Services staff to dismiss and continue the case.

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WHAT an absolute Fing joke, I know compensation is a difficult thing. Mostly because it costs more to go through the courts then you will ever make back(I had some issues with rental housing) We ended up threatening them with court and then they coughed up. I’m beginning to realise that state regulators(in some cases councils) are not worth the money and in fact its best to start private legal challenges(but these require cash to start with). Or a random tangent does anyone know if Monzo’s fraud system would stop that type of transaction(the 2.5k bill) also whether you could claim that money back through erroneous payment legislation.

Just to be clear the £2.5k bill didn’t come out of my account (it would have declined for starters :rofl:), it was spread over 3 months initially and therefore increased my monthly direct debits.

Similar to mine and @phildawson Outfox The Market ordeal, I think there should be a “within reason” clause on how much a company can spontaneously increase your direct debits by.

This would have helped me a little in both situations.

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This is quite a common legal term/clause - as you can technically contract out to different jurisdictions and/or go through different countries mediation/ alternative dispute resolution services if it isn’t in there - I agree, still weirdly specific…

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Ah makes sense. :sweat_smile:
I have to admit I’m surprised its legal to increase a direct debit before telling you(Surely there has to be some form of consent?).
Its a Pity no one from Monzo’s legal team could comment on this if they know.
Also apologies adding to the derailing of this Thread(Should probably be spilt out :joy:)

They are required by Ofgem rules to demonstrate when challenged how they reached the new direct debit amount.

If you then disagree with the calculations, you can provide meter readings or your own calculations to show what you think it should be.

If they disagree or ignore your email or ignore the email asking for how they reached the amount, and they still plan on taking the new direct debit then get the DD reversed by your bank (if ridiculously excessive) and get Ombudsman Services on the case and they’ll force them to set it to the correct amount, refund additional credit, and compensate for having to deal with it.

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I’ve seen quite a few people get very speedy results with Resolver, I’ve haven’t used it myself but they’ll make the Ombudsman Services case on your behalf. I assume it can sometimes be speedier as they make direct contact before starting the case to say look we’re going to process this case if you don’t respond / resolve.

https://www.resolver.co.uk/

Switched from Bulb to Octopus. Hard credit search from octopus :face_with_symbols_over_mouth:. When I switched to Bulb they carried out soft check only

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Never used them myself, but shame to see Labrador go bust

Anyone else beginning to think that there are too many energy companies?

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So this is not actually an energy company, but a company that monitors your energy bills and auto switches you if there is a better deal?..

I think I can manage that aspect of my life without someone else doing it for me to be honest.

I see Labrador’s website is still up and running and I cannot see any mention of the story on their Twitter feed, assuming of course that I am looking at the correct website of the company involved…

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Yes, that’s right. An energy supply auto switcher (similar to Flipper). There’s nothing on their website or Twitter but Crowdcube are reporting they have gone into administration.

Well I don’t have smart meters anyway because the energy company I am with does not yet offer them, but even so, I’d rather have control of my own energy switching than let one of these companies do it for me. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure they offer a great service to those that feel they either do not have the time to keep an eye on things themselves, or just simply cannot be bothered with the perceived ‘faff’ of energy switching.

Personally, I signed up to MSE Energy Club and I get emails if another company is cheaper than my current tariff, that way I can decide myself if I want to switch energy provider. As things stand, my current small independent energy provider is doing a great job and I cannot find a single energy tariff that currently beats the 15 month fix I’m currently on.

Probably. Capitalism will sort it out for us, tho.

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I am with Octopus having moved there from British Gas over a year ago. At the time, OutFoxThe Market were the cheapest when I did a comparison but I decided to go with Octopus as there wasn’t too much difference in the projected monthly costs.
For the first time in a long time, I found that the projected monthly cost was correct - and didn’t spend the first few months having my payment adjusted (as has happened previously with some of the bigger companies).
I like the fact that as soon as I provide a meter reading, it makes an immediate adjustment on my account so I can see how much credit is on my account (unlike the big suppliers where you have to wait a few days).
Whenever I have contacted them by email, I have always received a reply within 24 hours - and sometimes within an hour or so!
My tariff came to an end in Feb, and I decided to stay with them - I have been an energy tart for many years and this is the first time I have stayed with my current supplier. I looked at Bulb, but the difference in price wasn’t enough to make me want to change.
I would certainly recommend Octopus - here’s my referral code if anyone would like a £50 credit (and I get £50 too!)

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It might have been mentioned before, but energy prices can vary significantly regionally. So whilst one particular energy company may offer great tariffs in one area, they may well be more expensive in another region even with discount referral codes. It’s always worth using a comparison site to input your previous year’s total kwh spend to see exactly what it’s going to cost.

The great thing I like about my present supplier, is monthly paperless billing. I obviously pay a set amount by direct debit monthly, but on submission of my monthly meter readings, I get a monthly bill so I can see exactly how much I’m spending on my energy. This of course all relies on me as the homeowner to submit monthly meter readings. The only issue I currently have, is that as we are now moving into summer and my heating will effectively be switched off for the next 5 months, my direct debit will be taking far more than it needs to. I have yet to see whether my energy company will reduce the amount to save me needlessly building up far too much credit. I’m due a bill next week and I’m likely to be about £120 in credit after April’s bill has been taken. I’ll be asking for a £70 refund and see how long it takes me to get my own money back.

For me, it’s easier to pay a flat rate across the year and budget accordingly. As long as I’m at around break-even point when each 12 months is up then that’s all I really bother about.

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