Add your feedback on energy supplier Shell Energy (formerly First Utility)

John1949 · 13 February 2015 at 4:17PM

I feel like having a big rant but I'll stay factual!
On 30/12/14 I applied via Cheap Energy Club to transfer my dual supply to First Utility as it was top of the "Cheapest" suppliers plus I would receive my £30 cash back in due course!
As I've basically been left waiting in limbo I began to chase the company. After 5 telephone calls and promises that it was proceeding ok it was eventually admitted on 20th January 2015 that my application has not yet been auctioned. Assured they will chase it up.
On 29th January 2015 having heard nothing from First utility I again contacted them. Admitted yet again that nothing has progressed but assured me that it will be dealt with manually by their "Back Office"
Today 13th February 2015, having again heard nothing, I rang again only to be told that NO application has yet been made and nobody can explain why!!
I was offered the opportunity to make a fresh application over the telephone today but of course I wouldn't get my cash back. So I declined - enough is enough. Now I've Just received an email from First Utility canceling my Account and saying sorry I'm leaving
Please please pleasa be aware of this lack of customer care in my experience from this company. I've kept detailed notes with names, dates and times of all those people who each time promised that they would sort it all out? Now I've wasted 7 weeks trying to be patient and giving the company a chance to resolve my problem. So beware customer care doesn't seem to count.

kaveish · 16 February 2015 at 12:54PM

Finally resolved my complaint with First Utility so I thought I'd post my experience here.

I first joined them in September 2013 for G+E and although they took direct debits, I didn't receive a single bill until November 2014, after moving home in August 2014. The final bill was then completely incorrect.

During this time I complained repeatedly about being unable to submit meter readings and not having received a bill. I attempted more than 10 times to get First Utility to take action on the account, but nothing was done until they thought I owed them money on my final bill. I received a call to discuss settling the payment in February 2015, I explained my previous complaints and a customer complaints specialist finally set about resolving the problem.

First Utility have now issued a correct final bill, agreed to waive the bill amount of £20 and have offered a £60 goodwill gesture (£40 initially but I was offered £60 after complaining this was not enough). They have also agreed to waive the £60 early exit fees so I can go to another company, and are sending me a written letter of apology.

I highly recommend avoiding them, at least for the next couple of years until they get their act together.

Scubatim · 28 March 2015 at 1:41PM

First Utility almost ripped me off for about £250!

I have been in dispute with First Utility about the accuracy of my payments to them for almost a year. First Utility lost payments totally about £250 I made to my account prior to April 2013. Despite contacting First Utility many many times and a fortune in phone bills due to ridiculously long waiting times on hold, First Utility were unable to find the payments and started debt collection proceedings against me. I complained to First Utility's 'customer resolution team' who were similarly useless, it took them until October to locate the lost payments at which time they promised to credit them to my account. First Utility did not credit the lost payments to my account until about a week ago - March 2014, despite numerous calls to and promises from their customer resolution team. I am now switching to another supplier, I don't think any of them can be as bad as First Utility! If it had not been for my persistence I would be £250 out of pocket. AVOID First Utility, they are incompetent and have appalling customer service.

gatita · 28 March 2015 at 9:43PM

I still cannot believe that low users are to be penalised for not using 'enough' energy according to them. I received their email last week informing me of this. Time to change company me thinks!

Swipe · 29 March 2015 at 10:34AM

Useless company. i emailed them a week ago and still no response.

matelodave · 30 March 2015 at 1:20PM

My opinion of them is getting better.

A week or so ago I phoned to change tariffs as they are still the cheapest for me (hopefully that will happen on 1st April - no jokes please)

I requested a reduction of my DD from £85 to £77 which has already been applied to my account and I also asked for a £200 overpayment refund which has just dropped into my bank account.

So assuming that the tariff change gets actioned on Wednesday that's the sort of service that I expect and have received.

So keep it up please FU

KDH_2 · 31 March 2015 at 3:05PM

I changed to FU from BG in Feb 2014 on a fixed tariff due to end July 2015, moved to Nov 2016 tariff in October 2014 and then in Feb 2015 moved to their current best deal , the March 2016 tariff.
All without any fees or problems .....until earlier this month when a bill failed to materialise after inputting monthly readings . Sent an email , had a reply within in an hour and a bill appeared 3 days later. :j

Pleasantly surprised as a I had been waiting for problems to occur and then see how bad their response was..........turned out it was handled very efficiently:beer:
PS - Also had 2 reductions to my DD handled well as my postive balance had been building up nicely because of the declining gas charges.

footyguy · 31 March 2015 at 4:29PM

I applied to First Utility for them to take over my supply.

48 hours after application, they sent me a confirmation.
However it was an entirely different tariff to that which I applied for (long story, and this may or may not have been FU's fault)

However, even if they use the tariff as they confirmed to me, they couldn't even calculate the anticipated annual cost correctly based on the estimated consumption figures I provided.

So I email them to ask what is going on.

It's actually not that easy to find an email address; FU prefer you to use their online form. However that wasn't suitable for me because (a) I wanted to keep a record of the message sent and more importantly (b) I needed to enclose an attachment for their additional information.

Anyway, I found an email address for them eventually.

I got an automated email back shortly thereafter stating:

Thank you for your enquiry

Our Customer Service team aims to respond to your enquiry within three working days on average.

3 working days later, I get a response. It says:

We’ve cancelled your registration as requested, so there’s nothing else you need to do.

Well it was the first I knew of such a request, but I guess they knew what was coming...

I think I had a lucky escape.

They weren't much cheaper in the first place, but with their revised tariff they actually ended up offering me, were a lot more expensive.

arthur2 · 31 March 2015 at 4:55PM

:mad:
I first switched to First:Utility in Sep 2012 mainly on cost grounds, but also because I am disabled, and having Smart meters would both avoid estimates and avoid having to ask my wife to grovel in a cupboard each month to read meters!

All went well for some time, and a Smart meter for Electricity was installed in March 2013. This worked well, and I could download the readings it submitted to our account. Payment by variable DD was reliable.

Due to problems outside F:U's control, I have as yet been unable to have a Smart gas meter. This is in fact more important to us than the electricity one, because the gas meter is the more inaccessible one.

In early 2014 we were advised by Big London Energy Switch to switch to Scottish Power, and after asking them, were told that SP could handle readings from our Smart electricity meter. The switch to SP took place in early Feb 2014.

Things went downhill rapidly, as SP would not accept that we have a Smart electricity meter, and they accused me of lying to them about it event though I could send them a photo of it! They also took rather a long time to agree the switch readings with F:U. We then decided to switch back to F:U on the basis that SP were both incompetent and insulting. The switch back to F:U took place took place in May 2014.

I then spent several months emailing SP about the errors on the account, referred the matter to OFGEM, and was about to start a Small Claims Court action for refund of overpayment, when suddenly the SP CEO's office sorted things out to our satisfaction.

We are now in the situation that F:U have started the new account from incorrect readings. I have been chasing this for some time. Also, apparently SP had corrupted the Smart meter, and F:U had to replace it in Nov 2014. Their system is however still not receiving readings from it, or at least not onto our energy account.

These problems seem to have been caused mainly by Scottish Power who would not accept that we have a Smart electricity meter, and kept being difficult, and corrupted the meter! That said, F:U have not been able to sort out the situation over a period of nine months.:mad:

I have this week told them that I am minded to refer the matter to OFGEM. I am however now assured that somebody will be in touch this week to resolve things.

Angel_Advisor · 9 April 2015 at 7:23PM

Was with these guys until beginning of June last year. Paid my variable DD end May (clearing the a/c in full) & awaited a final bill for 2 days usage when my a/c transferred to Ovo. A bill duly arrived for £56.60 :0( !! I obviously disputed this. All I can say is it has been 10 months of pain !! Eventually, after complaining several times, no return phone calls, no replies to my letters, a/c transferred to debt collectors, harrassment from them day & night, i threatened to take them to the Ombudsman. Today it has finally been resolved.:j I had sent them an invoice to charge THEM for MY time for £130 which they have dulky agreed to pay, they have also recalculated the account & low & behold I am £52.62 in credit with them, finally, they owe me a Duel Fuel discount of £162.00. A cheque is on its way. Situation resolved :T They say patience is a virtue:A (please also note, I had smart meters fitted which makes it worse imo)

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