Add your feedback on energy supplier Sainsbury’s Energy

System · 20 December 2015 at 10:47PM

Granted ive not spent much time on the website but can you submit your readings online to check how much you owe/they owe you?

System · 21 December 2015 at 9:42AM

CodgerTim wrote: »

I have just been told by SE that they cannot use or access my BG smart-meters because they are TWO COMPLETELY SEPARATE companies!

Have a read of Sainsbury's ts and cs which makes many references to Sainsbury's use of BG's smart meters.

if you've got a smart meter, clause 13 explains in more detail how we use the information that smart meters collect. You might also be interested in our Smart Metering Customer Guide. It's on our website at britishgas.co.uk/SMCustomerGuidethi this link will open in a new window.

Paul_Moran · 23 February 2016 at 10:10PM

I switched to British Gas from Sainsbury's in the recent "Big Switch".

At first, Sainsbury's made a right mess of my final account.

My "final gas & electricity statement" showed a credit balance of £81.70.

My on-line "closed account" summary showed a credit balance of £36.96. There was also, already, a debit balance of £37.31 on my BG account! Add the two figures together and you get a debit balance of £0.35, which was in fact the correct figure for my Sainsbury's account. (This was easy enough to calculate from the usage and payments details "buried" in the "final gas & electricity statement".)

Fortunately, it only took Sainsbury's a day to sort it out. My on-line "closed account" summary now shows a debit balance of £0.35, and I now have a revised "final gas & electricity statement" which shows the same amount. And my BG account now shows a zero balance.

codger · 24 February 2016 at 7:19AM

CodgerTim wrote: »

Interesting comments here from 'codger' as to whether SE and BG are the same company....but further to my post above about considering switching from BG to SE and me NOT being able to use existing BG smart-meters.

I have just been told by SE that they cannot use or access my BG smart-meters because they are TWO COMPLETELY SEPARATE companies!

No doubt it's similar to BT Wholesale supposedly being a different company to BT Openreach etc etc. (Companies within companies)

Just to clarify: Sainsbury's Energy is NOT even a company. It is, as British Gas is legally obliged to admit on its business stationery, "a trading name". And that's all it is. A bit like having a posting ID here on MSE. A. . . name.

No-one should be misled about the reality of this (and especially not by the ludicrous "Sainsbury's Energy: Working Together With British Gas", a blatant lie which British Gas gets away with only because it, er, has grounds for believing the average UK consumer is thick.)

No-one should believe it, either, if in the event of a switch to / from Sainsbury's Energy to British Gas and the occurrence of a problem, it's because they are "two separate companies". That's just a way for British Gas to obfuscate, something it has been exceptionally good at in past times.

Trading names are exactly what they say they are: bought and sold, licensed and rented. Traded. If, say, Volkswagen thought it might be A Good Idea to pay Waitrose £10 million a year so that Golfs and Passats can all lose their depreciated VW badges and instead appear as Waitrose Wanderers, then Volkswagen would.

There'd actually be some people out there who would seriously believe that Waitrose was manufacturing motor cars -- in the same way that there are clearly many people out there who seriously believe that a supermarket chain is in the gas and electricity retail supply market.

Finally. . . I have seen on this and other threads the occasional bleat from energy users that it's too much trouble to actually take their own gas and electricity readings once a month. These folks, it should be noted, are the very same ones who subsequently clock up God knows how many hours on pointless telephone calls to Customer Service as a result of mis-billing.

Considering the chunk of household income that goes on keeping a household warm and well-lit, it astonishes me that anyone could ever think it "too much trouble" to take their own readings, in their own interest, once a month. As to when to do this, simply look at the date when the DD payment is taken by the supplier from the customer's bank, and then read the meter(s) 1 day afterwards.

victor2 · 24 February 2016 at 9:35AM

codger wrote: »

Considering the chunk of household income that goes on keeping a household warm and well-lit, it astonishes me that anyone could ever think it "too much trouble" to take their own readings, in their own interest, once a month. As to when to do this, simply look at the date when the DD payment is taken by the supplier from the customer's bank, and then read the meter(s) 1 day afterwards.

It shouldn't astonish you.
For the average reasonably healthy person, with meters in easily accessible places, there is little reason not to make the effort. But spare a thought for those who live in flats with meters in a separate locked part of the building, also elderly less agile people who cannot readily access their meters because they are too high, too low or otherwise hard to get at. Then their failing eyesight may make it close to impossible to actually read the meter - once they understand how to read it. Not always so easy with modern digital meters, even if they are better than very old dial type meters.

Sonyabird · 29 June 2016 at 8:52AM

Just a quick update on Sainsbury's Energy for anyone thinking of using them. I have just had an utterly dire experience with them. After giving initial instructions to switch in April, I did not hear anything at all for 3-4 weeks and so phoned them to chase them up. They said everything was fine and I should hear from them shortly. I then received an email confirming my account was open on 05.05.16. After a further 6 weeks my original energy provider came to read my meter. I phoned Sainsburys to check what was going on, to be told that my account had been cancelled on 11.05.16 as my "address did not match the national database" (I still do not know what this means!). I complained they had not contacted me about this, and they said they sent me a letter on 09.06.16, which naturally I did not receive (perhaps it had gone to the wrong address?!?!). So I am now over 3 months on from my original attempt to switch, now outside my original price plan with my original providers and having to start all over again. WOULD NOT RECOMMEND!

System · 30 June 2016 at 7:23AM

My switch from Sainsburys is now complete thank god BUT they even manage to mess up my final bill .I called them to submit my final readings the exact same readings I gave my new supplier but my final bill had higher ones :wall:.

It took them ages to sort it out glad I am finally away from them.

Wurly · 28 July 2016 at 11:42AM

Oh boy!!!
This is going to be fun.
Switched to Sainsburys energy from Npower about 4 weeks ago. I keep getting emails from notifications@britishgas asking me to resend meter readings because of a technical error on their website . I have done this twice already.
Anyone else having the same experience?
I don't think i should have to call anyone about it, they have the information they need......
Should i leave it?

Frank121 · 28 July 2016 at 10:14PM

Wurly wrote: »

Oh boy!!!
This is going to be fun.
Switched to Sainsburys energy from Npower about 4 weeks ago. I keep getting emails from notifications@britishgas asking me to resend meter readings because of a technical error on their website . I have done this twice already.
Anyone else having the same experience?
I don't think i should have to call anyone about it, they have the information they need......
Should i leave it?

I had the same problem and in the end decided to phone them. I have no idea why their website takes the reading but then emails you a few days later to say it's failed and to send them again.

I hope it's just the opening reading and it will be plain sailing on the routine reads. ;p

I would phone them as the info is needed to generate you final readings with your old supplier.

Cheers.
Frank

silvercar · 14 October 2016 at 9:59PM

Think this thread needs a bump up. I moved from e-on to Sainsbury energy in the last switch.

I can't see any accounts online. Supposedly my electric has been switched but my gas start date moves back every few days. Had 4 start dates already!

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