Meter Registration Service ???!!!

xman007 · 30 June 2011 at 2:04PM

I recently opened up a new business and got taken in by a broker who was not upfront of their role... Opus decided to take the elec while I took BG for the gas. It has been a real headache....I get 2-3 calls daily, usual rubbish...got to put you on our system (what system? The system!) emergency tariff, get blacklisted, who are you with (never tell them!), numbers on meters etc I record them all now and just drag it out...at least its costing them on the phone bill.....
here are some numbers...08455436678 (Sam) at meter registrations, some irate guy from Commercial Energy electricity and gas meter registrations..

I might make a CD of them all......:T

JBmoneyexpert · 1 July 2011 at 2:42PM

marybishop wrote: »

Has anyone else had a call from a company calling themselves the 'Meter Registration Service'?

Had a call just now from someone claiming to be from the above telling me that I had just come out of a contract with my current supplier and was now paying their emergency rates which were 30 - 40% higher than what I needed to be paying! :eek:

He was very insistent that he wasn't calling on behalf of one supplier and that the MRS work for all the suppliers! No, I wasn't falling for it either! :rolleyes:

So I told him I was with EON to which he replied 'I could have told you that before you told me' - cheek! So I told him if I had any concerns I would get in touch with EON, thank you and goodbye. He slammed the phone down before I did! :mad:

Phoned EON to ask if they'd ever heard of this outfit and the lady at the other end said she hadn't but it was obviously a cold call and not a very good one at that!! :rotfl:

So beware - if they ring, tell them where to go!!!

Hi All I have had up to 4 calls per day from this atrocious company - I got so fed up I have called through to head office and told them that if I receive any more calls I will prosecute them for harassment. I called 0845 543 6679 spoke with a nice girl called Toni and she has removed my company info from their database... fingers crossed I havent received 1 more call from them since. tell them you are a customer of BT and you will put a trace on each time they call (its a simple process) and that you will prosecute. Enough is really enough. Good Luck !

JBmoneyexpert · 1 July 2011 at 2:44PM

casiana wrote: »

Does anyone have any effective methods to STOP these calls?

*sigh*
*fed up*:mad:

Hi All I have had up to 4 calls per day from this atrocious company - I got so fed up I have called through to head office and told them that if I receive any more calls I will prosecute them for harassment. I called 0845 543 6679 spoke with a nice girl called Toni and she has removed my company info from their database... fingers crossed I havent received 1 more call from them since. tell them you are a customer of BT and you will put a trace on each time they call (its a simple process) and that you will prosecute. Enough is really enough. Good Luck !

dugmuzz · 5 July 2011 at 1:31PM

Hi

I am Douglas James, CEO & Founder of one of the largest Energy Brokers within the UK & ROI.

I am taking 5 minutes out of my day to explain to all business owners how and why these energy brokers mislead and lie to you to win your business over.

First of all, these companies are not called Meter Registrations, Gas Registrations or any kind of Registration services, that is your first spot of a lie, these names will be trading names which Offgem have already deemed them as misleading and should not be used what so ever to any kind of business both Micro and non Micro.

I have noticed the supplier Opus Energy Ltd being a mentioned a good few times on each thread page. Opus Energy Ltd are an independent Energy Supplier who are based in Oxford, they do not have their own in house sales team but use brokers across the country to sell their product for them. As they are not the cheapest in the market & are one of the easiest suppliers to get a broker agreement with, most brokers lie to their customers about their rates making other suppliers look dearer then what they actually are, now this is Illegal! If you can catch the name of the person your speaking to, write the rates down there giving you and then ask for a contact number to be back in contact with, you should catch them out.

Most of these brokers have an IDSN30 telephone system so they can transfer calls, anyone out there who knows about telephone systems will know that an ISDN30 Records all calls made, this is your proof of mis-representation.

These brokers will buy "New Move In/Insertions" Data, roughly 1,500-3,000 records a week off new businesses that have moved in usually off the main companies "Business Strata (part of Thomson Locals) & of course 118 118. The way these companies are legally allowed to pass your information on is as fallows:

They receive your telephone number from Oasis (The people who create telephone numbers for BT)y Do not allow your information to be passed to 3rd party's as this will also set the fuse off for companies to start ringing you with their products.

We need to put a stop to these bogus companies as it is putting a bad name on the honest brokers out there. Energy Brokers were set up to assist the aid of supplier in helping introduce new clients to them as the energy market is for ever growing in competition, new suppliers, oil going up by the barrel etc, but now, these brokers do not care for you nor your business, all they care about is them and the money they make for registering your business.

I strongly advise they you take note off their names, business name and contact number before you start speaking to them, if they do start getting rude, then just think on the lines off, thats why your a business owner and there probably some snotty kid who's going to be in that line of work for the rest of his life, sat at a desk with a phone and a sheet of data, not a pretty life style.

I hope I have cleared a few issues up, there is too much information to put on this one little thread. As I know a'lot of these brokers personally by being a member of NABO & also by working in this industry for well over 6 years now, I am more than happy to assist you in any problems you may have, my email is dougm@haydenutilities.co.uk

Douglas James
haydenutilities.webs.com

xman007 · 6 July 2011 at 3:30PM

Thanks for your indepth knowledge. You make some points that I raised with Opus re my contract. Unfortunately they fall on understanding but deaf ears. They were nice enough but would not put A and B together...

I told them it was misrepresentation due to:
1. the prices the broker quoted for British gas were incorrect. I checked.
2. Not once did they say they were a broker, just a registration company
3. The general chat was not one of a broker, more a department making sure you were on the right lines

Opus's answer is there is no 'evidence'. Obviously, they only get the 'recorded' bit of the contract...

This is where it stinks, this system needs sharpening up. They can be understandable, nice on the phone etc but it is still wrong/immoral/unethical. One should not be forced to record every phone conversation.
It has taken up hours of my time when already at high stress levels opening a new business.
Please can someone in govt listen and cease this terrible practice.
The entire conversation needs to be recorded as this is how the product is obviously sold, and obviously (mis) sold. The irony is I probably would be fine with a company cold calling but to lie is just damn right insulting.

dugmuzz · 6 July 2011 at 3:40PM

No worries, I thought it was about time someone stood up and told people the truth and how these brokers operate.

I fully agree with you, this thread should be sent in to the government/ Offgem and something should be done about it.

New business set ups have 101 things to worry about and do not need the stress of a company lying to them and causing all sorts of problems!

In regards to your comment about Opus stating they only have evidence of the call verification (You stating yes to them being your supplier) Maybe Opus Energy Ltd like British gas should ask for the full call recordings from these brokers? Also, if Opus Energy really wanted too, they could ring that broker up and ask for your full call recording, the reason they will not do this is simply because they know they will lose the sale, scandalous really thinking there an energy supplier.

ohhmmmm · 9 July 2011 at 11:53AM

I completely agree that opus should insist upon having the full recording being given to them from the very beginning of the conversation made by these brokers, that way surely they would have to tell the truth about the rates to the unsuspecting new business person and it would be harder for them to be so misleading, therefore saving alot of headache for everyone!!

I know from my experience I was told at the beginning of the call that Opus was 15p daily charge and 13p per unit, now I don't know if thats good or not? I remember being told british gas was about 28p so of course opus sounded like a good deal at the time!-yes to good to be true!!!
I also got the lies about the emergency rate and that I had to legally sign up with a supplier....blah blah.... at the time I thought, thats good one less thing for me to sort, then after I put the phone down and recieved another 20 calls from meter registrations that same day, I got suspicious and got on google and found this page.

It really is a horrible feeling to know that you've been conned and misled, the beginning of that call was a pack of lies and although opus seem sympathetic they say they only need the legal bit of recording from the broker, so thats it???!!!
Its my first business and I've learnt a hard lesson, I have received so many other calls from energy brokers, fake advertisers, business rates now each time I get a call, I get rid of them and google to find out if its a scam, it is shocking!!!

helennicole · 19 July 2011 at 4:48PM

I have been reduced to tears with this company... tricked into being supplied by Opus energy after being reassured by a guy called Charles Quinn Tel: 01253 206294 from metering Service that they were british gas (who was my supplier who I wanted to stay with)

I just don't understand how these people are allowed to get away with this!

I am taking the matter further, have taken Legal advice etc: There must be so many people that have just given in and stayed with these bullies.

Opus Keep telling me I have no proof of anything! Surely this amount of complaints is Proof!!!!????

we need to make a stand!!!!

ohhmmmm · 20 July 2011 at 11:27AM

Oh I know its awful.... Apparently Opus don't request the first part of the conversation where the broker lies and misleads you they only have the recorded contract part, I really think this needs be changed its so wrong - these energy brokers are getting away with lieing and cashing in, and so many people are stuck in a contract they don't want. Grrrr....! Bullies YES!!!
Helennicole- Have you tried contacting british gas to ask them to reject opus taking over? you need to be quick!!!

Fill_7 · 20 July 2011 at 12:12PM

hi ppl.

i too have been foolishly duped into a 2year contract with opus by MRS for 1 business electric meter, 1 residential electric meter and 1 gas residential meter. looking back, i feel ashamed i agreed to all of this :-(

MRS informed me that they would change all 3 meters over to opus. is this possible? i thought opus were a 'business energy' supplier? can they still (legally) supply residential meters? im just looking for anyway to get out of this damn contract before it goes live in a few days!!

i recently took over the business from my dad and informed the cureent suppliers (npower, bgas) that there was a change of name on the account. same story, in the persuing days, dozens of calls regarding energy supply/ meter registration. unfortunately, one of them managed to get me. gave them my bank details and agreed to a 2 year contract (what a muppet!) a matter of minutes later, i got suspicous and then found all this. my heart sunk.

rang opus twice and both times they said nothing was pending on my meters, so i thought i may have got away with it. rang my current supplier today (npower) to try and negotiate a beeter deal and was informed that opus are taking over the supply on the 25/07/11. argh!! rang opus and she confirmed that they had contracts pending for all 3 meters! told her of my dissatisfaction about the way i was conned into this contract but she wasnt very sympathetic. she listened to the recording of the verbal agreement and was happy everything was done correctly. and to be honest, i imagine i do sound very adhering and willing, but after the speil i was fed before the recording started, im not suprised!

she said she's gonna listen to the recording again with the complaints team and get back to me within 5 woring days. she's also gonna send me a copy of the recording. she also asked what prices id been offered on other companies tarrifs. got a feeling they might come back and offer me something better. i just want rid of opus completely tho after the way they go about getting new customers.

is there anything i can do to get out of the impending 2 years of hell with opus???

kind regards,
Simon

edit: another point to add is that it is my grandfather who owns the building, although my name is on the gas/electric bills. does this hold any weight in the dispute? ie, can i get my grandad to say he doesnt want the supply transfering?

Meter Registration Service ???!!!

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free