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  • MaranathaStrav
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    I used to get my energy from this company but have found them to be a complete and utter bunch of shysters. At one point I was over £100 in credit, and when I asked for it back they told me that I should leave it in my account in case we had a bad winter! The next thing I knew was that they had sent me a revised bill to say I was only £19 in credit. So where did my £100 quid go!
    To this day I have never found out as they fudged and dodged and never replied to my emails. They are in my opinion a rubbish company who have dodgy business practices to say the least. In desperation to get away from them I had to pay £60 leaving fee. Even after this, they had the cheek to email me to say that I still owed them money when in fact I had it in writing that my account had been cleared in full. Do not get caught in the same trap as me, even if their rates look good - you will live to regret it.
  • Helsybub
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    I joined Greenstar on a 12 mth fixed tarriff dual fuel deal via MSE last September, decided to change when the contract came to an end as I had found a cheaper supplier...since then they have tried to take £794 from my bank account with no explanation. Thankfully I cancelled the direct debit when I changed supplier.

    I have since then recieved several and sometimes multiple letters on the same day with final.demands for this sum...again no explanation what this is for. I have emailed them a few times but have had no reply.

    I understood there may of been a termination fee if cancelled contract within the 12 months which I didn't and this huge amount seems ludicrous. We only live in a small 2 bedroom house.

    Does anyone have any ideas?!
  • NicMacD
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    Came up cheapest so tried to swop via Energy Club (which I've used before, seamless and fab). Quickly got my welcome pack, all great. But it had the wrong start date (too early to leave my existing contract) so I called them. Got an apology, yes they could see it was the wrong date and would correct it. 10 days later and two phonecalls, I was told it had all been changed but I still had no written confirmation and the direct debit was still scheduled to pull too early - before my start date.
    Cue long call explaining that no, I did not want to pay before they took over my contract and they needed to send me a new contract. I was told they could not cancel the DD yet but would 'keep an eye on it and cancel it once the system allowed'.
    Not reassuring at all so I reluctantly cancelled the entire contract and will use someone else as this didnt really bode well for the future. Shame as I wanted to use a Green supplier but they need to get their customer advisors and systems improved.
  • diray60
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    I have waited 6 weeks since final bill to claim back overpayment, only to be told problems with system and checks have to be carried out before issue of refund, what where they doing for 6 weeks? so I have to phone back again to get my money back. also best of luck getting answer to e-mails.

    Ray.
  • A.Penny.Saved
    A.Penny.Saved Posts: 1,832 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post Combo Breaker
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    They could not get my Direct Debit correct when I first joined them on a 2 year fix. It took me many months to get it setup correctly many with repeated phone calls to sort out their screw up.

    I became several hundred pounds in credit and asked for a refund......nothing happened. It took a number of attempts to get them to repay the overpay.

    More recently I had the unpleasant experience of their meter readers, a totally unprofessional company. They phoned me repeatedly every day without identifying themselves or what their business was. I do not answer unknown numbers without them identifying themselves because of nuisance calls and sales. The only way I had any idea who it was, was by searching for the number on google which showed the number was a Greenstar meter reading company with a lot of other people who had experienced the same problems.

    They even left an answer phone message saying call us on XXXXX WITHOUT identifying who they were!!! I have never come across such an unprofessional company in my life. How can a company conduct business in such a way?

    Greenstar did not seem too bothered when I asked them.....

    I am moving away.
  • MarkymarkAce
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    Transferred to Green Star in September 2016, but it took a good 7-8 weeks before the transfer was complete. My emails to them during this period were unanswered. They didn’t respond to my emails until the transfer had taken place.

    I received the first dual estimated bill from them in January 2017, although it only covered the period up to the end of November 2016 (I’m not sure why.) I didn’t check the meters at the time, but compared to what I had been paying before it seemed an accurate estimate of both my gas and electricity.

    Thankfully I pay quarterly rather than direct debit, because at the beginning of March 2017 I received the second energy bill from them, and the charge for gas was approximately £350 more than what it should be. The gas meter reading on the bill was inaccurate, yet it had apparently been read by a one of their meter readers?

    On 5 March I entered the correct gas meter reading on their website and followed it up with an email to their customer services department. They responded to this 5 days later explaining that their system had not accepted the new reading. They asked me to check again and send a photograph of my meter, which I did that very same evening.

    11 days later on 21 March they responded asking if I had solar panels because ‘solar panels if not compatible to the meter can have an effect on meter readings’. I confirmed that I did not have solar panels. I live in a flat and the meters are in a cupboard in a communal hallway. There are 6 of them, but the flat numbers are clearly marked on each meter. Even so, I was thinking that perhaps they read the wrong one, or perhaps the reader went to the wrong address? There is a road leading onto ours with the same house/flat numbers and occasionally delivery drivers etc. go to the right house number, but in the wrong street. I explained all of this in my response to them on 21 March and included a new up-to-date meter reading and photograph of the meter.

    It’s 24 March today and so far I have not received a response to my last email to them, but this morning I did receive a debtors letter from them stating that the (hugely inaccurate) bill was overdue and warning me that I need to pay. I have just emailed their customer services department asking them to cancel the debtors letter, and (for the 3rd time) to send me an accurate bill. I included the whole email chain mentioned above.

    I’m not sure how long this is going to go on for, but based on my own experiences so far, I would advise people to not pay by Direct Debit if you are considering transferring to Green Star. I would also advise people not to bother phoning them if you have any issues, instead correspond with them by email so that you have a record/evidence of the conversations.
  • sam1970
    sam1970 Posts: 1,195 Forumite
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker First Post
    edited 26 March 2017 at 8:37AM
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    That sounds very annoying considering I just applied to join Green star unlimited tariff yesterday. Does any one the answer to this question: I read on MSE article about green star that they will only accept you on unlimited tariff if your gas usage on previous year was below , I think around 16,000KWH and Electricity below 4000KWH. According to my Scottish power bill, my use last year was around 22000 KWH for gas and 6000KWH for ELectricity (We have inefficient 30 years old boiler which is due to be replaced this year). I put the figure when I applied on their website and they accepted me for the unlimited tariff and they emailed me the confirmation. Will they change their minds later considering my high usage?

    I noted that they did not mention any thing about the usage figures I supplied on their welcome pack (which was otherwise very detailed)...Can they come back later and deny knowing about my high usage? If they transfer me to a standard tariff can I leave without a penalty?
  • MarkymarkAce
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    I don't know Sam, but whatever you do don't pay by direct debit. They will over estimate your bill by a huge amount, take the money from your bank account and you will have a hell of a job getting the money back from them again.

    5 April now and the issue I have with them still hasn't been resolved. They are ignoring my emails now to both their customer service and complaints department, so no doubt I'll receive another debt letter from them soon. I'm going to have to go to stage 3 of their complaints procedure, which involves writing a letter to their Complaints Manager and sending it by registered mail. The ombudsman won't take up the complaint for two months and only once I have exhausted their complaints procedure.
  • MABLE
    MABLE Posts: 4,080 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post
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    What a lucky escape. I signed up with this company but found a better deal and as I was in the cooling off period I rang to cancel. Gave my details to the call centre agent and after taking me through security I explained the reason for my call. He then said why are you cancelling. I explained I do not have to give you a reason as I am still in the cooling off period.

    He then said I will need to speak to my supervisor. So he went off line for about 3 minutes and when he returned he said thats ok you do not have to give a reason.

    Also the agent just seemed so badly trained. Pleased I found another supplier. Will not be back ever.
  • I-LOV-MONEY
    I-LOV-MONEY Posts: 1,267 Forumite
    Photogenic First Post First Anniversary
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    Well my current tariff with First-Utility is due to expire at the end of May. So pleased when I received the MSE e-mail about the Big Switch.

    However, I am disappointed to read so many negative comments about this company.

    I suppose successful switchers don't come on here (to complain!). But is there any chance of comment from the MSE team?
    Thank you for reading this message.
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