Utility Warehouse/telecom Plus

SALOPMAN

A friend of mine is being pestered by a relation to look at utility/phone/mobile bills with a view to savings etx,I think it sounds like the above to me. Are they any good or is it just another way of people earning money from other peoples bills,i.e. paid commission on peoples usage and probably rates not being as good as normal companies as well.Any experiences would be welcomed,hope I put this in right section,sorry I fi havnt

Lighteater

Hi SALOPMAN

I'm involved in the UW business, so let me try to answer your questions.

To answer "Are they any good" I'd refer you to this months Which? report, that puts Utility Warehouse right at the top as Best Utilities Provider. To be fair, this report covers energy only, but they get four and five stars across the board, and an overall approval rating of 72%. The nearest rival gets 60%!

This is the third or fourth time in six months that they've had a very favourable score from Which? who are, IMO, about the most independent third-party consumer body there is.

Yes, we do get paid a commission on what my customers use. This is how a lot of businesses work! And the way Utility Warehouse operates is that it...

a) buys utilities in bulk, therefore paying less
b) has no full-time sales force to pay, and
c) does no national advertising

The bulk of those savings are passed on to the customer. A small percentage comes back to us as distributors.

On the question of rates, Utility Warehouse have had a Triple Guarantee in place now for over five years. This says they are permanently cheaper than British Gas, cheaper than the Big Six, and cheaper than British Telecom. This applies to the standard rates that most customers pay, and not one-off specials, duel fuel deals and the like.

However, they're not just competing on price. They also offer...

- all utilities on one bill
- free phone calls (UK landlines and ten international destinations)
- award winning customer service line
- the chance to reduce your monthly bill be referring others
- the facility to reduce your bill by 5% using the CashBack card

Finally, Utility Warehouse have over 250,000 customers now, and this is growing all the time. Customer retention rates are very high, and turnover is set to hit £260 million this year.

So they must be doing something right!

Hope this helps.

(Oh, and by the way, your friends relation shouldn't be pestering anyone! It's a straightforward, compelling offer. If someone isn't interested, I leave it there and move on).

Quentin

Lighteater wrote: »

On the question of rates, Utility Warehouse have had a Triple Guarantee in place now for over five years. This says they are permanently cheaper than British Gas, cheaper than the Big Six, and cheaper than British Telecom. This applies to the standard rates that most customers pay, and not one-off specials, duel fuel deals and the like.

(Oh, and by the way, your friends relation shouldn't be pestering anyone! It's a straightforward, compelling offer. If someone isn't interested, I leave it there and move on).

You mislead us with your claims (and know you are misleading - this has been pointed out to you in other threads you have spammed).

The "guarantee" is not as you claim. In fact it is worthless.

All they claim is to be "competitive" (NOT cheaper) than the "Big Six", they do not include the cheaper on line tariffs that moneysavers know are the way to go if you want to save money on your power bills, they don't include the extra monthly membership fee they charge to every customer in this worthless guarantee.

So if you lie to all your prospects like you have lied here, it is hard to accept you "move on" when they don't jump at the opportunity you offer!

The ASA have adjudicated against the uw many times for false and misleading advertising, but they do not regulate internet advertising, hence their reps think they can try it on on boards like this and get away with it.

hougtimo

I would just like to correct both above posts regarding the triple value gaurantee.

UW guarantee to be cheaper than British Gas, BT & Your Local Energy Provider. They also will remain competitive than all of the big-6 providers.

Saing that is worthless is a bit extreme tbh, as we do regularly work out cheaper than our alternatives.

And yes, I am a rep & it has worked very well for me. Remember, any oportunity is only worth what you make of it.

Quentin

How can you give this "guarantee" any credence? To be worth anything, a guarantee should compensate you should it be broken.

When yours fails (as it does all the time), how can anyone "claim" on it?

You say you are more competitive than all big 6, as well as BG, and the local energy provider. Yet they are of course not the cheapest - if they were, all moneysavers would be advised to go straight there! Just do a price comparison at any of the switching websites to see how much it would cost extra to join the uw "club".

Just more lies from a uw rep. No doubt it works well for you - you get commission from your gullible friends and relations who have swallowed your lies hook line and sinker. You will find us a tougher bunch!

hougtimo

Quentin wrote: »

How can you give this "guarantee" any credence? To be worth anything, a guarantee should compensate you should it be broken.

When yours fails (as it does all the time), how can anyone "claim" on it?

You say you are more competitive than all big 6, as well as BG, and the local energy provider. Yet they are of course not the cheapest - if they were, all moneysavers would be advised to go straight there! Just do a price comparison at any of the switching websites to see how much it would cost extra to join the uw "club".

Just more lies from a uw rep. No doubt it works well for you - you get commission from your gullible friends and relations who have swallowed your lies hook line and sinker. You will find us a tougher bunch!

Gosh, hang on there - you really hate us don't ya!

For a start, you have misinterpreted our guarantee yet again. We do not guarantee to be more competitive than the Big Six (Exc. British Gas).

As for the guarantee, it is indeed credited by Ofgen & Ofcom. I have had several instances where British Gas / nPower etc... would appear to be more competitive, however after reading lots of small print / discussions with our Energy Team we ALWAYS come out cheaper.

I'm sure you are aware of Ofgen's actions against comparison sites at the moment? - We never come top because we don't pay them a commission. Play around with any comparison site, and it will always tell you to switch. I've tried it & so have many many other people I know - always to the same effect.

I would also like to clear up, that only one of my relations has gone with UW - and saved over £40 a month on their utilities. No other company could match that - that saving is also without internet / phone as we are in the KC area. I have saved in excess of £50 a month with UW, on my home / business utilities.

Please do not steretype me with all the high-flying UW reps... I don't want to earn Jimmy Chapman's gigatrillions or however much he claims to earn. I run several businesses of my own, and recognise a good deal when I see one. I wqould never sell a product I don't belive in, and ALWAYS make sure this is the best deal for my customers. If it isn't, I reccommend they go elsewhere.

Quentin

hougtimo wrote: »

We do not guarantee to be more competitive than the Big Six (Exc. British Gas).

Weasel words.

The post from your colleague that started all this said:

This says they are permanently cheaper than British Gas, cheaper than the Big Six,

You followed up with:

UW guarantee to be cheaper than British Gas, BT & Your Local Energy Provider. They also will remain competitive than all of the big-6 providers

Just exactly how do you guarantee anything - and how do you back up the guarantee when it fails?

You say you don't pay commission to the comparison sites - more lies. At least two of them offer to share their commission from you by way of cashback if you join up via their websites.

As you well know, the site rules for uw reps are you aren't allowed to discuss your company outside of the designated uw thread in the gas/electricity forum. You face being banned if you persist.

hougtimo

Quentin wrote: »

Weasel words.

The post from your colleague that started all this said:

You followed up with:

Just exactly how do you guarantee anything - and how do you back up the guarantee when it fails?

You say you don't pay commission to the comparison sites - more lies. At least two of them offer to share their commission from you by way of cashback if you join up via their websites.

As you well know, the site rules for uw reps are you aren't allowed to discuss your company outside of the designated uw thread in the gas/electricity forum. You face being banned if you persist.

I wasn't disputing what he said or didn't say. I was disputing your choice of words which was a significantly different to what I actually said.

As I said, it's a guarantee. If we can not beat a price within the terms of our conditions then I belive we do price match.

And no, Telecom Plus does NOT pay any commission to any cashback / comparison site. I know that for a FACT. IF someone switches to us via a comparison site (which, hey, is unlikely) the site would fork out the "cashback".

I was not aware of that restriction, as I come on here with respect to my other businesses & personal money saving. I do apologize for breaking any rules and shall say no more on the matter. I belive I have said enough anyway.

Quentin

Your facts are wrong.

At least 2 websites share their commission from uw. Both are recommended by MSE. (UK Power and Energylinx).

In their FAQ, UK Power answer where does the cashback come from with

This is paid by the new supplier

You say it is unlikely anyone would switch via a comparison/cashback site. At least that is true! Why would anyone get independent advice which shows uw to be more expensive, and still switch!

Those that do switch to you must do so after getting half the true story off their mate/brother-in-law who is continually banging on about it down at the gym!

And I bet you never put this is writing:

If we can not beat a price within the terms of our conditions then I belive we do price match.

At least be ethical and honest and come back and say sorry for such a misleading and false statement.

hougtimo

Sorry, but there is internal documentation that has been accredited by Ofgen, which states to the effect that UW do not offer any cashback to the customer or comparison sites. End of as far as I'm concerned.

Quentin

May be "end of" as far as you are concerned, but your "internal" documentation is a bit iffy compared with the website paying out the commission stating publicly where it comes from!

And apart from you giving us the false facts, its not too relevant anyway.

Of far more relevance is your made up answer that you will pricematch if you ever are beaten on price!

Have the decency to admit that's just nonsense!