First Utility - Any users or reviews

tomrob

marcosdjcm wrote: »

I found all the 1 & 2 post-count users leaving very negative reviews a bit suspect ......."

Surely people who have only complained about one company should be taken more seriously than "serial complainers".

I searched out a forum about FU to see if my appalling experience with them was unusual and when I found it wasn't added my two penny's worth and I'm sure I'm not alone. If your contention is that these posters are shills for FU's competitors I'm afraid you're almost certainly mistaken.

Good luck with your own FU journey I hope it goes better than mine.

pinkpiglit

We bought a flat where FU were the suppliers. The previous owners said they'd had no trouble so I thought I'd try them. What a joke. :mad:

First of all their website didnt recognise our postcode and I was unable to register online. I sent an email and they set up the account about a week later. (That was at the begining of April)

I never received any login details so was unable to access my account online. I complained (twice) and was eventually sent the details on 27 May.

The account details I was provided with do not work. I replied a few hours later advising them of the issue and am still awaiting a reply 10 days later.

Their automated telephone system does not recognise our account number so I cannot provide meter readings via telephone. (and clearly I can't provide them online as my login details do not work)

I'm in receipt of a paper bill (despite requesting a direct debit to be set up) and cannot pay the bill online. They do not provide bank details for me to pay from my own online banking account so I've had to telephone them in order to pay the bill.

Whenever I ring up, I am on hold for a MINIMUM of 20 minutes before anyone answers.

Needless to say I've already applied with another utility provider and am waiting for the transfer to take place. I can't get away from them fast enough !

Axolotl

I have been trying to get a refund for electricity units wrongly charged to my account since I switched to FU in November 2013. It is now June 2014, and the refund still has not arrived.

FU sent the wrong closing reading to British Gas, but used a different reading for their own opening reading, so I paid for the same units twice.

What should have been a simple sundry credit to my FU account has still not arrived. Their latest wheeze has been to pay me back some of my own money by treating the credit as though it was a refund of credit on my FU account. That made it look as though I hadn't paid them enough for my monthly payment. It is not excess credit, it is money owed to me by FU.

Their support staff don't do what they promise. Once you are off the phone you're forgotten. They are not empowered to put simple things like this right, it just goes into a black hole.

I also requested a tariff change at the start of May that was supposed to come into effect on June 1st. Guess what? It didn't. They say they have no record of my request. They've now fed it into the black hole again, and given me a reference number to cuddle.

They also seem to ignore some of my monthly readings, even though they are submitted on the dot every month and show on my online account, so I still get (wrongly) estimated bills.

Their tariffs may be a bit cheaper, but you pay for it in grief.

trynsave

Another damming review for First Utility.
Switched away on 2nd April after fixed contract ended on 31st March. Requested final bill and so far none has arrived.
After several emails, and countless attempts to phone, as always 40+ in queue, finally managed to get through today. Account is in excess of £700 in credit as it now appears that no bills have been generated due to a computer glitch since November!
Requested that all monies are returned asap and they let me know how much I owe when they finally sort themselves out. Will have to wait and see if money does actually get returned, but have taken a name, extension line and case number which I can but hope are genuine.
Complete farce!

dugongs2

Was happy with First Utility and liked their web portal but when my old deal expired and they increased price I switched. Then the problems began.

Bills keep arriving and emails for meter readings etc. It took forever for new supplier to confirm details with them and 2 months later they are sitting on cash and investigating which according to last customer service email can take 28 days. I think they have billing problems with their computer so cannot close accounts as do not really know what anybody has paid - must be losing millions.

Pity as their web portal was really good but be warned its the energy company you can never leave.

leewalsh16

Been with FU for well over a year now and only recently started noticing that they are way WAY over charging me So I looked into it. My bills have started showing a comparison on how much I have used this year compared to last year and they are saying I am using over 4 times as much gas and electric than I did last year. Bear in mind My wife and I work and we have just had a really mild winter (last year) and warm summer so I was confused to why it was so much then to cap it off I got an email from them this morning saying they are upping my DD from £100 to £301 so I straight away logged onto my bank account and cancelled it. I submitted meter reading also today and they are nowhere near their estimations so have subsequently rejected my meter readings. I have already applied to move away from them so wish me luck in my switching provider.

Avoid at all costs

System

leewalsh16 wrote: »

I got an email from them this morning saying they are upping my DD from £100 to £301 so I straight away logged onto my bank account and cancelled it.

Sorry to hear about your problems. You need to check your ts and cs. Most energy companies will automatically switch you to their standard tariffs in the event of a DD default. It is an additional problem that you don't need. On what basis is the Company rejecting your meter readings?

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2011/mar/19/first-utility-complaint-gas-electricity

leewalsh16

Hengus wrote: »

Sorry to hear about your problems. You need to check your ts and cs. Most energy companies will automatically switch you to their standard tariffs in the event of a DD default. It is an additional problem that you don't need. On what basis is the Company rejecting your meter readings?

Well I submitted them then logged back on an hour later and seen that they had been rejected. I am still on hold trying to find out what the problem is. I am on a fixed tariff until October 30th so I cant see how they can change it.

Axolotl

FU did this to me a few months after I started with them.

I noticed immediately, as I submit readings every month on the dot like a good boy...

They were using their estimates in preference to my actuals because their estimates differed from the actuals I was submitting.

When I phoned to query this, they asked me to submit "reference" readings weekly for a month, which I did. Ever since, they have always used my actual monthly readings, no more estimates.

The whole point with FU is that you are supposed to submit regular readings, but that doesn't work if they then ignore them.

It could just be that you need to submit a series of your own readings to "reset" their estimates, then make sure you submit monthly readings from then on.

Cancelling the Direct debit straight away before you talked to them was a bit premature, as they will definitely put you on their more expensive standard tariff until you start a new DD with them. It won't make them sit up and take notice, because they get even more money out of you if you don't pay by DD.

System

leewalsh16 wrote: »

I am on a fixed tariff until October 30th so I cant see how they can change it.

If you mean 'fixed tariff' in the sense of fixed DDs then I am afraid you are wrong. The DD is based on an estimate of usage: if you are using more energy than the projection then the DD will rise. What I think you mean is that your are on a fixed tariff and the energy company doesn't have the right to change it. Sadly, most ts and cs make paying by DD a condition of the contract. If a DD payment request is returned by the Bank then your energy company may consider it a breach of contract and it may change you to its standard variable tariff.

By now you should have been informed by FU that you are within the 49 to 42 day period which allows you to switch without penalty. You could try doing this as a way of resolving the meter issue: that said, there is the risk that it might compound the issue if FU have incorrect meter numbers (MPAN) etc listed against your account. Fingers crossed for a speedy resolution.