First Utility - Any users or reviews

samba

The following is taken from FUs latest t&cs available on their website…

14. Billing and payment

We will send you one monthly bill covering all services under your contract with us. It will be produced and sent to the billing address provided by you normally within 4 (four) days of the meter read, with the direct debit based on this value and taken typically within 3 (three) days of the invoice being made available..You must pay us by direct debit unless we agree otherwise in writing or you are an existing customer and we have already agreed a different payment method. Where you do not pay us by direct debit we may levy a reasonable monthly administration charge of up to £10 per account per month.
…
Where we fail to collect payment (other than as a result of our own act or omission) we will charge you, and you will be liable for, interest on the sum due 28 (twenty-eight) days after we sent the original bill according to the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (interest) Act 1998.
…
If you reasonably dispute any amount in an invoice you must notify us with full details of the invoice and the reason for your dispute no later than 3 (three) days before the payment is due. You and we shall try to resolve the dispute as soon as reasonably practicable. However, in the meantime you must pay on the due date for payment, the full amount of the invoice. Once the dispute is resolved any amount due by you to us shall be paid within 10 (ten) days and any amount due from us shall be credited to your account within 10 (ten) days. We may, when it is considered reasonable to do so and at our sole discretion, apply a charge to recover any costs we may have incurred in investigating a payment dispute or other query initiated by you including, but not limited to, the provision of duplicate consumption data and documents.

I have a few points:
1. they only give (up to) 3 days notice, but if you dispute the invoice you must give them 3 days notice. So that leaves the customer with no opportunity to dispute the bill under their t&cs.

2. You must pay the bill anyway even if you dispute it, or risk admin and interest charges on your account.

My main issue is that according to their t&c’s, they can use us as an instant interest-free overdraft whenver they want, simply by sending us a huge invoice which we must pay, and which we cannot dispute within the timescales they require. Surely these t&c's are unenforceable under the unfair t&c's in consumer credit act?

I am seriously considering getting out now before I wake up one morning to find they have taken several thousand pounds from my bank account in a desperate attempt to stay afloat.

On a seperate note, we are consumers and not businesses, socan anyone shed any light on whether the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (interest) Act 1998 applies to us?

As regards the level of service I have had from FU - well I still only have the one meter installed, and I have had no bills since the start of the year. I am getting sporadic data for my electricity meter on Google Powermeter, but nothing on FU's website. I have been waiting for over a month for FU to authorise the installation of my gas meter, despite the fact they promised it would only take a few days to sort out.

hippey

The late payment act does not apply to consumers just some businesses

NonGeographicalMan

All sums taken for services by direct debit for goods that are faulty or never supplied can be put in dispute with your bank and the money must be refunded by the bank. The front line staff at a bank call centre may deny this but if you escalate through their official complaints procedure they will have to refund the payments disputed.

At this point it is up to the merchant to then pursue you directly for any money that it claims it is still owed.

city_girl_4

I just had to add in my experiences of First Utility - I have rarely reviewed any service to be honest but am so appalled by this company I have been hunting down references to them all over the web and adding my comments!
The cheaper prices IN NO WAY compensate for their complete incompetence.
The staff/managers couldn’t care less. In fact my belief is that the managers actually find it highly amusing to promise you a call back and then simply not do it for the 100th time then avoid your calls completely.
Our primary reason for choosing them was the smart metering. We signed up 1st Jan; they never even showed for the first appointment, no apology, they didn’t even take my complaint seriously.
The guy showed for the next appointment and said we ‘had the wrong meters’ so he couldn’t install the smart meters at all!
He said FU should have asked me which meters I had before signing up with them so I would know if I could have the smart meters. Of course they didn’t. Do not join up if you’re expecting to get smart meters installed as a matter of course – ask them to check your meter type first.
And this was weeks ago and I’ve still not received a call from FU about it!
I’ve not received an electricity bill as yet and have had just one gas bill in 4 months.
I am starting to think that someone set this company up as a joke, hence the acronym of their name FU because that’s what they think of their customers!
Can't wait to leave them...
:mad:

NonGeographicalMan

city_girl wrote: »

I just had to add in my experiences of First Utility

I am starting to think that someone set this company up as a joke, hence the acronym of their name FU because that’s what they think of their customers!

city girl,

I agree First Utility do indeed seem to be con merchants of the worst kind by luring in customers on the basis of something they know some customers badly want (Smart Meters) only not to give it to them or to administer collecting the data from the units totally incompetently if they do install such meters.

The only point I would make is when you leave First Utility do not make the mistake of falling in the hands of Ovo Energy who are making much the same brazen promises of giving all their new customers smart meters by the end of 2010 but again in my opinion have precisely no actual intention of doing so and are every bit as incompetent as First Utility.

When exactly do you plan to leave First Utility as since they seem to be in breach of contract by not delivering smart meters you must surely be entitled to leave them at any time without penalty.

Former_MSE_Alana

Hi city girl,

We have received this response from First Utility:

"Hi,

My name is Stacey and I work in the service delivery department at first:utility. Please accept my sincere apologies for the problem you have encountered with our service. If you would like to email me directly I would be happy look into your account and find a way of resolving the problems you are experiencing as quickly as possible.

You can contact me at Stacey@first-utility.com

Stacey"

city_girl_4

Thank you. I have contacted Stacey and will be sure to feedback the result.

Doc_N

MSE_Alana wrote: »

Hi city girl,

We have received this response from First Utility:

"Hi,

My name is Stacey and I work in the service delivery department at first:utility. Please accept my sincere apologies for the problem you have encountered with our service. If you would like to email me directly I would be happy look into your account and find a way of resolving the problems you are experiencing as quickly as possible.

You can contact me at [EMAIL="Stacey@first-utility.com"]Stacey@first-utility.com[/EMAIL]

Stacey"

So - they've finally woken up to the appalling publicity they're now getting. Is it hurting perhaps?

Too late for me - my experience with them was so appalling that I didn't sign up, and I'm very glad that I didn't.

And if anybody is still thinking of signing up, just consider what will happen to any credit balance if they go under. It's not a risk I'd want to take.

timthumb

have now left fu after another £200 pound monthly bill.............going back to southern electric with £80 month regular dd that suits me in my attempts to budget those dd covered me 09 _ 10 before i switched over

nap666

I can only describe the service as none existant, I transferred end of december 1st week in jan this year and despite numerous promises have not seen a bill for either gas or electricity. Complaints are not responded to within t&c deadlines (10 working days), no call backs or any actual reason and timescale for solving problems, according to t&c they owe me £20 for not responding.
I have concerns that a company cannot bill as cashflow will become a problem quickly.
If the intention is to offer the discounts, annoy customers that much that they go elsewhere before the 12 months are up and the discounts apply, then I think it is a very clever ploy to make money!!
Just waiting for the end of the latest 10 days to expire so that the energy ombudsman can take up my complaint, if they have any teeth that is.