Delays receiving EnergyHelpline cashback from MSE link

spikeydudeuk

Hi everyone,

I switched my electricity tariff in December through EnergyHelpline, and the switch took effect at the end of January. I used the link from the MSE main site, so I should have got £15 cashback, paid into my bank account within 1-2 months of the switch - i.e. by the end of March.

I emailed to ask where it was, and got the response below. I'm slightly dubious. How can technical problems mean that the cashback is being paid a month late? It sounds more like cashflow problems. And even though EnergyHelpfline is recommended by MSE, there's no guarantee it won't go bump.

I can't see that there's much I can do in this situation - threatening to issue court proceedings is pretty heavy handed over £15, and that probably take over a month to have any effect. I think sitting tight and waiting is probably a better option. I might email them back and probe a bit more.

But - are other people having the same problems? I guess if enough people are having problems, it indicates that EH aren't paying cashback reliably, which might affect MSE's choice of them as their top utility cashback choice.

Interested to hear what people have to say!



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Dear XXX,

Thank you for your email.

Our finance department has advised that all switch applications made in December will receive their cashback by the end of April 2010, they have advised that all switch applications due to be paid have been delayed as we have a technical problem.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused by this delay and Thank You for your patience in this matter.

This will be paid directly into your bank account and the payment will be made by Fundraising Innovations Ltd, these monies will clear in to your bank account 4 working days after that date.

The cashback will either be credited to your account via BACS (if you gave us your bank account details), or a cheque will be sent to your correspondence address.

If you have any further queries or concern, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Kindest Regards
XXX
Customer Services Advisor
Phone: XX

macman

They probably don't want to do a special cheque run just for those payments. Most utility cashbacks do take 3 months. You can't seriously be considering proceeding with a SCP for £15 that's 6 days late? And if they were in financial trouble, you wouldn't get paid anyway.

spikeydudeuk

The payment should be coming via BACS, because I signed up with a direct debit. So I'd have thought the administration involved for them would be minimal - no cheques involved!

3 months wouldn't be unreasonable if that's what they'd said - but when a company says it will pay you in 1-2 months and then says it will take 3, it makes you worry about its financial position.

At the end of the day, it's only £15 in my case, so going to court is probably not worth the hassle. It could be an isolated incident. But if other people have had the problem and it turns out to be widespread, then people who are deciding which cashback website to use might want to bear it in mind.

spikeydudeuk

To give EH their due, I got back to them saying I didn't think the month's delay was acceptable, and they put a cheque in the post within a week. Problem solved!

Allan1

I have received exactly the same response from energyhelpline.com as an earlier post:

"Our finance department has advised that all switch applications made in December will receive their cashback by the end of this month, they have advised that all switch applications due to be paid have been delayed as we have a technical problem.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused by this delay and Thank You for your patience in this matter.

This will be paid directly into your bank account and the payment will be made by Fundraising Innovations Ltd, these monies will clear in to your bank account 4 working days after that date."


I wonder if anyone gets paid by energyhelpline without asking.

Also it's been so long since I switched that I can't trust my memory but I thought the deal was £30 even if switching to dual fuel from one supplier but now I'm told it's only £15 - if there is anyone out there with a better memory than me could you please confirm which is correct?

Plushchris

Allan1 wrote: »

Also it's been so long since I switched that I can't trust my memory but I thought the deal was £30 even if switching to dual fuel from one supplier but now I'm told it's only £15 - if there is anyone out there with a better memory than me could you please confirm which is correct?

It has only ever been £15 with Energyhelpline, the only way you would get £30 is to go to two different suppliers for gas and electricity. (ie. do two switches)

Allan1

Plushchris wrote: »

It has only ever been £15 with Energyhelpline, the only way you would get £30 is to go to two different suppliers for gas and electricity. (ie. do two switches)

Thank you.