what tricks are used to get you to switch?

Plushchris

sh9190 wrote: »

If people were not so quick to dismiss doorstep callers and actually spent ten minutes learning how utility bills worked then they would find that some of the time an agent calling at the door could genuinely benefit them.

Can you sign people up to the cheapest tariff your company has on offer then? (Including online deals)

tcb1973

I will always dismiss doorstep callers - ALWAYS.
I vow never to give them a chance - ever!
I promise not to listen to a word they have to say.
I will open the door, sigh, be curt and try very hard to make them go away using the fewest words possible.
I will smile on the outside, but die a little on the inside.
I hope not to offend, but in reality don't care.

GO AWAY AND LEAVE ME ALONE

CJ

I had a guy from Scottish Power last week who called me by name and said that he was here on behalf of an energy regulatory organisation and he needed to see my bills so he could then tell me whether I was being charged too much. I am quite savvy but I am ashamed to say that the mention of the authority duped me and I gave him the bills. He then informed me I was paying too much mentioned the standing charge and when I said that I had recently changed to a certain tarrif without one he said oh we all knowabout that one we can't undercut that and walked off. Then the penny dropped!!

I phoned Scottish Power to report him gave a description and car reg because I didn't take his name and told the guy on the sales complaints team that everything he had told me was a lie, and asked surely that wasn't the way they were being trained. He ASSURED me that this was not the case and he would take the report himself and speak to the manager who would reprimand the man and if necessary have him in for retraining. He was back on out street the next day!! I live in Fife and the same man must have been selling to my 86 year old Auntie in Montrose the next week if that is not the way they are being trained!!!
I think this is worthy of a letter to watchdog and if I could find the case complaint number I would tell them that

Having read the letter 2 above it was probably the energy ombudsman!!

sh9190

Plushchris wrote: »

Can you sign people up to the cheapest tariff your company has on offer then? (Including online deals)

We cannot sign up people to our internet tariffs, as these are specifically designed for people to register themselves for (cheaper due to no comission being paid)

However, we are able to sign people up to our cheapest non-internet tariff and refer the customer to the internet tariff if that was something they were interested in.

Plushchris

sh9190 wrote: »

We cannot sign up people to our internet tariffs, as these are specifically designed for people to register themselves for (cheaper due to no comission being paid)

Sorry but I dont believe that for one minute, anyone can sign up to an internet tariff via a comparison site and those sites get the comission.

So they are not cheaper due to no comission, thats a salesman bluff.

Raphael

Premier wrote: »

I've just had a Scottish Power rep at my door ... and I was bored so decided to engage her in conversation. :rotfl:

5. Low users, especially, are better off on a supplier's standing charge tariff compared to the equivilent non-standing charge tariff by that supplier.

I was told that by Scottish Power too, over the phone, when I complained that I'd chosen a NSC tariff online and they'd put me on one with standing charge. I said I'd made my own calculations and was positive I wanted NSC, and they just changed it.

6. The prices per unit for gas & electricity on a pay monthly by DD tariff with Scottish Power are excatly the same as those for pay quarterly tariffs by them. (so that was why she was continuing to use them when I told her I was only interested in paying quarterly on receipt of bill)

It might actually be cheaper in some cases, because you get a prompt payment discount when you pay on receipt of the bill, I'm not entirely sure how it's worked out, but if you're a low user, I think the percentage of the discount might be higher if you pay on receipt of the bill rather than by monthly DD. Worth looking into...

shammyjack

My put down without swearing .

"Go forth and multiply"!

Puzzled look from caller as the door slams in their face .



shammy

dunloadin

sh9190, not having a go at you for trying to defend your job....sounds like your a salesperson with a concience.

Door to door sales agents have an extremely bad reputation - mainly due to agency sales staff who will often stretch the truth as they are commision only based.

A reputation well deserved, if you pay peanuts you get monkeys. People who rely on commision are going to be a tad more prone to lying to get sales, wouldn't surprise me to hear theres an 'extra lesson' given out of earshot of the suppliers.

Part of the problem is that, on the whole, members of the public do not have a clue about how energy bills work.

Totaly agree! Thats why people are more suceptable to the 'spin' that can be put on a sales pitch by any method, be it doorknocker, telesales or websites. God help us when the smart meters start going in big time...probably end up with another few hundred cleverly titled tariffs to contend with. However, getting peoples details from bills and then switching them without their agreement or knowledge is out and out fraud in my book.

If people were not so quick to dismiss doorstep callers and actually spent ten minutes learning how utility bills worked then they would find that some of the time an agent calling at the door could genuinely benefit them.

The thing is people are not quick to dismiss callers, if they were doorknockers would be extinct. I agree that some folk will benefit, but by luck more than judgement. Many of the regular posters on this site are pretty savvy, however theres a lot of complacency and apathy out there (the 'been with this company for years' brigade), and the old and addled who often fall for the banter.

Becles

nPower outside House of Fraser in Gateshead Metrocentre spoke to me today. Normally I don't listen but he claimed they had some good discount offers, so I thought I'd see what that was about.

He asked how many bedrooms I have and how many adults live in the property, and then said it would be £81 a month for gas and electric. I said that seems really cheap as I was paying £138 with E-On and have recently switched to EDF and I'm paying £115 a month now.

I asked why children were not included in the calculation and he said because children don't use energy?! I said they do, as it's three extra showers a night, extra loads of laundy, time on xbox etc., but he was still insistant that they don't use energy.

I said the prices seemed too good to be true so I asked how many Kwh his calculation was based on as I know our annual consumption, but he said he didn't know. I also pointed out they never came out that cheap on sites like USwitch and I got the story about commission and how it was a special deal from the stand only.

I said I wasn't sure and he got a bit rude and agressive. He insisited I must fill in a form to get the quote confirmed in writing, and it would show in detail how much I can save. The forms looked very much like signing up for nPower forms rather than just getting a quote.

I left feeling quite annoyed and felt they had tried to rip me off.

When I got home I checked their prices on the nPower website using my actual consumption, and even with discounts, the cheapest tariff I could find was for £124 a month.

sh9190

Plushchris - The prices charged by utility companies on internet only tariffs could not bring the company enough profit to pay us the comission that we earn. Many people will look down on us when we knock on their door but, believe it or not, we earn a very good wage.

Something I have learned about door to door sales while being in the job is that 99% of the job is being able to overcome the resistance thrown at you ("not interested" "I don't do things on the door" etc.) as opposed to actually selling the product.

Personally, if people are polite and curteous to me when I call on them I will only sign them up if I can reduce their bills. If someone is initially rude then I will not hesitate to sign them up whether it will increase or reduce their bills.