Utility Warehouse (Telecom Plus) Discussion

lockout

A friend has become a UW seller and has shown me the bumph.

It all looks wonderful and glossy but with very little details.

I quite fancy the cashback card but have a few questions.

Can you shop via quidco / TCB and achieve two lots of cashback on the same purchase?

We don't have mobile phone contracts and have read that the utility service isn't the cheapest - so the only thing I was interested in was broadband and home phone.

At present I am with TalkTalk paying about £26 for broadband, all landline calls and line rental - would I save money on switching to UW?

How do I find real costs of their services - there seemed to be a liberal sprinkling of phrases like "potentially save" "possibly save" "we've saved about" but no firm figures?

Quentin

Meeper wrote: »

Typical! You have picked out the smallest paragraphs of my post and not mentioned anything about the main point....

Now I in trouble off uw for being modest!

OK.

As far as your main point:

Meeper wrote: »

Hooray! Quentin is back!

Thank you.

Meeper

lockout wrote: »

Can you shop via quidco / TCB and achieve two lots of cashback on the same purchase?

In order to obtain the Cashback with UWDC you would need to shop in the partner retailers and use the UWDC Cashback Card. That would not apply to purchases at Quidco, etc.

We don't have mobile phone contracts and have read that the utility service isn't the cheapest - so the only thing I was interested in was broadband and home phone.

At present I am with TalkTalk paying about £26 for broadband, all landline calls and line rental - would I save money on switching to UW?

UWDC currently has phone & broadband packages from £19.99 per month. In addition to this there is a cost of being a member which is charged monthly and starts at £1.50 per month. The amount of free calls that you get will depend on the other services that you take. For example, if you only have 2 services, the landline and broadband, you would get free calls at weekends. 3 services gets you free calls evenings and weekends and 4 services gets free calls 24/7 to UK landlines, 0870 numbers and landlines in 10 different destinations around the world.

The important thing to bear in mind however is not necessarily the cost on paper of the services, but the actual amount which would go out of your bank every month. If, for example, you shop in Sainsbury's and also get your fuel there, spending say £150 per week in food & fuel, you would get £19.50 per month off your bill. This would therefore give a saving as follows:

Monthly cost: £19.99
Membership: £1.50
Cashback Card Fee: £1.00
Total Monthly cost: £26.99 including VAT @ 20%
Total Annual cost: £323.88

Monthly savings from Cashback Card: £19.50
Annual savings from Cashback Card: £234

Total NET monthly cost: £7.49
Total NET annual cost: £89.88

How do I find real costs of their services - there seemed to be a liberal sprinkling of phrases like "potentially save" "possibly save" "we've saved about" but no firm figures?

The tariffs can all be found on the website. However, the point of the matter is that it is a Discount Club, not a utility company or a phone company. Multiple services go together and give discounts off the other, with the cashback card adding to the discount and meaning that regardless of the paper tariffs, less money goes out of your account each month meaning that you are paying less.

Quentin

Meeper wrote: »

Multiple services go together and give discounts off the other, with the cashback card adding to the discount and meaning that regardless of the paper tariffs, less money goes out of your account each month meaning that you are paying less.

More spin from a uw rep.

Often we are told that if we use the uw risky card "less money" gets taken out of your account to pay the uw bills.

But they neglect to point out that this involves them taking some of your money directly, not via your bank account.

ie. The money you earn by using the risky card and spending with it at uw partner shops!

Much better money saving would be to buy utilities elsewhere at the cheapest price, then any savings you can make using discount cards etc can stay in your own account, not go direct to uw!

If you want to see how uw hoodink you into all the "savings" you can make with them, try out their savings calculator:

http://www.utilitywarehouse.co.uk/home/Savings/Savings_Calculator.taf

It tells me I'll save over £1000 - quick, where do you sign? And why aren't we all fighting to sign up?? I wonder!

Meeper

Quentin wrote: »

More spin from a uw rep.

I think you'll find everything was quite clear and up-front.

Often we are told that if we use the uw risky card "less money" gets taken out of your account to pay the uw bills.

It has been long established in this thread that there is minimal "risk" involved with the UWDC Cashback Card and that this is merely a slogan used by Quentin to support his rhetoric and nonsense.

But they neglect to point out that this involves them taking some of your money directly, not via your bank account.

ie. The money you earn by using the risky card and spending with it at uw partner shops!

This statement makes no sense at all, and I'm not sure I see your point. Care to clarify?

Much better money saving would be to buy utilities elsewhere at the cheapest price, then any savings you can make using discount cards etc can stay in your own account, not go direct to uw!

Perhaps you could advise the gentleman on which company would provide a cheaper price for his services and which discount cards would be more appropriate for him. As it stands in my example, he could get his phone and broadband for £7.49 per month. The cost of the services on paper is irrelevant, the amount of money that goes out of your bank account is what counts. This is about saving real money, not made-up hypotheticals. The aount that goes out of your bank is what is important when you are talking about making a saving.

If you want to see how uw hoodink you into all the "savings" you can make with them, try out their savings calculator:

http://www.utilitywarehouse.co.uk/home/Savings/Savings_Calculator.taf

It tells me I'll save over £1000 - quick, where do you sign? And why aren't we all fighting to sign up?? I wonder!

I presented the facts in my post, and all you can do is present confusion, rhetoric and nonsense. https://www.utilitywarehouse.co.uk/home/Savings/how.taf will show you how that savings calculation was worked out and is prefectly reasonable.

I have never, however, come across a UWDC Distributor who uses this calculation as the basis for an individual's comparison for their potential savings.

MillicentBystander

lockout wrote: »

A friend has become a UW seller and has shown me the bumph.

It all looks wonderful and glossy but with very little details.

I quite fancy the cashback card but have a few questions.

1. Can you shop via quidco / TCB and achieve two lots of cashback on the same purchase?

2. We don't have mobile phone contracts and have read that the utility service isn't the cheapest - so the only thing I was interested in was broadband and home phone.

3. At present I am with TalkTalk paying about £26 for broadband, all landline calls and line rental - would I save money on switching to UW?

4. How do I find real costs of their services - there seemed to be a liberal sprinkling of phrases like "potentially save" "possibly save" "we've saved about" but no firm figures?

1. As long as the retailer you are buying from is on the list of UW cash back partners and includes online buying (I know for instance that Boots is only on shop purchases), then yes, I've done it loads of times. You will also find that the UW cash back card cash back usually pays out much quicker than the cash back from TCB and quidco.

2. UW have launched the guaranteed cheapest SIM only deals in the market (or double the difference back). I have their £10 SIM and basic broadcall (broadband and phone line rental). This gives me 500 mins x-net/landline calls, truly unlimited texts (as long as you aren't texting more than 100 different numbers), 30 day rolling contract (no long commitment), up to 24mb BB with up to 4ogb monthly download allowance, unlimited evening and weekend calls to 01,02,03, 0870 and top Intl destinations, plus 24/7 free calls to other UW homephone users for £32.94/mth including monthly club fee (way less than this in real terms when my cash bard cash back is credited to my monthly bill).

3. You'd have to do the sums for this yourself.I certainly can't get my telephony, bb and mobile any cheaper than I pay UW.

4. If you check out their website the prices are clearly shown for each product.

Please also remember that UW's phone/broadband unlike TT, has NO minimum contract, subject to a £10 admin fee whenever you leave. To me, a very important advantage.

PS Forgot to say, the pure bliss of a guaranteed UK call centre (housed in the same building the UW board of directors are housed) who tend to actually pick up the phone very quickly IME.

Quentin

Meeper wrote: »

It has been long established in this thread that there is minimal "risk" involved with the UWDC Cashback Card and that this is merely a slogan used by Quentin to support his rhetoric and nonsense.

No.

It's not my "rhetoric" at all.

As Meeper (the uw rep) is aware, it is actually the uw itself which draws attention to anyone signing up for their card that it has risks. (Though no uw rep ever mentions it!)

And were there the "minimal" risk he claims, why would uw make it the first point in their official ts + cs?

This is from the uw ts + cs for their card:

By activating your Card you accept these Terms and Conditions and confirm you understand and accept the risks highlighted in clauses 2(b) and 18(d) of this Agreement.

https://www.utilitywarehouse.co.uk/home/Misc/tacs/Utility%20Warehouse%20prepaid%20MasterCard%20Ts%20and%20Cs.pdf

Meeper

Hopefully it is clear to the latest poster (lockout) that my responses have been detailed and considered whereas Quentin, who historically has a clear axe to grind with UWDC (presumably an ex-customer or failed distributor) doesn't go into any detail or provide any substance to back up any of his statements.

He hopes that blanket scare-tactics and disparaging remarks will be enough for some people to think "there's no smoke without fire". The more experienced and savvy reader will certainly conclude that his remarks like "lie and use spin" when referring to UWDC reps are absolute nonsense considering the detail in which UR Distributors respond on this forum.

All the detail from our side, and nothing but wishy-washy scaremongering from Quentin and his buddy Cardew.

You choose who is more credible.

Quentin

Meeper wrote: »

Hopefully it is clear to the latest poster (lockout) that my responses have been detailed and considered .

You direct us to a link to see how the great savings suggested by the uw are calculated.

At that page, all we see is lies and spin.

eg: lie:

The saving shown is based on you receiving 5% CashBack on food, drink and personal transport (fuel) costs,

You cannot ever get 5% cashback on "personal transport (fuel) costs".

To get any "cashback" you must use the card at specified retailers. There is only one retailer where you can buy petrol, and they only allow 3% off petrol.

spin:

To get the 3% discount you actually must first have spent at least £50 in one go within the previous 14 days at a sainsbury's store or online.

The only place you can buy petrol from and get the "cashback" is Sainsburys. Nevertheless they include this "saving" for everyone irrespective.

lie:

Our unique CashBack card gives you 5% CashBack when you use it at Sainsbury’s petrol stations and stores

As pointed out, the correct figure is just 3%, and there is a qualifying £50 spend required before you can buy petrol and get the "cashback". And the "cashback" isn't paid on everything you buy at Sainsbury, though you need to find more small print elsewhere to realise this.

They use a trick frowned on by the ASA by not comparing like with like:

We are comparing our standard direct debit tariff against the tariff you are most likely currently to be receiving, namely your incumbent regional electricity supplier (for electricity) and British Gas (for gas) on their standard quarterly cash/cheque tariff

Yet if you pay your UW bill by cheque (ie the method used in their comparison) they charge you 10% extra on every bill!

Meeper (uw rep) claims:

All the detail from our side......

But as shown, no detail at all, and what there is is riddled with spin and lies!

MillicentBystander

Why can't Quentin give lockout a detailed and fully costed example of what services he should be using instead of talktalk? Surely this is what this site is all about? Using your knowledge to help someone asking for help in saving money? That's what I've tried to do, no guff, no innuendo, no propaganda, just plain facts and figures. Why is Quentin so utterly scared to go down this route?