First Utility - be warned !

doublescotch

I switched to First Utility a year ago because I was fed up with receiving wildly inaccurate guestimate bills - despite the fact that they were not the cheapest First Utility seemed like a good idea as they used a smart chip which tells you exactly how much electricity or gas you are using ensuring that your bills are 100% accurate and in real time.
Electricity was fine but gas has turned out to be a nightmare. First and foremost, my gas meter, despite having been changed by them is and never has worked with a smart chip, consequently, all my bills are estimated exactly as they were before - no-one advised me of this until I checked a year later and this is despite the fact that I paid an additional charge to have the new meter type installed.
Worst is to come .. when the new meter was installed it was done very badly using the wrong connections and lots of 'cover up' paste meaning that for 7 months we had a bad leak from the meter, a potentially life threatening situation - when the emergency gas man came out he was appalled by the standard of work and stated that two parts that were used should never have been used - a tapered thread had been screwed into a straight thread meaning that it would be impossible;e to stop a large leak regardless of how much paste had been smeared over it.
The installation was contracted out to a third party according to First Utility, but according to the law, I am advised that they remain responsible to me as the principle supplier and the party with whom I have a contract.

First Utility have been absolutely hopeless through-out the entire period that I have dealt with them- they never return calls or get back to me as promised and they deny any responsibility for the leak saying that since no actual harm occurred they have done nothing wrong, they also claim that it would be impossible for me to prove that the joint was leaking with the part that I have still in my possession. They have offered me £80 compensation which I have refused.
I've got to say this really is a Micky Mouse company run by small minded people with hopeless organisation and absolutely no idea about customer service. On principle I intend to take this all the way because I remain outraged that a company with the responsibility of dealing with such a dangerous substance as gas should be allowed to operate in a shoddy and negligent fashion.

If you are looking at switching gas suppliers I would strongly advise you heed my words and think very carefully about First Utility - more updates to follow !

Cardew

Get in the queue with your complaints;)

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2479867

herbie2001

FU

i moved into my first home last november and filled in my gas and electric form with my provider ( f u) i gave them all readings they asked for .. i didnt hear from them till 2 weeks ago when they took out 500 pounds out of my account i was absoultly fuming so i foned them saying they had to give me my money back as they had left me and my 2year old with no money for nxt 3 months luckly they advised me to tell my bank i didnt athorise my direct debit and nice of my bank they put the money bk,, i phoned them bk and asked then to give me an accurate bill then i will be willing to pay in the 7 months ive lived there i have only actually been there 4 months there is no way my bill was this high so i gave them my recent reading and the woman told me she would fone me the nxt day what a surprise didnt hear anything and the last kick in the balls was i had to go to post office today to pay for a letter that someone hadnt payed stampage on u never guess who it was first utlilty this is the first time ive :(had my own place im not really gd with all the electric and gas things but i did it all as they asked what do i do now??

Mankysteve

Is it really that difficult to once a month to check your meters?

herbie2001

i have sent them all the meter readings and still have had no bill after 7 months!

herbie2001

Mankysteve wrote: »

Is it really that difficult to once a month to check your meters?

i am not that stupid iv given them all meter readings for all 7 months ! but still no bill:mad:

nowty

I have a problem with them too. I was very impressed by their transparent cost structure and I should have benefited from them being a heavy user and maybe one day I still will. I submitted my final readings to change over the account then recieved a £450 bill from by old gas supplier even though I reckoned I owed them about £20 max. Turned out that First Utility having received my correct reading, then added on an estimate for a further 6 days gas usage and they managed to estimate that I had used about 6 months. Worse is that my old supplier tariff had standing charge built in so I paid a higher charge for gas I did'nt use from my old supplier and I am now getting charged standing charge from First Utility for gas I am not using. I complained and they said they would enter a disputed meter reading, but nothing has happeded for months except them billing me for another inflated estimated bill even though I have been sending in weekly meter readings. And now I have not had a bill for several months more.

herbie2001

i dont know wot to do any more they promise to phone me back and never do im a mother mum with not much money and constantly phoning 0845 number is maddness, they dont seem to care at all i asked them why was i phoning to try and sort out the problem and i just got a mouthy 12 year old gobbing of at me i hate this company maybe i should have stayed at the parents it would have been alot easier

leebear

Yes, they messed up all my readings and then presented me with a ridiculous bill which I refused to pay resulting in them selling the debt on to a bailiffs company. They are an absolute shower and I cannot warn people strongly enough against using them. I cannot believe that they are allowed to trade in this country. Hopefully they will go under.

herbie2001

is there anyway i can get out of this company with my dispute going on with them im still waiting to hear bk from them:eek:

fridays_girl

this is what has been hapening to me they took £410 from my account one month for a over inflated estimate read even when i give them the readings.They are robbers.I'm leaving them but what a nightmare that is.DO NOT GO WITH THEM THEY ARE A NIGHTMARE BE AWARE OF THEM EVEN IF THEY GIVE TO YOU FOR FREE!!!!:eek::eek::eek: