Sainsburys Energy.....no straightforward switch!

clarelpayne

Hi all

This is my first time here and i guess i am just looking for any advice anyone can offer me please.

I agreed to switch to Sainsburys energy back in November last year having been approached in my local store. When i signed the representative told me 6-8 weeks for the switch to take place.

The Electricity was switch fairly quickly and smoothly, well by March having had a £300 gas bill from my previous supplier i was reminded t chase up the gas switch, Sainsburys told me it had gone astray and they needed to do me a whole new contract as they had nothing to say i had switched. So this i did and was told again 6-8 weeks, by end of April still nothing and was told it would be in May as they had a problem with the independent gas something??? cant remember exactly what they called it. Well in May still nothing and they promised me it would be June. So today i call back and still nothing they don't know when its going to be.

I am getting really hacked off with this now, what should i do? shall i move entirely to a new company? i don't know what to do or who to go to?

Any help or advice very much appreciated.

Thank you all.

x

Premier_2

Independent Gas Transporter

They usually cause delays in the switching process as they do not use the same computer system, so correspondence has to be done manually and entered into the computer.

It'll happen with any supplier you attempt to switch to.
Be aware that all suppliers except BG, SSE & Ebico will charge you extra for IGT, something that is probably not included in any price comparison.

I've found the best way to get such a change expedited is to keep in regular contact with the supplier and keep on top of progress. e.g. if they say they have written to the IGT and are awaiting a response, ask when they wrote to them. Ask how long they would expect a reply to take (7-14 days seems good to me). Ask who in particular they say they wrote to. Get the supplier to contact that person and check on progress and that you'll be calling back tomorrow to find out what they were told, suggest you will contact the IGT directly to see that they have received the letter and to uncover why they apparently haven't responded, etc.,

In my experience (but I've only dealt with one of the IGT's) they were quite efficient and it was the supplier that hadn't put the response onto their own computer, meaning the person you speak to is unaware that the response has been received (and more importantly that the switching process is delayed further)

markharding557

Don't know if you are aware but sainsburys is really edf and they have exactley the same rates

specialsparky

You are paying the perils of switching in a supermarket. Why did you move? Did the Sainsburys/EDF rep tell you it was cheaper well thats unlikely if your gas is from a IGT. Consider moving back, your contract was for both fuels to be moved and they have only moved one so you will be missing all the benefits of having both fuels with one supplier.
If the contract has gone astray thats ther fault, I hope you still have a copy of the agreement you signed whilst shopping. They have failed not you so put them under pressurem mention Ofgem, raise a complaint to their complains dept. Ask them how they intend to offset your loss as I assume they offered you a cheaper price to move.
Good luck