Switch - it all went wrong

Be_Happy

:mad:

I thought I was being so careful, but everything seems to have gone wrong.

We were told in December our Staywarm payment would increase. This was too high, so I used the Switch sites to find a cheaper supplier. Three sites told me that the cheapest would be Regional Discounted Electricity from British Gas (we are all electric Economy 7). So I phoned British Gas to switch. The person I spoke to was vague, but he said his figures didn’t sound right and the ones I quoted from the British Gas website would be correct. Switch would happen in January.

Received welcome letter quoting ‘Domestic Electricity Tariff’ at higher rate. Phoned to check tariff and was told that account had not been set up on system yet, but what I had been told when signing up would be correct. Phoned again later and was told to sit tight as everything would be OK. Noticed when news of price cuts was published it didn’t include Economy 7 rate, so phoned again to query this. Was told I was on standard Economy 7 tariff, Regional Discounted Electricity tariff was only for those using Gas and Electricity, as was on-line billing – had no information on whether Economy 7 rate would be reduced or not. Hopefully I’ll get a bill soon so I can see price being charged.

Query is, how long do I have to wait before switching considering I haven’t had a bill yet? From what I’ve seen, NPower’s Online 6 rate seems to be the best offer. How do I avoid a similar problem at the next switch?

tripled

If you are on the standard tariff, there is no minimum term/cancellation fee. If you are on regional discounted, there is a cancellation fee which I believe is around £20.

I would recommending calling the energy sales dept and asking to make a complaint as you are unhappy with the information you were given when you switched. While they may or may not give you some compo, if you signed up over the phone they will listen to the call and if the agent is found to have mislead you they feedback and a black mark on their record.

energylinx_2

This is a very common problem.

When you look at any comparator you will hopefully see every single tariff available to you assuming that they are offering a 100% impartial service. It is unlikely that a standard tariff from any supplier would be the most competitive.

When you have called the supplier, you are in effect calling a call centre whose purpose is to sign you up over the telephone. Very often the call centre is unable to even see the most competitive tariffs on their screens as these are simply not available to them to signup over the telephone and therefore this is probably why were suggested in a vague manner that the tariffs did not tie up.

So it is very likely that you have been signed up to a standard domestic tariff and undoubtedly if the supplier listened to the call tape this is what will have been offered.

This is one of the dangers of using a comparator then doing it yourself. Regardless of what comparator you used they would have a record of what tariff and at what cost you should be paying. The comparator, had you used them, would then be in a position to have the account sorted out at the correct rate. We often intervene to assist in matters like this and I am sure other comparators do similar.

Be_Happy

Thanks for the info. I feel my hands are completely tied until I get the first quarterly bill showing what tariff I'm on. As far as using the comparison sites goes, the three sites I looked at weren't able to make the switch to BG, but said this had to be done direct.

If I find out I am on a high tariff, I'll certainly try to get them to listen to the original call to see what was offered.

Re quarterly bills, are these sent out at the same date to everyone, or is the first one 3 months from when your supply starts?

tripled

The BG meter reader will read all BG meters in an area at once, then move onto another patch the next day and so on. Your bill is sent out after your meter was (due to be) read.

Gal

Be_Happy wrote:

Thanks for the info. I feel my hands are completely tied until I get the first quarterly bill showing what tariff I'm on. As far as using the comparison sites goes, the three sites I looked at weren't able to make the switch to BG, but said this had to be done direct.

If I find out I am on a high tariff, I'll certainly try to get them to listen to the original call to see what was offered.

Re quarterly bills, are these sent out at the same date to everyone, or is the first one 3 months from when your supply starts?

Your hands aren't tied - Call Bgas and ask to be put through to someone higher up if you had no joy - Its absurd to believe that they cannot tell you what product your on even in registration periods. They must be able to see what the original agent done.

Sounds like there just being awkward - You can change your supplier as soon as you want to - It takes an average of 28 days to process but you can move on the first day that you join bgas if you want to.

Failing that you can claim that you were missold and you want your supplier returned to the previous supplier. They have to process this and not charge you for the period you have been with them for - Although it means powergen will charge you for it instead just to make you aware.

Be_Happy

Thanks Gal. I'll wait until I get a bill so that I have definate info on what rate I'm on. Everyone I've spoken to so far seems to be guessing. The latest one told me the rate, but it doesn't match any of the info I've been given already, or seen on their website, so I'll take it with a pinch of salt.

Once I have a bill, I'll switch when Martin gives the go ahead.

tripled

You can always ring through with a meter reading and ask for a bill now, instead of waiting for the quarterly bill.

It is possible for them to find out what tariff you are on as well, the agents you have spoken to probably just don't know how to do it.