Utility Warehouse (Telecom Plus) Discussion

Choc

steffe wrote: »

I am not yet a distributor but I have a friend who is and I am thinking of joining to have an extra source of income. I wondered if anybody has had any good/bad expriences with Utility Warehouse and if people think I should/shouldn't join? I'd appreciate any feedback, good or bad to help me make my decision, thank you!!!:D

Hi Steffe, ive been a customer and ditributor for nearly 10 years now and loved every minute of it,especially the money!!!Its had its ups and downs but to be honest there has many more ups than downs.If you need any help just give me a shout.


Mark

Annando

Hi,

We are moving into a rented house, so far we were in our own house and could choose which utility company we wanted etc...
The house we are moving in is in Tewkesbury, it has been empty for about 2 or 3 months. Just got a letter from the EA, which is also the managing company since the LL lives abroad, they have stated that we "must compplete the Utility Warehouse Application form or sign our disclaimer stating why you have not chosen to take this option".

This is the first I have heard of this, is this legal? Are they making money off our back from this? I seem to remember reading somewhere that Utility Warehouse were not that competitive and were something of a pyramid scheme?

Any thoughts / advise is greatly appreciated.

Anne

Plushchris

Dont sign it, tell them to get stuffed, its someone at the estate agents trying to make a quick buck out of you.

If you are paying the bills in your name, you decide who to pay, not the estate agents.

Cardew

There seems to be a few Estate Agents/Landlords trying this scam.

UW sell their services by giving commission to many thousands of representatives - essentially any customer can get a commission if he recruits a(gullible!!) friend or family member - their gas and electricity is amongst the most expensive available. Obviously the more recruited the better.

Personally I would report the Estate Agents to Trading Standards.

freddysmith

This company or representative was spamming this board yesterday, until it was removed for advetising. Expect more spam from them.............

Plushchris

Cardew wrote: »

There seems to be a few Estate Agents/Landlords trying this scam.

UW sell their services by giving commission to many thousands of representatives - essentially any customer can get a commission if he recruits a(gullible!!) friend or family member - their gas and electricity is amongst the most expensive available. Obviously the more recruited the better.

Personally I would report the Estate Agents to Trading Standards.

To be fair, its not just UW that runs this scam with estate agents, its usually Southern Electric most people have this happen with.

Premier_2

See existing thread on same topic by this user here:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1480399

NigeWick

Annando wrote: »

Just got a letter from the EA, which is also the managing company since the LL lives abroad, they have stated that we "must compplete the Utility Warehouse Application form or sign our disclaimer stating why you have not chosen to take this option".

I am distributor with Utility Warehouse and I suspect that either the landlord or estate agent will be too. If you sign up to UW, the distributor will earn a small commission from your usage. I know that some owners just leave an application form in the hope that the new tenant will complete it. I should check whether signing the disclaimer is part of your rental contract. Even then, it does not look as though they are trying to force you to take utilities from their preferred company.

As to being competitive or not, it depends on your circumstances. I do the majority of my grocery shopping at Sainsbury's and use the UW pre payment card which puts money towards my utility bill. I pay less each month for my electricity and gas than I would using the cheapest providers. But, I obviously have to spend enough in the appropriate shops to make it worth my while, including paying the monthly subscription fees. It works for me, although others would not be prepared to do what I do to save money. It's horses for courses and each individual's choice. Some people loath UW with a vengeance. That's their right. But blanket knocking the company even when there are some good points, does not make sense to me.

If you just "have to sign" a disclaimer saying you want to go elsewhere, I can not see a problem with doing that and getting your utilities from wherever you choose.

Quentin

NigeWick wrote: »

I am distributor with Utility Warehouse ..............
I do the majority of my grocery shopping at Sainsbury's and use the UW pre payment card which puts money towards my utility bill. .............But, I obviously have to spend enough in the appropriate shops to make it worth my while, including paying the monthly subscription fees. It works for me, although others would not be prepared to do what I do to save money. It's horses for courses and each individual's choice. Some people loath UW with a vengeance. That's their right. But blanket knocking the company even when there are some good points, does not make sense to me.

And UW reps jumping into any thread they find to give a plug without attempting to tell the full picture doesn't make sense to any of us here.

That is why uw reps have been told to only post in the designated uw thread:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=387161

There is a full discussion on the convuluted route (using a pre payment card which has no protection for your money should uw go bust) used by this uw rep to get his expensive bills reduced here:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1437965

1carminestocky

Quentin: Somebody mention UW???