Utility Warehouse (Telecom Plus) Discussion

Cardew

vinnyph wrote: »

Is it a case that you would like us to be embarrassed?

Personally I don't get embarrassed easily. I never go red and blush. Its women who tend to get embarrassed. The whole industry haven't changed their prices much, you want me to be embarrassed for that as well. Do you blame UW for the whole industry?

I am 6'5" and built like an oak tree. Tell me do I sound like the sort of person who gets embarrassed.

Do you think charles wigoder is embarrassed. Do you think he thought, better not put the new prices up on TV tonight else cardew might just snigger. You been on the daft juice today.

I would like to see better prices but I am not in charge of the whole industry.

Yes of course I want you to be embarrassed; you really should be embarrassed.

The UW culture, indeed cult would be a better description, was graphically described by 'conmenot' in posts earlier in this thread.

What I find distasteful is that the more intelligent distributors are fully aware that your prices are way above the industry average, yet you don’t have the moral fibre to admit as much. Instead you have the gall to pretend to family and friends that they are getting a good deal purely so you can line your pockets.

Many of you are without principle and should be ashamed, and you know it.

Quentin

vinnyph wrote: »

The prices are in line with the guarantee.

Now that we have seen your marketing guy explain in his message to the reps that the "guarantee" is merely a "sales tool" why do you persist with this.

The "guarantee" is a sham. There is no guarantee at all. There is nothing guaranteed by it, and no way to claim off it.

http://www.networkerplus.co.uk/videos/triple-value-guarantee-wayne-coupland.html

By continually trying to give it credence, you insult us all.

Cardew

NigeWick wrote: »

That they can obtain their utilities from Utility Warehouse at a lower cost than with any other company if they choose to? Of course.

Absolutely not true, UW's utilities are more expensive than most other companies.

Mike_by_the_Sea

Quentin wrote: »

Now that we have seen your marketing guy explain in his message to the reps that the "guarantee" is merely a "sales tool" why do you persist with this.

The "guarantee" is a sham. There is no guarantee at all. There is nothing guaranteed by it, and no way to claim off it.

http://www.networkerplus.co.uk/videos/triple-value-guarantee-wayne-coupland.html

By continually trying to give it credence, you insult us all.

As I stated earlier, UW have reduced their prices in line with the TVG - if this is a lower percentage than BG, then this must mean that BG "Standard Tariff" customers were paying a lot more than UW customers up to this point.

The %age change is irrelevant and totally misleading when discussing UW as their TVG is the basis of their pricing policy.

What part of this are people having problems understanding?

The pricing basis of UW gas and electricity is based on the TVG, The fact that there are certain posters on here who wish to dismiss it does not change the fact that this is how it is done. The basis upon which UW provide value to their customers is not based on this alone, obviously. The fact that people want to ignore this fact does not change it.

If there is going to be more meaningful dialogue in this thread then it would help if everybody, and I include UW distributors as well, would please stop "ranting" about facts and dismissing other posters in a derogatory way.

There are guidelines on here that some could do well to remember:

Please be nice to all MoneySavers. There's no such thing as a stupid question, and even if you disagree courtesy helps.

Take care over copyright. Use excerpts and links rather than copying long text. This site asserts copyright on all comments posted on the board.


That's my big moan over with. :sad: :sad: :sad:

Thanks for reading

Mike

PS I am a distributor for UW

vinnyph

Cardew wrote: »

Yes of course I want you to be embarrassed; you really should be embarrassed.

The UW culture, indeed cult would be a better description, was graphically described by 'conmenot' in posts earlier in this thread.

What I find distasteful is that the more intelligent distributors are fully aware that your prices are way above the industry average, yet you don’t have the moral fibre to admit as much. Instead you have the gall to pretend to family and friends that they are getting a good deal purely so you can line your pockets.

Many of you are without principle and should be ashamed, and you know it.

The problem is your conception that they are expensive when it clearly isn't. They aren't expensive especially when you take the whole package. Most people do take the whole package. You disregard all the benefits, savings, discounts and cashback card there by taking the whole package. You miss the point completely with UW if you don't take the whole package. The energy isn't as expensive as the price comparison sites suggest either or yourself because you tend to use the price comparison site to compare. They get the UW price wrong compared to what the customer actually pays. UW are heavily regulated by OFGEM. OFGEM have validated the guarantee over the past few years to ensure in does what it says. The price comparison site do not give UW true prices because UW will not pay them a commission.

Answer this one. If they are so bad why do people stay? UW have a very low customer churn ratio. Not many people leave afterwards. They are not locked into contract unlike the other companies either, they are free to move. The other companies have to lock people in. The admin charges they charge if a customer wants to move from their special deal is actually against the initial principles of free market deregulation.

I am not twisting my customers arm or threatening them. I am simply nice to them and help them. I might me 6'5" but I am actually a nice person. UW constantly get good reviews in the Which and many other reports and the customers are the happiest in the country it seems in those reviews. If it were so bad as you suggest why have they not left long ago and UW disappeared. There are 280,000 customers the vast proportion are very happy. 280,000 people can't be wrong. It must be your perception of them that is wrong. 280,000 to 1 out voted. The difference being they are customers and know and are happy and there 280,000 of them. You are one and don't seem so happy for some reason.

I guess you have never actually been a customer or know what it is actually like to be a distributor yet you tell me what you think it is like. You have a formulated perception. I have many highly intelligent customers who have ran large businesses or have top jobs and are perfectly able to work things out for themselves. They have been customers for many years and are extremely happy with what they have and ask me how things are going. I have made a great number of new friends as well through it. I don't have a bad reputation with them through it. I have signed a number of reverends as I am a christian and they have recommended many people. Its simply very different to what you portray. Over the years there are very few customers who have left. A few have emigrated and a few died but very few have left. Some have gone for a online only energy deal and then eventually come back and taken the energy back with UW. Its because they get extra benefits with UW like the free 24/7 calls. The online deal discount eventually faded. They rang me up to take the energy with UW again I didn't ask them. Does that not tell you something. One of my distributors has lost 1 customer out of over 54 he has signed and he is 72. People are really very happy it seems and there are very few problems that occur.

It seems like a different company to the one you portray. I do take it tongue in cheek because I know they are good value and work hard to get things right. I have been with them for many years. People wouldn't reccommend it to their friends if it is as bad as you say. You haven't even been a customer so how would you know.

I guess it has done well due to the hard work by people such as myself making sure people are happy. They offer good value even though some people who have never even tried them suggest otherwise.

You suggest that I am intelligent. You are right. I have one of those high IQ's I don't like telling people the true figure for. It scares people and they feel inadequate. I have been rated as 1 in 10,000 whatever that means. That's why I am with UW. Yes I do want to be successful as well. I have done a lot for other people as well. I have done lots of charity work

My friends know I earn money off it. They would find it strange if i put so much effort to get it right and didn't. The only people who don't want other people being financially secure I have found is people who are communist who don't want others to get somewhere, they want to control everything. They want to bring people down to there level. My friends and I are the sort of people who want to bring people up to their level. They have worked out they get a good deal for themselves and are happy to be customers. It seems we in UW are very happy people.

As a suggestion as I am good at understanding people. Could you try being happier instead of having a go at me simply because of a perception you have without knowing the full story.

I suggest try being a customer and then you would know what the company is actually like rather than what you predict it to be.

In your talk of moral fibre. People are measured on their deeds yes. I have a great deal of good deeds. I have done a lot for others. People I know realise that. Maybe it gets me customers and people prefer to go with me because of that than someone else. But I am not misleading people, people soon realise it is a good deal with UW for themselves. A refreshing change to the heavy marketing and expensive advertising put forward by a lot of the rest of the industry.

I wonder if there is something I have actually done wrong to you, but I haven't. It seems to sometimes be a one way slanging match where you want your option felt. I usually find when people act like that there is something else bothering them. Whatever it is you need to talk to someone about it.

jimexbox

vinnyph wrote: »

UW are heavily regulated by OFGEM. OFGEM have validated the guarantee over the past few years to ensure in does what it says.

I though we had already established that by judicious use of T&C's you can make any guarantee legal. The fact remains that the T&C's rule every other tarrif that is cheaper than what UW offer, what a fantastic guarantee. Inexplicably, dual fuel tariffs too, which most folk by your own admission choose to take from UW. So this 'validated' guarantee is completely worthless, Im sure there are plenty gullible folk who fall for it on a daily basis, not on this board thankfully.

1carminestocky

To be to fair to vinnyph, his assertion regarding people taking the whole package is sort of backed up by company stats. 280,000 customers taking 789,000 services in total. Almost 3 per customer. Factor in approx 30% of UK households who still aren't on the net (therefore won't of course be signing up to the BB product) and the fact that their G+E offerings have only been available for 4-5 years and I think the assumption that people see the advantage of taking the 'whole package' is entirely borne out by company figures. And it is entirely clear that the detractors on here either don't understand that concept or are unwilling, for resaons known only to themselves, to concede the point.

1carminestocky

jimexbox wrote: »

I though we had already established that by judicious use of T&C's you can make any guarantee legal. The fact remains that the T&C's rule every other tarrif that is cheaper than what UW offer, what a fantastic guarantee. Inexplicably, dual fuel tariffs too, which most folk by your own admission choose to take from UW. So this 'validated' guarantee is completely worthless, Im sure there are plenty gullible folk who fall for it on a daily basis, not on this board thankfully.

By the same token I'm entirely convinced there will be many so-called gullible people who have fallen for E.on's headline-grabbing 9% reduction recently and it will only be customers like yourself who have the thought processes to look a little deeper and realise that that figure bears absolutely no relation to what your bills will be telling you, jimexbox. Have you left E-on in protest? This is the part I genuinely can't understand - your supplier has basically taken the p*** out of customers like yourself but you choose to put the boot into UW over a 'guarantee'. This is the energy industry, get used to sneaky marketing or live in a cave...:D I've made no secret of the fact I think it should be re-nationalised. Until that happens (very unlikely) we just have to get the best deal we can for our personal circumstances...

Quentin

NigeWick wrote: »

That they can obtain their utilities from Utility Warehouse at a lower cost than with any other company if they choose to? Of course.

Not according to the marketing director from uw in this clip:

http://www.networkerplus.co.uk/videos/triple-value-guarantee-wayne-coupland.html

Even he admits "we are in the bottom half of the market, not the cheapest"

1carminestocky

They are certainly be far the cheapest for me (and Nigel, clearly). And that's all that matters to me (and, I suspect, Nigel).

And my usage figures are highly unusual, I would suspect (15000 gas, 6000 leccy). If I did my calculation based on the average UK household consumption (20500 gas, 3300 leccy), based on previous levels of projected cashback card spend, the results are even more extraordinary. My UW bill would net out at £744 per year! £297 cheaper than the very cheapest tariff showing on energyhelpline (which happens to be a Fixed till June 2010 E.on tariff with paperless billing and cancellation fees if you switch before then if anyone wanted to know ). Don't want an online account? In that case, the difference would be £330 per year (cheapest tariff here is EDF Annual Fix 2 with cancellation charges, of course. Fixed till 30/3/10. Does ANYBODY go for fixed deals these days?)