Utility Warehouse (Telecom Plus) Discussion

Plushchris

1carminestocky wrote: »

The comparison sites certainly see no problem in including in their comparison figure a discount that is only paid after the punter has been on a particular tariff for at least 12 months, though. How presumptious is that? The fact that it is hidden in the small print is entirely borne out by Quentin embarrassingly missing mention of it.

"Hidden" in the small print?

On all the sites I've used the discount information is right there next to the unit rates (in the same size font)

What you really mean is people are too ignorant/thick to look at it.

Comparison sites not including discounts that depend on what the customer does is only logical. Imagine if a comparison site was saying that by signing up to a certain supplier you are "Guaranteed to save £600" then saying in "the small print" that you have to do all your shopping in one shop on a certain card, take out a phone package etc. There is no-way a comparison site can know if a customer is going to spend £300 a month on a credit card in sainsburys.

Just the same as they dont include prompt payment discounts for quarterly billing customers as there is no way of the site knowing that you are going to pay within 10 days of recieving your bill (unless paying by DD)

1carminestocky

Plushchris wrote: »

"Hidden" in the small print?

On all the sites I've used the discount information is right there next to the unit rates (in the same size font)

What you really mean is people are too ignorant/thick to look at it.

Comparison sites not including discounts that depend on what the customer does is only logical. Imagine if a comparison site was saying that by signing up to a certain supplier you are "Guaranteed to save £600" then saying in "the small print" that you have to do all your shopping in one shop on a certain card, take out a phone package etc. There is no-way a comparison site can know if a customer is going to spend £300 a month on a credit card in sainsburys.

Just the same as they dont include prompt payment discounts for quarterly billing customers as there is no way of the site knowing that you are going to pay within 10 days of recieving your bill (unless paying by DD)

Quentin missed the npower discount small print. Oops.

theartfullodger

Carmine said

The comparison sites are there for one reason and one reason alone. To make wonga.

Wonga??? Stone me they are an even worse deal than UW (It takes a lot for me to say that.. and we know why..). Wonga charge 2,689% APR!!! See...

https://www.wonga.com/

Cheers!

Lodger

1carminestocky

I hope you don't mind me saying this, artful, but I do find you very strange (if harmless). Even stranger than Kim Yeovil, amazingly.

janninew

Hi, I'm new to this but just wanted to share me experience with UW. I am not a distributor just a happy customer. I've been with them for 7 years and have my gas, electricity and telephone (line rental). I have never had a reason to complain, whenever i've called customer services the service has been fine and the phone answered quickly. Before i joined UW i was with npower and there service was nothing short of disgraceful. I received an estimated bill from them for 3 months of gas and electricty for just over a thousand pound, (i live in a small 1 bedroom house and i work long hours so not home much!) I telephoned them to say i thought it had been overestimated. They agreed to cancel the bill and told me to submit readings from my meters which i did. Imagine my shock when i then received a bill for $1,480. I again rang up to query it and it turned out they had used my meter readings and added the cost to the first bill of $1,000. It took nearly 6 months of sending letters and then getting Energywatch involved (who were also useless!!) Finally my Father who is a solicitor wrote a very strongly worded letter to npower and that was it, the debt was wiped clear and everything was sorted, it took over 8 months to get it all resolved, the stress was huge and i couldn't get away from them fast enough!

When i joined UW i was really keen on the idea that i could submit a reading every month and just pay for what i use. I still do this now and it suits me perfectly. On the last day of the month i take my gas and elec reading and log onto the internet and submit it. Then my bill comes and i pay for just what i use, not credit or deficit. Think all companies should give you this option, it helps keep track and makes sure your not going to get any nasty surprises when the come to read your meter and adjust your payments!

Just wanted to give people my experiences!
Janinine

Browntoa

nothing new, can supply up to 3 readings per meter each quarter on EON online , and they were cheaper than UW so that saved me money as well

jimexbox

janninew wrote: »

When i joined UW i was really keen on the idea that i could submit a reading every month and just pay for what i use. I still do this now and it suits me perfectly. On the last day of the month i take my gas and elec reading and log onto the internet and submit it. Then my bill comes and i pay for just what i use, not credit or deficit. Think all companies should give you this option, it helps keep track and makes sure your not going to get any nasty surprises when the come to read your meter and adjust your payments!

Monthly billing would be more expensive, this could possibly be why you are paying more for your energy with UW. I monitor my energy consumption myself, submit actual readings regularly, change tariffs when necessary and make sure by DD payments are sufficient. If everyone took a little interest themselves, maybe there would be less 'help me' threads after quarterly bills are sent out.

janninew

Hi

You've put monthly billing would be more expensive? Would or is more expensive? I was told by UW that it doesn't make any difference to the overall cost that i would pay. I have gone onto Uswitch just now to check comparisions with other companies and UW is 5th down on the list as being my cheapest option, i don't think that's to bad! The problem i find when going on these comparsion web-sites is you would forever be changing your supplier (maybe monthly) to stay with the cheapest?!! I have a busy life and job and simply don't have the time to do that! Just saying it suits me, no complaints here!! The othr thing is i had such a bad time of it with npower its scared me alittle of using one on the big6! I know its irrational, but i've never had any billing trouble with UW and sometimes paying a little more every month is worth it for that little piece of mind that i get. I know everbody thinks differently and some people just want the cheapest, but if i have to pay alittle more for good service i don't mind.

jimexbox

UW is the 57th cheapest tarrif for me, 18% more expensive than my current energy consumption costs with Eon. If you happy, stay. But there are definitely cheaper suppliers of energy. I have a busy life too, like most working folk. I manage my energy account online, very easy and takes no time at all.

kippen_noedel

I'm impressed, they say I can save £57 by switching to them.

given I've been on a fixed rate since 2006 and still have 15 months to go, they must have some incredible deals with energy suppliers. Or its just marketing hogwash.

Our unique "Triple Value" guarantee will give you peace of mind.

* For your gas, we guarantee our prices will always be lower than British Gas, wherever you live in the UK.

hmmmm, time to do a quote based on todays rates

49500kwh
BG = £1558.70
UW = £1621.55

This might explain why telecom plus make such a huge margin on their business model. 42.2% return on Equity is, outstanding, this is why I own shares in them but wouldn't get my supply from them.