Utility Warehouse (Telecom Plus) Discussion

moneysaving4me

Cardew wrote: »

As it appears the other thread on UW has been removed, the ‘Which’ report about utility companies that the UW reps are ecstatic about should be put into perspective.

‘Which’ have not recommended UW or any utility company, they have not ‘tested’ the company(indeed how could they?)

A panel of which contributors voted on various aspects of Utility Companies and UW came out top.

Now it is important to realise that Which ask for volunteers for their customer surveys (e.g. cars built in 2005/2006, Televisions, Washing Machines etc)

It is widely acknowledged that any survey/poll of this kind is absolutely meaningless if people with vested interests can choose to vote.

The BBC used to run ‘Man of the Year’ competitions. In the 1980’s, at the height of his unpopularity in UK, the miner’s leader Arthur Scargill was voted BBC ‘Man of the Year’.(there was a voting coupon in the Radio Times) This was achieved by the Union activists lobbying support throughout the mining communities.

Similar lobbying tactics have been used in other countries(‘National Front’ leaders winning) and such polls are now simply not held. Although a different type of competition, you don’t have to look any further than the voting in the Eurovision song contest – I predict that Cyprus will vote for the Greek singer!!

Now nobody could possibly argue that with the sales structure of UW there are a great many distributors, and their families, who have a huge vested interest in voting for UW. Indeed a good result can materially affect their income – a powerful incentive!

It is perhaps indicative that the percentage of UW ‘customers’ voting was over 300% more than would be expected from their share of the market!

So I suggest that as an indicator of customer satisfaction the Which survey is meaningless and totally discredited!

Whilst I would totally agree that Which are a respected organisation, so are the BBC and they admit they got it wrong! I suspect Which won’t make the same mistake again.

P.S.
Rather than howls of protest(and abuse) from UW reps, it would be interesting for views on the validity of such surveys, rather than the merits of the company.
In the unlikely event 'The Board Troll' makes any valid points, could somebody quote him - I resist the temptation to read his posts.

Hi, totally agree about the possibility of a number of UW distributors voting in the poll; I'm one of them and personally have no interest in that sort of activity,didn't vote - completely unfair to the consumer.
Sadly not all of the UW dists would agree.

Are there appropriate referrer boards where I would be allowed to inform people about the service or is this completely banned?

I hope I've not caused offence by the mere mention of this topic.

1carminestocky

keggs wrote: »

only one service 1carminestocky.

Hope that helps.

Steve

Thanks. So someone could qualify for this card by just taking Line Rental at £8.99 a month? Or must one of the services be gas or electric? TIA!

PS The silence around this thread is absolutely deafening since I asked for opinions on this card. Seems like 'certain' people who regularly contribute to this thread can only do so in a negative way. How truly sad. As far as I can see, the cashback card is a brilliant idea and a surefire customer winner. Looking at the list of retailers mentioned, it's not a huge leap of faith to envisage some people spending £150-£200 per week with them in total. Meaning a HUGE discount off your UW bill. Very clever idea. Maybe why the shares are holding firm in a sea of losses on the markets.

Quentin

1carminestocky wrote: »

So someone could qualify for this card by just taking Line Rental at £8.99 a month?

You cannot get "just Line Rental at £8.99 a month" from the uw.

1) You always have to pay their additional monthly "membership fee" - between £1.76 and £3 every month.

Their reps regularly mislead by not mentioning the membership fee when quoting prices.

2) You have to take cps from them, and they charge a minimum of £1 a month.

So the cheapest line rental only from uw is actually £11.75/month!

1carminestocky

Quentin wrote: »

You cannot get "just Line Rental at £8.99 a month" from the uw.

1) You always have to pay their additional monthly "membership fee" - between £1.76 and £3 every month.

Their reps regularly mislead by not mentioning the membership fee when quoting prices.

2) You have to take cps from them, and they charge a minimum of £1 a month.

So the cheapest line rental only from uw is actually £11.75/month!

What do you think about the cashback card, Quentin?

Quentin

In summary again:

1) Misleading (not a cashback card, not 5% at all, initial £10 fee per card, ongoing costs, must be a uw member throughout.)

2) Too risky -(cash up front, no FSA protection, no protection for unspent money whatsover if uw goes bust)

3) You only get any reward if you use the card at around 25 retailers - you could probably shop cheaper elswhere without the need to pre-pay to a risky card (MSE Martin currently recommends a 5% cashback credit card which gives the cashback on every purchase till after Christmas)

1carminestocky

Quentin wrote: »

In summary again:

1) Misleading (not a cashback card, not 5% at all, initial £10 fee per card, ongoing costs, must be a uw member throughout.)

2) Too risky -(cash up front, no FSA protection, no protection for unspent money whatsover if uw goes bust)

3) You only get any reward if you use the card at around 25 retailers - you could probably shop cheaper elswhere without the need to pre-pay to a risky card (MSE Martin currently recommends a 5% cashback credit card which gives the cashback on every purchase till after Christmas)

1) They can't call it a credit card, though, because it isn't. It constitutes money off your UW bill, i.e. CASH that remains in your pocket/account/under mattress.

2) Of course, you could always keep your money in a high Street bank, they are safe as houses UW are, I believe, a totally debt-free, cash rich company, I genuinely believe you are clutching at straws here, Quentin.

3) A credit card has inherent problems, though. Firstly, there will be a credit check (very tough to get through these nowadays), you can easily spend more money tan you can easily afford to repay and left with INTEREST CHARGES. And, of course, what happens after Xmas?

Why not just admit this is a potentially very good deal, Quentin? Certainly for many people. There's one thing in being fervent in your dislike for a company but that shouldn't cloud your judgement to the stage where you make yourself look desparate to see the negative in everything they do. Some huge efos on this thread but at least I commend you for not going AWOL like certain posters. :rolleyes:

Quentin

They never worry about misleading titles - for years they told their members they gave them cashback at the end of each year depending on how many services they took. Of course they didn't, you had to stay with them and they would credit your account.

You point out the biggest catch of all - you cannot get any cash at all, just discount off their products which are comparitively expensive anyway.

If they are as safe as you say they are, why do they highlight the risks you need to be prepared to take when applying for the card? Plus there is the additional risk of no "standard mastercard" FSA protection on purchases.

I think maybe the lack of discussion on this topic (which you seem so anxious to continue) could be due to a lack of interest in uw matters on this moneysaving site in general, and this latest product in particular.

Lemonjuice_2

A question, not a reply from a newbie. As a part time energy broker I have been asked if I know if a claim by a UW distibutor is correct but I don't. He says that their night rate for electricity units applies from 7pm to 7am. I have posed this question on 2 of the email addresses on the hosted site but not had an answer yet.

Does anyone on here know please?

Quentin

Just another misleading claim from a uw rep!

Were this true, then all their economy 7 customers would have to have new meters installed to record their useage over the 12 hours - which they would then have to have replaced should they want to leave the "club".

espresso

Lemonjuice wrote: »

A question, not a reply from a newbie. As a part time energy broker I have been asked if I know if a claim by a UW distibutor is correct but I don't. He says that their night rate for electricity units applies from 7pm to 7am. I have posed this question on 2 of the email addresses on the hosted site but not had an answer yet.

Does anyone on here know please?

He's talking rubbish!

The times for cheap rate tariffs are set by the regional distribution company, not the supplier.