Co-operative Energy reviews: Give your feedback

bellandbottle

I had a pleasand surprise today - a bill from the Co-op, on time and using my meter readings. It seems to be accurate and on target for usage.

So, despite all the on-going issues many people are experiencing, the Co-op seems to be back on track for normal billing - for me at least.

boobbby

My billing seems ok at the moment although there left and right hands still have problem. On the 17 October my electric meter was changed and this was arranged by the co op. Today sent me letter telling me I need to have my electric meter changed as it was over 10 years old.

bellandbottle

boobbby wrote: »

My billing seems ok at the moment although there left and right hands still have problem. On the 17 October my electric meter was changed and this was arranged by the co op. Today sent me letter telling me I need to have my electric meter changed as it was over 10 years old.

This kind of thing must be costing a fortune in administration - as you say, left and right hands!

victor2

boobbby wrote: »

My billing seems ok at the moment although there left and right hands still have problem. On the 17 October my electric meter was changed and this was arranged by the co op. Today sent me letter telling me I need to have my electric meter changed as it was over 10 years old.

If you do get your meter changed, make sure that you note (and preferably photograph) the reading on the old meter before it is removed and the new/reconditioned one that replaces it - it may not start at zero. When ours was done several years ago, the engineer told me that although they notify the necessary people, suppliers don't always get the change recorded on the customer's account. He left a tag attached to the new meter saying what the old reading had been and what the new one started at. I assume they should still do that.
Sure enough, when our "new" reading went into the supplier, we got a letter saying we would be getting a very large bill if we did nothing - the difference between the two meters was worth about £5,000, and not in our favour! It did get sorted eventually, and that was with a supplier who did appear to know what their left and right hands were doing, not the Co-op.

cygnusx1

Be sure to check your account if you change from one Co-Op tariff to another because they keep charging me £60 every time I do it, despite claiming that they don't charge for this.


Spent an hour on the phone the other day sorting out my account which included a £60 'Exit Fee' which then got included in my bill. They then processed a £60 credit saying that would be included in my next bill. I then changed tariff and discovered the following day that I'd been charged another £60. Following email correspondence I was told that another £60 credit had been applied - a blatant lie because it's not on my account! I also discovered that the original £60 charge has magically gone from my account listing even though it was included in my bill!


To be honest, and with the benefit of hindsight, I wouldn't touch this company with a barge pole. Joined Sep 2014 and all ok until the 'new' Billing System was introduced which has caused nothing but perpetual stress and anxiety. May well switch soon and take an exit-fee on the chin as I really can't cope with their perpetual incompetence and deliberate theft any longer.

Eddystone

[FONT=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial]Dear  Mr  [FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Your complaint about Co-operative Energy.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot][/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]
Thank you for your time today where we discussed your complaint about billing.

During our conversation we discussed the following issues:
You are not happy it has been experiencing internal system problems.
Co-operative Energy state it has experienced system issues and it was unable to issue and produce a bill. It confirms it sent you bills on 8 May 2013, 8 August 2013, 22 October 2013, 27 January 2014, 29 April 2014, 29 July 2014, 9 November 2014, 29 January 2015, 5 February 2015 and 28 July 2015. These bills are now cancelled on its systems due to the internal system issues. To note Co-operative Energy re billed you using accurate meter readings on 7 October 2015, however it is aware the tariff is still showing as pioneer variable instead of the fixed rate January deal. I feel this is a shortfall in its customer service and account management.
Co-operative Energy evidence shows accurate customer meter readings where used on 5 February 2013 10102 for gas and 54101 for electricity. On 9 August 2013 it was 10421 for gas and 55538 for electricity. Between 5 February 2013 and 9 August 2013 it states estimated readings where used. From 9 August 2013 to 5 January 2014 it used accurate customer readings for gas and electricity. Thereafter Co-operative Energy used a mixture of estimated readings and customer readings. Based on the evidence from Co-operative Energy above I feel the code for accurate billing does not apply in this instance.
It is unable to explain why it had system issues. To note it has kept you up to date with the errors and it has acknowledged its shortfalls in customer service. It states a goodwill payment of £60 on 27 August 2015 has been given to you for its shortfalls in customer service.
• You have provided actual meter readings on a regular basis but these have not been used to generate a bill.

Co-operative Energy state you have a duel fuel account and it gained supply on 5 February 2013.
Co-operative Energy confirm you provided accurate opening meter read on 29 January 2013 of 53880 for electricity and 10099 for gas. It is unaware as to why the supply did not start on 29 January 2013. It states on the 5 February 2013 the previous energy supplier provided an accurate opening meter readings of 10102 for gas and 54101 electricity.
Co-operative Energy states it was not able to generate a bill as your energy tariff expired. It confirms it failed to inform you that your tariff was coming to an end and it is unaware as to explain why, other than it being a system error. I believe this to be a shortfall in its customer service as it should provide 40 days’ notice when changing anything to an account.
• You have emailed the company and not received a response.
Co-operative Energy states it has recently emailed you regularly and it has attempted to resolve the complaint. Although it is aware it has given shortfalls in customer service when you first started having these issues.

• You state you now cannot input your meter readings on your online account.
Co-operative Energy confirm it is aware it has had some online account issues. It states it is having ongoing issues with its systems and is unaware as to how long it will continue. To note Co-operative Energy advice you should now be able to upload your meter readings via his online account. It is aware this is a shortfall in its customer service. Co-operative Energy is able to investigate the online account issues further and it is willing to ensure your account is updated.
• The company did not inform you that your tariff had expired, so it has agreed to credit the difference between the tariff he should have been on and the tariff he was on. You have not received this.

Co-operative Energy state it is aware it did not inform you that your tariff was expiring as of 8 January 2015. You state Co-operative Energy originally advised you it expired in March 2015 and then it advised you it was January 2015. To note I believe this to be a shortfall ins its customer service and account management.
It confirms it spoke to its contract changes team on 10 July 2015 to update your energy account to ensure you are on the correct tariff and enable it to produce an up to date bill. It is still awaiting a response. As Co-operative Energy is in error it is willing to backdate your tariff to its fixed rate January deal.
Upon further investigation Co-operative Energy state it refunded £400 by bacs on 7 October 2015 in error. It is unable to explain the reasons why and it is aware it is a shortfall in its customer service.
Due to the further shortfalls in customer service I believe a £100 goodwill payment should be given to yourself.
Following our discussion you confirmed that you were happy with the conclusions I had reached and here is a summary of the proposals agreed by you and Co-operative Energy, in full and final settlement of your complaint. Co-operative Energy is required to:

• provide you with a letter of apology for its shortfalls in customer service;
• ensure an up to date bill is produced from 5 February 2013 to present using accurate opening meter read of 10102 for gas and 54101 for electricity based on the fixed rate January deal;
• ensure your tariff is back dated from 5 February 2013 based on the fixed rate January deal as requested and then credit your energy account with the difference;
• ensure your online access is up and running and allowing him to input meter readings; and
• credit your energy account with £100 goodwill payment.

Co-operative Energy should provide the remedy within 28 days from the date of this letter.

Ombudsman Services is pleased there is a resolution to this dispute.


This is in full and final settlement of your dispute.
28 Days are up and still nothing so called the ombudsman and they say they will escalate this,well whoopy doo this has been going on for 10 months and still not sorted and now our credit is showing as over 2k!
My wife has stressed out over this as we dont know if we owe them or vice versa and when you do some digging on the ombudsman service they are funded by the energy companies,what a racket so how do you get in touch with the regulator as i feel this mickey mouse firm should be shut down forthwith,sorry for the rant but we are at out wits end over this problem.

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clint1

I swapped from Ovo to Co-op energy back in March 2015 for both electricity and gas. The gas went over ok but my electricity is still stuck with Ovo due to the inability of Co-op to move it to them. After numerous phone calls (with a long wait before reaching customer services each time) and emails that remain unanswered, I am still waiting for the move to complete. It is now the end of November and near to the end of my discount and I am still paying a high rate for my electricity because of Co-op !!!!-ups!
My advice to anyone is AVOID CO-OP ENERGY AT ANY COST!

Marmaduke123

I seem to have been lucky. Switched to the co-op last autumn before the website problems. Annoying to have to re-register at the beginning of this year, and a ridiculously complex process to do so. All bills produced on time although the website is extremely uninformative.

Switched away towards the end of my current tariff .Not sure what to expect in view of other people's problems but the final bill was produced just over 4 weeks after the switch was complete, and the balance refund hit my bank account just a few days later.

Credit where credit's due, no problems for me

Ollie92

Personally I think you can have these kind of issues that everyone is discussing with any energy provider. It's just unfortunate if you're the one that it happens to, after all a happy customer is less likely to go online wanting to write a review than an unhappy one so you're more likely to see all the doom and gloom kind of comments.

I'm not personally with coop but as said these issues could happen to anyone with any energy provider

Eric_Disley

Not just "bad luck" imo

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/poll/17-11-2015/is-your-energy-companys-service-any-good

If you look at the latest survey, Co-op and Extra Energy results are appalling. Over 75% rate their service "poor". Npower and Scottish Power aren't far behind. Backed up by Ombudsman complaints data.