Add your feedback on energy supplier Telecom Plus

Former_MSE_Samantha

This is a feedback thread on energy supplier

Telecom Plus

Please share your experience with other MoneySavers. Click reply to take part

• Did you switch go smoothly?
• Have you had problems since?
• Is it easy to contact?

The feedback comes as part of the

Cheap Energy Club

warrick_2

I've been with this company for two years.
I should say at the outset that I'm an independent distributor with Telecom Plus and in all honesty, hand on heart they are very good. Helpline... British and efficient, one bill for energy and telephone prices consistently cheapest, see Which magazine.
I occasionally check out there to see what's happening and am not impressed with the rest of the industries profits and the prices they charge.
This site (MSE) looks good and I hope it continues, it seems like what we've all been waiting for!!!
Warrick.

Wywth

A sales rep. claiming their company/products are very good! Whatever next? :cool:

I do, however, agree with you that this site (MSE) is very good.
This is what MSE Martin has to say about Utility Warehouse:

Is Utility Warehouse any good?

This is a commonly-asked question. Unlike most energy companies and resellers, Utility Warehouse operates by network marketing, which means its customers are encouraged to sell on the product to their friends and they get commission for it.

This tends to mean it does well on feedback charts, as customers have a vested interest, and many of them are evangelical about the firm. That in itself doesn't make the product bad, but in our view it's no better or worse than any other energy provider.

Utility Warehouse's prices are included in all the main comparison services we list. So if the company turns out to be cheapest for you, it should be listed by them, and then it's worth going for.

The main pitch of Utility Warehouse is that you can also get cheap mobile, broadband and home phones with it and that reduces the fee. In general, we find using the cheapest individual providers undercuts this, so always compare with those before signing up to it. See the Cheap Home Phones, Cheap Broadband and Cheap Mobiles guides for more.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/you-switch-gas-electricity

There is also a large thread here discussing what other MSE'ers think of UW
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2473547

(Can you spot which posters are the UW independent distributors in that thread too?)

NigeWick

I was with Telecom Plus/Utility Warehouse for several years, and yes I was a distributor. I have not been for about three years. When I started, they were just about the cheapest and excellent value when four services were taken. Then they brought out the pre payment card where one gets money off the utility bill when shopping at a number of places, Sainsbury's, Boots, Halfords, B&Q etc. This meant that I could not get a better overall deal anywhere. I did my sums every six months or so. Year before last I found I could get cheaper gas & electricity that more than negated the pre payment card benefit and switched. We ended up with just my wife's mobile phone with UW. Last year I found that I could do well if I added my iPhone to what we took and every now and again they pay us for having the mobile phones with them.

I had one bad experience with service and mentioned it before they had sorted it out. My complaint was eventually dealt with to my satisfaction and any subsequent challenges have been dealt with far more quickly and well.

There are a number of members who vilify the company but I believe Telecom Plus is just another bunch of people in business trying to make as much profit as they can.

My advice is to check your own numbers before you make a decision. Utility Warehouse can work out very well if you have the right spending pattern and use the pre payment card.

auntynet

Been with this firm over 5 years after having to sue one of the big 6 to get £5000 back in over charging.
I do not rep or work for them.
At first they were very straight foward and honest and very easy to do business with. Then around 2 years ago that changed and they became much like the rest, a pity, but the usual miss billing ect. that we expect these days.
Then today I have "the letter" The cost increase around 6.9% but the Standard charge is jumping from £54 a year to £138 a year APPROX!!!
So I ring them and ask for an explination, And am told that the standard charge has always been subsidised by chargeing more per KwHour, O.K. but I know Im not the brightest bulb! but the standard charge is a fixed annual charge so KWH charge would have to be varied every month to extract the fixed standard charge out of it. Or is the U.W. telling lies?
Whatever I am now carefully looking around for another supplier. Not because I expect to save very much, but because I only let a firm take the !!!! once and dont hang around so they get a second chance :cool:

mark-chapman

There needs to be more balance from Money Saving Expert about Utility Warehouse / Telecom Plus.

MSE derives money by encouraging website users to switch suppliers - it is in the financial interests of MSE to have people switch, not stay with a leading supplier like UW / Telecom Plus.

Utility Warehouse has great customer service (as recommended by Which?) and always aims to be among the cheapest compared to Big 6 suppliers - guaranteed. It has other benefits too including a decent cashback card paying 3-10% nowadays.

These features get overlooked by MSE who tend to hammer on about cheap, cheap, cheap. Well, buy peanuts, get monkeys is something to watch out for.

I have chosen UW over other suppliers over the years because it is very time-consuming to keep switching suppliers. MSE makes money on switching so it tends to overlook the hassle switching every time.

I keep an eye on the prices charged by energy suppliers and there often isn't much in it when you consider you have to regularly go through another round of hassley switching of suppliers. MSE don't mention this because they make money from regular switching!

I'm sure other MSE devotees and staff will have their own opinions on this - but thought it worthwhile to try to give more balance to the MSE view. The Which? thorough independent reviews give a better indication of the UW / Telecom Plus service, imho.

Cheers :beer: - Mark.

Cardew

More UW spam.

UW is not the cheapest - far from it. Their 'guaranteed cheapest' claim is carefully worded nonsense. - read the latest few posts on the UW thread; or try any comparison website to confirm.

In the WHICH readers survey UW always comes top - not surprising when there are 20,000(or more) UW salesmen all with a vested interest in voting and posting the same rubbish as the last post.

Even Martin commented about UW salesmen trying to rig the result of his recent survey.

MillicentBystander

Shouldn't this be in the dedicated UW thread?


j/k

mark-chapman

I have no problem with an opinion about Utility Warehouse / Telecom Plus - you don't have to sign up.

There is a however a debate to be had about MSE having a vested financial interest in people switching because it's profitable, makes more money when that happens. I can see some bias in the site quite often these days along these lines.

You make big assumptions about the Which? survey - where's your evidence please that it's rigged? I don't suppose Which? Would be happy about that kind of statement.

I make no money from other people signing up to Utility Warehouse at present but continue to feel better and confident in the service of UW than corporate suppliers. That's my choice and opinion. I don't think it's fair or polite for people to call my view 'rubbish' - I wouldn't do that about your opinion; we all have rights to our opinions.

There is a community, friendly aspect to UW you don't get with other energy companies at present - personally, I don't think other companies know how to be as human to customers as UW - but that's my personal opinion. You pays your money and takes your choice.

:beer:

Cardew

mark-chapman wrote: »

I have no problem with an opinion about Utility Warehouse / Telecom Plus - you don't have to sign up.

There is a however a debate to be had about MSE having a vested financial interest in people switching because it's profitable, makes more money when that happens. I can see some bias in the site quite often these days along these lines.

You make big assumptions about the Which? survey - where's your evidence please that it's rigged? I don't suppose Which? Would be happy about that kind of statement.

I make no money from other people signing up to Utility Warehouse at present but continue to feel better and confident in the service of UW than corporate suppliers. That's my choice and opinion. I don't think it's fair or polite for people to call my view 'rubbish' - I wouldn't do that about your opinion; we all have rights to our opinions.

There is a community, friendly aspect to UW you don't get with other energy companies at present - personally, I don't think other companies know how to be as human to customers as UW - but that's my personal opinion. You pays your money and takes your choice.

:beer:

I suggest you go to the dedicated MSE thread on UW to peddle your wares.

In the MSE rules you have to declare you are a UW salesman in all posts.

The latest UW guarantee of cheapest gas/electricity is as discredited as the earlier TVG (Triple Value Guarantee). To check go to any of the comparison websites. Are you stating/implying that MSE wouldn't show UW if it were competitive?

mark-chapman

Cardew - you are clearly anti-UW, make a lot of assumptions - and a bit of a bully, it seems, trying to attack me the way you are doing. For all I know, you work for one of the corporates.

I just think people should have chance to fairly consider options rather than fall for the constant pressure to switch; MSE is just as guilty of sales pressure tactics at these times... and MSE has a vested financial interest to encourage switching, as I've pointed out. Which? doesn't. I note too you haven't come back with any evidence about Which? surveys being rigged.

UW does show up as competitive; if I chose one of the latest gold packages, it is a little more costly than others - but if you are fed up with constant switching (and fed up with other companies / organisations making money from your switching) and you also used - for example - the UW Cashback card, you could easily save the same as switching on fuel, food, other goods.

You takes your choice, you pays your money... you have chosen the switching method, I guess.

Best wishes, no hard feelings - Mark. :j