Martins advice on SWALEC

Penny.

Hi all, im new here and yesterday was randomly browsing when i came across Martins Swalec information which confirms what i already thought, they are dodgey as hell !

basically they approached me and talked me into swapping suppliers from scottish power to swalec roughly 4 and half years ago, telling me id be saving loads and the direct debit would be cheaper etc etc, sounded great, me being ...... well dam right stupid, i believed it was a good option.

my payment were low for a while then one day they put my payments up to like £120 each for gas and electric !!!!!!!! i was confused, they told me my payments wasnt covering my usage, ok heres where it gets confusing. i live alone with one child, just a small 2 bedroom standard house, we are home for roughly 3 to 4 hours per day, i work long hours so we get home have dinner and go bed. i have no major electrical things on, dont have heating on much though the winter because im terrified of the cost.

so these payments kept going up and up, we moved house, again 2 bedroom standard house, same amount of time at home etc etc. the payments were still rising, in the end i refused to pay them until they sorted the problem (this has now been going on for 4years), they sent a officer out to discuss payments, very helpful women, she put me on some care plan thing as i am disabled too and use the stairlift, told me she would get this sorted once and for all and my payments would be lowered, i explained to her that due to work we are out of the house 7days a week and this usage simple is not possible.

off she went, never heard a thing again, so i reset my payments up and now they are going up and up, called them again yesterday after reading martins article and they were talking to me about bills in the previous house from 2007!! i was not with them in 2007! when i told them this she quickly changed her mind that she was just browsing and i had not been charged since back then,

so far i have logged an official complaint again, on the number that was provided here for swalec, i explained the situation all over again and the man said i should be one of the people whom receives compensation as clearly this has had a major impact on my life for the last 4years, which it has, im behind on other bills just because im paying more and more to swalec.

im dyslexic and irlens syndrome aswell as physically disabled and i do not understand my bills very well, ive asked swalec time and time again and ive been to CAB but nobody seems to have ever been able to help.

and guess what else he revealed, might i add that nobody else has ever told me................

my usage on gas per month is £30 and on electric per month £35. this is the usage over the last year !!!!!

so how the hell am i being forced to pay so much, i really hope i get my money back, they have told me they have 28days to reply so i will keep you updated, but has anyone else been through this recently? :mad:

dogshome

There is a lot going on in your post, some things are particularly worrying

Your post's timeline indicates that you Switched to SWALEC in the Autumn of 2008. Your conversatiion with them where they talk of their billing in 2007 would indicate serious errors in your account from the beginning

You say you have moved house since joining SWALEC
When moving home, you have to use the current supplier to that house - Now if that supplier was also SWALEC, then they could have transferred your old account ( Rolled over any debt), but unless you specifically asked them to go on a particular tariff, they probably put you on their 'Standard' expensive tariff

It's disappointing that you have had little success with the CAB, as since December 2012 they have been the Govts offical agency for Utility Complaints

As your SWALEC accounts seem to be in a complete tangle, it needs a close examination of every bill they have issued for both properties since you joined them - It's unlikely that you will have kept all these, so ask SWALEC for copies in writing - An Email will do, but head it Complaint - When you have them, make another appointment with the CAB

Penny.

Hi and thankyou for your reply, yes its a total mess !

I do keep every bill and have them all but as im dyslexic I just dont understand them. Believe me ive tried numerous times but I simply cannot work it out, I read online that they should assist in understanding tarriffs and charges but they havent.

I intend to get this sorted one way or the other and I will keep updating progress so others can see as it makes me wonder how many more swalec customers there are in this situation :mad:

Penny.

just been told that the person dealing with it is now on holiday, im hoping that is not going to prevent this from being sorted in the 28days i was told

Penny.

me again, im just keeping this updated incase anyone else finds the information useful.
ok so today i contacted them again and was told that the original 28days may have to be extended because they want the same women to deal with it, im not exactly impressed with that but at the same time is it better to not have to explain myself all over to someone new.

i will keep updating when i have more news

zaax

Sounds like a complaint to the ombudsman is needed.
Can you scan (or take photos) of the bills, maybe someone can take this case up for you.

Penny.

Via email i have just been told that Swalec have credited my electric account with £60,

im not happy considering the debts are much higher than this and i expect im owed a lot more

also im confused as to how they can credit the electric and not the gas