Petition Accepted!

tankgirl2000_2

Hi all.

Just to let you know that I have had a petition accepted on the 10 Downing St E-petition site, and if enough of us sign it its contents will be considered. It addresses the fact that consumers of essential utitlity services are by-and-large powerless when faced with ineptitude and inadequate service provision. The petition call for the energy watchdogs to be given greater powers.

Sign it here

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/powerforpeople/

Don't grumble, do something that MIGHT make a difference

Thanks
:T :T :T :A :A :A

sweetnest

excellent idea, i have signed

thanks

Ken68

Have signed Tank. Good for you, highlighting the poor admin.

tankgirl2000_2

That's great guys, Thank you!

Don't forget to mention the petition to your friends, neighbours and workmates. So many people have had difficulties with utitlities that I'm sure we'll have no problem getting signatories.

:T :T :T

Ken68

10, Downing Street send a link for you to click on. It came to me NON-spam......theres influence for you!!!

tankgirl2000_2

Let's hope that influence can be used positively for once Ken! :rolleyes:

Cardew

Totally agree with the sentiments expressed in the petition.

However I believe that under even current legislation the Regultor has sufficient power(the teeth) but just doesn’t 'bite' often or hard enough.

If nothing else the petition might force the Regulator to be more proactive.

There are a couple of points that IMO should be taken into consideration.

All of the companies are faced with an unprecedented and huge administrative burden with customers changing suppliers, sometimes several times a year; which entails opening and closing millions of accounts each year.

This demand is fed by the comparison sites anxious to maximise their commission. The lure of £10 or ‘free’ champagne is too much for some people to resist. The initially artificially low DD payments are yet another factor in inducing people to swop. These comparison sites are the main winners and IMO have contributed hugely to the problems – and of course are not regulated.

It might be heresy to say this, but in some ways I feel sorry for British Gas. In the years after deregulation they were forced to charge the highest prices in the industry for Gas (Their electricity prices have always been reasonably competitive) and as a result lost lots of customers.

In an attempt to reduce costs their customer service suffered and the new computer system has been a disaster. Their new boss has admitted that their customer service has been very poor and they are taking measures to improve matters. I suppose the Regulator could fine them £Xmillion, but would that help?

cedha

Well done Tankgirl, there's another signature on the petition, let's have a lot more

tankgirl2000_2

Whilst I agree with many of your points, I do not believe that the watch dogs are sufficiently powerful, nor do I feel that fines are the solution. They would only bump up prices as inevitably the consumer pays. If BG, as an example, were a newly established company they would struggle to get any market share given their frankly appalling customer service and the attitude of "you need us more than we need you!" I would like to see energy watch be able to, as an example, carry out outsanding work and bill the company. We need a more proactive response. If companies cannot deliver to a reasonable minimum standard, then they should not exist. Others do seem to be able to, for example, answer the telephone at no huge cost, why do certain companies find this impossible?

I for one am sick of being at the will of companies who may or may not decide to deliver adequate service and I often feel that I must pay regardless of the quality of the service. In a restaurant, if a meal I ordered arrived late, and inedible I would not pay. with utility companies you have little choice, especially if you are on a prepayment meter.

Rant over.......for now

caveat_emptor

Agree with Cardew in post #7. There are regulators who have the power to penalise utility companies not acting in the interests of the consumer but seldom, if ever, use it. Until this is addressed by the Government, who have no wish to upset the status quo, nothing will change.
I'll sign but based on the outcome of previous petitions fear it will have no effect at all.

Miss_Behaving

I've signed too!