Problems Switching from Glide

Jimmybeans_2

Hi, I have recently moved in to a rented property and the previous tenants were with Glide energy. We have chosen to switch to Co-Operative energy as their prices are much better. We've been hit with the bill from the last 2 months from Glide which is about £49.32. This seemed like a lot, seeing as we'd barely been in the house at all over summer since taking up tenancy. After speaking with Glide today they have told me that the price is in fact £49.32 PER PERSON for the two month period! they will also charge us an extra £24.66 each for next month, even though we will be switching over to Co-Op in the first week or two.

Glide work on a standing charge basis so regardless of energy used we will have to pay the £24.66 per month until we change.

It seems completely unfair to me to be expected to pay such a huge amount of money to a company that I have never signed a contract with or even spoken to up until today. Especially seeing as we've used barely energy from them! I have been used to paying slightly higher bills upon taking up tenancy in a new rented property before the energy suppliers have been switched, but this is ridiculous!

Is there anything I can do? Please help!

macman

No, you are in a deemed contract with Glide and were from day one. Why did you wait two months to commence a switch away?
Glide charge a considerable premium for splitting up the accounts (usually among student tenants) and supposedly doing all the 'hard work' of administrating the account. Not a necessary service for most people.
A switch will take 4-5 weeks from the date you apply.

dan3811991119

Whoever had this company as the supplier in your place before you either don't understand the concept and value of money or decided to change company before they left to play a cruel trick on you. I did a quote for my place and it was £17 a week per person I have never seen such an eye watering quote. Either way as this is how they bill and you where in a deemed contract you legally owe this money there is absolutely nothing you can do about it.

Wywth

Jimmybeans wrote: »

Hi, I have recently moved in to a rented property and the previous tenants were with Glide energy. We have chosen to switch to Co-Operative energy as their prices are much better. We've been hit with the bill from the last 2 months from Glide which is about £49.32. This seemed like a lot, seeing as we'd barely been in the house at all over summer since taking up tenancy. After speaking with Glide today they have told me that the price is in fact £49.32 PER PERSON for the two month period! they will also charge us an extra £24.66 each for next month, even though we will be switching over to Co-Op in the first week or two.

Glide work on a standing charge basis so regardless of energy used we will have to pay the £24.66 per month until we change.

It seems completely unfair to me to be expected to pay such a huge amount of money to a company that I have never signed a contract with or even spoken to up until today. Especially seeing as we've used barely energy from them! I have been used to paying slightly higher bills upon taking up tenancy in a new rented property before the energy suppliers have been switched, but this is ridiculous!

Is there anything I can do? Please help!

You need to register an account with the existing supplier. Then you will be in a position to switch supplier if you so desire.
You can't switch supplier unless you have a supplier

Switching of a supplier typiclally takes 4-6 weeks from application. Until the switch actually occurs, you will be liable to the existing supplier for the resultant charges accrued

calcotti

Glide seem to be a complete shower. The standing charge for electricity on a "deemed" contract is, according to their website, an eye-watering 79.95p per day (about 20% higher than if you have signed up for a contract - which is in itself bad enough). This is not offset by low unit charges which are still higher than can be obtained from other suppliers. Can't help thinking that the standing charge is deliberately high because they know student houses are empty for several months a year and there there is no/little energy consumption at these times.

My daughter is current in process of switching from Glide (having inherited them in a multi tenancy house like yourself). They simply send demands for payment with no breakdown of how the costs are arrived at nor have they issued any introductory information on what charges will be applied. They also seem incapable of recording information correctly. The only information they seemed to retain from her first conversation which included tenancy start date and meter readings was her email address on which she received, the next day, a demand for payment.

All of this seems very unfair practice. I reckon their overall cost over a year (in contract) would be some 25% to 30% higher than you could get elsewhere.

I note that they also appear not to have signed up to the Energy Ombudsman scheme so I am not sure where you would escalate any complaint to should the need arise.

Interesting to note also that their standard payment (or extortion) method is by Continuous Card Payment rather than by Direct Debit. Glide state that this is to avoid tenants incurring bank charges if there are insufficient funds in their accounts. Not only does this make no sense to me but MoneySavingExpert warns elsewhere that Continuous Card Payments offer less protection to the consumer than Direct Debits.