Add your feedback on energy supplier Green Star Energy

Mikes_Saving

lamanva wrote: »

i have found that sending emails to this address get a quick response mse@mygreenstarenergy.com

Thank you, but I've yet to receive even an acknowledgement when I've used that address.

Inverchaolain

I thought I would provide an update on my 7 month battle with Green Star to get my initial meter readings entered correctly and a proper bill issued. I have made 7 previous postings regarding Green Star's attempts to achieve this and looking at recent postings by others Green Star have not improved.

I logged an official complaint with Green Star and waited for their 8 week (40 working days) resolution time to complete with nothing having been done to rectify the problem. I then raised a complaint with the Energy Ombudsman who ruled in my favour and gave Green Star 4 simple instructions to complete within 28 days. The instructions were:

Following my investigation of your complaint, my decision requires Green Star Energy to:
- re-bill your account from an opening gas reading of 0873 to an up to date gas reading of 0946 (as of 23 October 2017);
- re-bill your account from an opening electricity reading of 77842 to an up to date electricity reading of 80646 (as of 23 October 2017);
- apply a £60 goodwill gesture to your account in recognition of the shortfalls in customer service I have identified; and
- provide a written apology for the shortfalls in customer service I have identified.

Given these simple instructions you would expect Green Star could accomplish this without cocking it up. However with 8 days until the Ombudsman deadline they tried to use a completely different initial reading for the electricity. Naturally my previous supplier refused to accept this. I called Green Star and pointed out their error which their agent acknowledged. Again you'd think this was it sorted but no - with 4 days to the deadline I received a call from a "specialist" team within Green Star saying they had again tried to use the incorrect reading and I had to ask why didn't they just follow the Ombudsman's ruling. This they agreed would be a good idea.

In the end they managed to sort things out with 1 day left until the deadline. My advice to anyone having any issues with this company is to open an official complaint with them immediately and get a complaint reference number. Wait until the 8 week resolution window has closed (probability is that nothing will be have been achieved by Green Star) then immediately open a complaint with the Energy Ombudsman. At this point things will start to happen. The Energy Ombudsman will initially ask if the complaint can be closed if Green Star promise to fix the problem - do not take this offer and insist the complaint can only be closed once Green Star have fixed your problem.

The Energy Ombudsman is a very easy organisation to deal with and I recommend them. Happily I am now in the process of leaving Green Star and can recommend them to no one. After 7 months of frustrated grief my opinion of Green Star is that they are a basket case of a company beyond any hope of improving and should have their license revoked by OFGEM.

Mikes_Saving

Archiemedes wrote: »

On 1st September 2017, through cheap energy club, changed from Green star to Eon, all went smoothly enough but Green Star insist they cannot send me a final bill until Eon have sent them the meter readings I provided (on August 30th) Eon say they have done this twuce, second time at my request, and Green star still have not supplied the final bill. My calculations show my bill should be £145 approx. My credit with Green star is £267, so I am due over £120 refund, which now at now mid-November has not been made Green star say Eon is to blame, Eon say info has been sent to Green star so they are to blame. Any advice? Thanks in advance

Believe Eon; believe nothing that Green Star tells you and expect them to take no action whatsoever.
Be very very dogged on the phone and insist on being put through to their complaints team. Their complaints team won't call you back, so insist on being put through to someone you can talk to. This won't be easy. I found it easier to ring Hudson Energy head office number (in an earlier post of mine or Google it) and complain to them - this was the only time I got through to someone at the GSE complaints team directly.

Raise an official complaint with GSE as soon as possible and get a reference number. They will, in all likelihood, do nothing at all, but by doing this you can get the ombudsman involved at the earliest opportunity.

Advise everyone you know to avoid GSE.
Good luck, I fear that you will need it.

bettz

Why did MSE recommend this company? I'm just finding out now what there like after 6 months. I haven't been able to submit meter readings once through there app or website without errors

roygrayson

"As most of the Above" just about sums it up when reading forum comments After a (upheld) complaint to the Energy Ombudsman three months ago I now find myself once again locking horns with the shambles trading as Greenstar Energy.
One begins to wonder if customers who have the temerity to complain are singled out for special punishment by GS.
Since Ombudsman ruling (October) the following has happened:
1) GS have ceased taking my monthly Direct Debit. Very nice, I hear you say BUT think about it. if I do not take any action they COULD now claim that I am in default of contract.
2) GS have NOT sent me the bill due for 25th November despite requesting meter readings on the 10th Nov. which I sent on the same day as requested. Strangely enough, I encountered no difficulty when sending them. BUT :
3) My online account webpage now produces a strange pop-up message when 'clicking' to the "Readings" page, said message being of a somewhat technical nature, can only be interpreted by the layperson as "Our System has failed again, please take steps to resolve this"
4) This is accompanied by the fact that ALL my previous Read history on that page has now disappeared as if it had never existed. Doubly annoying because it took MONTHS of complaining (Plus the complaint to the Ombudsman) to get my account set up properly after GS made one almighty !!!!-up of it.
SO,once more into the breach dear customer. But two points are obvious to my mind anyway.
1) The level of Service from Greenstar Energy would lead one to suspect that they are having MAJOR problems with their systems (Think GB Energy) and could well be the next candidate for a total collapse.
2) Why on earth did MSE take us all into this nightmare and do they really think that they have NO responsibility at all for Collective switches ?
Time will tell.

Burndengreen

Burndengreen wrote: »

That's it enough is enough my time is too valuable to waste on these charlatans.
Switched via mse in May and had numerous issues, meter readings going missing logins not working they are unable to deal with a smart meter that has two tariffs I still have not had a Bill despite numerous requests. I have a 60 exit fee on my account but have just started a switch to m & s as I know their customer service wilbe much better, if greenstar attempt to charge the exit fee I shall be sending them an invoice for my wasted time. MSE please take this company off your books,

The other people I feel sorry for are the poor customer service people who clearly are being let down by inadequate managers.

Update on this, I couldn't switch to m and s because my electric account is showing as a two read smart meter I have been trying to sort this out and wrote to greenstar over two weeks ago and still no response. This is what I said.

Morning

I have contacted yourselves on three previous occasions regarding an issue with my account and unfortunately the problem is still not resolved. The two previous occasions have been telephone contact and on both occasions I waspromised a call back which never materialised.

When I transferred to you back in May, from brit gas, I had a smart meter with two readings. One of the readings was for a special deal bg had whereby my electric on Sunday was free between 09.00 and 18.00 hrs. Since I moved to you this facility was withdrawn and consequently elec meter reading number 1 never changes.

I supplied actual meter readings on the 11th Nov and yet I now receive a Bill showing my readings and a further estimated reading from the 17th and meter reading one has been increased by yourselves.

When I read my meter it shows me three readings , rate1 usage rate2 usage and a combined of the two figures.
I have asked that my account shows one meter reading , I.e the combined one, and this has not yet happened.
My combined total at 11th Nov when I read my meter was 5627 my combined opening read in May was 3745.
Please produce a Bill with these figures and adjust my online account to show I have only one electric meter reading.

Thank you

I am very very very seriously considering cancelling my DD to get some response from these people. I just want out and I will not be paying the exit fee.
Shambles.

markocosic

Switched to these useless berks in April 2017 on MSE's recommendation; they took until May 2017 to begin the switch; and haven't managed to complete it to date.

They were given opening reads.
They ignored them.
They (over) estimated some numbers.
They won't accept the actual reads.
They won't send the form to the previous supplier to complete the switch.

Ombudsman here we come.

It looks like there is a common pattern to abject failure in this industry. Any of the new entrants using the "Junifer Systems" billing system have been an utter failure.

SpenderBob

My son was cold called by these people and told that, based on his house size and occupancy, they could halve his current DD. In point of fact they were more expensive than his previous supplier.
He switched away from them in July and is still awaiting a closing bill. It seems that the gas went through OK but they maintained that they did not have a closing reading for the electricity.
Back in August he was promised a refund of £25 but it never came and he has been phoning and emailing them and current supplier.

I would not touch them.

Bob

johnnybgoode

A problem shared and all that!

Having similar problems; switched with the collective in May and still awaiting my first bill. At one point they offered to refund me half my money as they couldn't work out who was supplying my gas. Turns out it is them (under the name Hudson Energy).

Have started the official complaints process and have been told that its with the billing department. The same department who would sort it in 5 days back in August and November.

Why, oh, why, did I feel brave enough to try a small supplier? Could the Cheap Energy Club use their collective bargaining power to collectively sort out this mess for so many of its trusting members?

Vicks0001

Don't touch Green Star Energy, initial thoughts were positive - the switch is easy enough, the account is easy to manage online however I have now discovered that they do not deliver on customer service.
I have just had a boiler failure and couldn't get a new boiler fitted until the gas test nipple on the meter was repaired which is normally a priority call out given no heating or hot water.
I spent over 2 hours on the phone to them, was told that a manager 'didn't want to talk to me', that metering department who deal with meter repairs wouldn't help, the priority call out team didn't want to help and that my gas distributor needed to deal with the problem but they didn't know who that might be. I have lodged a complaint and am waiting for their response.