Is your energy company’s service any good?

Former_MSE_Debs

Poll started 7 Oct 2013

Winter is coming, price hikes are due, many people will be switching. Would you recommend your energy firm's service to others?

Please rate your current supplier’s SERVICE (not price) over the last six months in this week's poll:

Vote in this week's poll

Did you vote? Why did you pick that option? Are you surprised at the results so far? Have your say below clicking reply to discuss. If you haven’t already, join the forum to reply. If you aren’t sure how it all works, read our New to Forum? Intro Guide .

To see the results from last time, click this.

MSE_Martin

Quite clearly, the Telecom Plus/Utility Warehouse vote is subject to a voting campaign. There are more than 10m British Gas customers, and substantially fewer than 500,000 Telecom Plus customers.

Yet 12 hours into the vote there have been nearly 500 Telecom Plus voters compared to 220 for British Gas. All other vote numbers are roughly in proportion to British Gas. Statistically it is virtually impossible that this is a coincidence.

Utility Warehouse is a network marketing company. In other words, its users are paid to recommend it and sell it to others. The natural explanation (and we have seen similar lobbying before in different votes - it always tends to work the same way) is that an email campaign amongst its network marketers has gone out asking them to vote in the poll.

Now, of course, you can read some significance into the fact people are so passionate about it - but the nature of its operations (ie, that customers are also sales people) means it is difficult to do a direct comparison with other firms.

Therefore we will be adding a warning to people to take its '97% voting great ' vote results with a pinch of salt, as that vote is not directly comparable with others.

Nhpus

I think that you are all being very harsh about Telecom Plus. I am a distributor and I haven't voted even though I am also a very happy customer that's why I joined as an ID but many of my genuine customers have. We all speak personally to our customers and that's why they know about this poll.
The only reason many customers from the other suppliers look at this website is when they are unhappy with their own suppliers / companies / banks not just utility companies.
You can't misrepresent a company just because they won't pay anyone to advertise for them.
If you post the results and leave a company off then you will have a big backlash from their customers and ID's and that is also unfair but will happen.
The company is growing so fast at the moment there will be a lot of very upset people moaning about this and this website in time if you don't keep it fair and no biased which it is supposed to be. So prove it to everyone.

whitelabel

Nhpus wrote: »

I think that you are all being very harsh about Telecom Plus. I am a distributor and I haven't voted even though I am also a very happy customer that's why I joined as an ID but many of my genuine customers have. We all speak personally to our customers and that's why they know about this poll.
The only reason many customers from the other suppliers look at this website is when they are unhappy with their own suppliers / companies / banks not just utility companies.
You can't misrepresent a company just because they won't pay anyone to advertise for them.
If you post the results and leave a company off then you will have a big backlash from their customers and ID's and that is also unfair but will happen.
The company is growing so fast at the moment there will be a lot of very upset people moaning about this and this website in time if you don't keep it fair and no biased which it is supposed to be. So prove it to everyone.

The fact you joined here... Just to post that twice proves exactly the point
In a cult like manner you have felt it necessary to join a forum you weren't a member of just to post about a vote you hadn't voted in... I've seen religious extremists with less obsession and countries with smaller pyramids.

You moan about there should be no bias, yet that's exactly what the network has done by telling distributers to vote/ get people to vote and the lack of denial of this speaks volumes . If only its was the cheapest too people may not mind but its not.

cepheus

MSE_Martin wrote: »

Quite clearly the Telecom Plus/Utility Warehouse vote is subject to a voting campaign. There are very substantially over 10m British Gas customers, and substantially less than 500,000 Telecom Plus.

Yet 12 hours into the vote there have been nearly 500 Telecom Plus voters compared to 220 for British Gas. All other vote numbers are roughly in proportion to British Gas for membership. Statistically it is a virtual impossibility this is a coincidence.

Utility Warehouse is a network marketing company in other words its users are paid to recommend it and sell it on to others. The natural explanation (and we have seen similar lobbying before in different votes - it always tends to work the same way) is that an email campaign amongst its network marketers has gone out asking them to vote in the poll.

Now of course you can read some significance into the fact people are so passionate about it - but the nature of its operations (ie that customers are also sales people) does mean that it is difficult to do a direct comparison with other firms.

Therefore we will be adding a warning to people to take its '97% voting great ' vote results with a pinch of salt - as it means that vote is not directly comparable with others.

On a related issue, I am very worried about many of these boards being unduly influenced by the PR branches of corporations. The views often seem to be pro-corporate and anti-consumer. I'm not sure what the solution is, but there should be at least a rule that people should disclose conflicts of interest due to employment or political membership.

Nhpus

whitelabel wrote: »

The fact you joined here... Just to post that twice proves exactly the point
In a cult like manner you have felt it necessary to join a forum you weren't a member of just to post about a vote you hadn't voted in... I've seen religious extremists with less obsession and countries with smaller pyramids.

You moan about there should be no bias, yet that's exactly what the network has done by telling distributers to vote/ get people to vote and the lack of denial of this speaks volumes . If only its was the cheapest too people may not mind but its not.

To start with I have been a member for years and followed Martin for years as he has always given goos device to people.
As for me posting twice I have never posted before and did not realise I had so you are very nice to new people on here. Thanks for the welcome.
The company have never and never would tell or advise anyone to join in any polls/ votes etc.
we are all business owners of our own business and we have the right to vote for what we agree with and what we do not.

There are 500,000 pros customers and only 40,000 distributors so the fact it is just ID's voting is also statically wrong.

There Re companies with good deals and sometimes we are not always the cheapest but at least we are honest about it no walk away from happy people knowing they are paying the best for them.
It is not us who have been and who are Bout to be fined for mis selling quotes etc.

We are proud of what we do no have the right to say so without being slated. I haven't slated you you why do you feel the need to do the same to me.
This is supposed to be a fair forum for people and you are certainly not being ethical.

Nhpus

Life's too short for bad feeling and upset all have good and bad so that's all fine

MSE_Martin

Nhpus wrote: »

I think that you are all being very harsh about Telecom Plus. I am a distributor and I haven't voted even though I am also a very happy customer that's why I joined as an ID but many of my genuine customers have. We all speak personally to our customers and that's why they know about this poll.
The only reason many customers from the other suppliers look at this website is when they are unhappy with their own suppliers / companies / banks not just utility companies.
You can't misrepresent a company just because they won't pay anyone to advertise for them.
If you post the results and leave a company off then you will have a big backlash from their customers and ID's and that is also unfair but will happen.
The company is growing so fast at the moment there will be a lot of very upset people moaning about this and this website in time if you don't keep it fair and no biased which it is supposed to be. So prove it to everyone.

Im not quite sure what your problem with what I've said it. It is without doubt that the UW vote is disproportionate due to lobbying. All we're doing is stating that. I've been very careful not to do a read across positively or negatively to UWs service, just that the vote cannot be directly compared. Do you think that's innacurate.

priestparty

This is an interesting topic, what you planned to achieve from it I am still unclear but it should remain professional and not personal.

First, Martin, you comment on price rises then ask about service, these should be separate in my opinion. Price is price.


Secondly writing 'is that an email campaign amongst its network marketers has gone out asking them to vote in the poll. ' is an attack hence the shirty replies and for someone who bases their professional opinion on fact then you should quantify this first.


Lastly, Utility Warehouse are not the cheapest for energy, but do come up better value compared to a number of suppliers.


If we could lobby against the confusing large number of tariffs, the confusing bills and bring in 4 standard tariffs across all companies then 'service' would be the only thing you could measure accurately.

whitelabel

Nhpus wrote: »

To start with I have been a member for years and followed MAartin for years as he has always given goos device to people.

It is not us who have been and who are Bout to be fined for mis selling quotes etc.

We are proud of what we do no have the right to say so without being slated. I haven't slated you you why do you feel the need to do the same to me.
This is supposed to be a fair forum for people and you are certainly not being ethical

Then why lie about being a member for years....
Your profile clearly shows when you joined....

Nhpus
MoneySaving Newbie
Join Date: 08 Oct 2013

So your only contribution to the site has been these two posts both with levels of bias.
At the moment you are not doing yourself any favours
If you had been a member for years you would know I treat people fairly, over the 9 years i have been a member and judge things on the facts presented without my own adgenda.

psmith64

Martin,

From your initial comment I think you might lose a lot of respect from people in your view as to why UW are currently topping your poll, I thought you were a professional person but now I am not quite so sure.

There is enough financial evidence out there to back up that your survey is correct.

From what I know as a shareholder in this company there are somewhere in the region of 6000 - 7000 active distributors.
for UW which accounts for just 1.3% of its 500,000 million customer base. This is hardly going to add any bias to a survey of your type.

A company does not grow at the rate it has if it is not doing something right which is clearly suggested by your current poll.

You can find the hard facts of the last five years financial information on any good financial site such as Hargreaves Lansdown

Do you really think this growth has occurred off the back of some fluke. Do you not agree this growth has occurred because what your current survey is suggesting is infact correct ?

Do you think companies such as Schroder would make a massive investment in this company for it's clients if it did not believe the many independent surveys that return similar results to that of your own.

Do you think the company would continue to grow as it has over the last six months as confirmed in the companies latest trading statement released today. Again you will find this official news release on any good financial web site. This news today has end the share price up by over 5%.

As a customer myself over the last 4 years which has given me the confidence to invest heavily in this company which has given me returns over the last year alone in the region of 55% I think I will continue to believe what your survey suggests.

This company is totally unique in what it offers and I think you should dig a little deeper and review this company properly after seeing the results of your survey.

For a start I would suggest you take a look at the credentials of Charles Wigoder who is the Chairman of the company and I think that will give you most of the answers as to why this company is not one to be overlooked.

Continuing to ignore this company is quite plainly a dis-service to your web site and all those that put faith in what you say.

I for one will not take quite so seriously what you now write as it is clear to me you do not like to report on fact. And if this is the case maybe you would like to tell us what your opinions are really based on.

As an intelligent person I think I have worked that out for myself but will leave you to ponder on that one.