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Utility Warehouse and outstanding debt?
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I was convinced to sign up to Utility Warehouse almost a year ago. The presentation was rather convincing and there was plenty of suggestion about how much money I could save. Seemingly I made the wrong decision.
Utility Warehouse took over my phone, broadband, electric and gas. At the first month, when I wanted their cash back card, I was told I needed to have paid my bill in full for 3 consecutive months. Before the phone call, I had the idea to pay the UW bill with the cash back card, but during a phone call, it was explained that I could not. Further, the cash back from particular shops were from shops I didn't usually use.
After a few months, the bill at the end of the month was higher than I could afford to pay, so I paid what I could, however with the limited income I had, I simply couldn't ever pay the whole bill.
UW decided to suspend my phone (outgoing calls and internet use). This forced my to rely on my PAYG mobile phone which effectively forced me to spend much more on my mobile than I would but also caused me to pay more to a mobile phone service provider than I could afford and thus less to UW to reduce the debt.
Toward the end of a month, I offered to pay just over half the outstanding balance and I asked them to put my internet and phone back on. The response was they could do but my phone and internet would be suspended at the end of the month because the bill was not paid in full. As I could not afford to pay all of the bill then or at the start of the new month, I saw little option but to end the internet and phone service with UW. UW claimed that I had to pay £70 early termination of contract. I explained that I wasn't getting what I had been paying for and as they suspended my services, there wasn't a contract. I was paying the bill, just not as quickly as they wanted.
I signed up with another service provider for phone and internet.
The UW bill arrived at the end of the month. As I was no longer a UW customer, I was expected to phone an 0845 number and pay to resolve any problems. The bill was a combined bill, so I refused to pay anything. I agreed with paying gas and electric only but the telephone and internet bill was disputed on 2 fronts. I was being asked to pay the early termination of contract fee and I was still being charged for telephone and internet service. I also saw a "legal" charge added to the bill. This has been the case for a few months. I sent an email asking for bills to be separated out so I could pay towards the gas and electric. It seems that the email was ignored, quiet possibly because they want me to phone them.
A few months ago, I got a letter threatening to cut my electricity and gas off. I made the decision to move to another utility provider and applied. A few months later, I appeared to be joined with one...but...
At about that time, one of UW representatives, attended my property. They described them self as a warrant officer. They explained that I had to pay the bill in full or accept pre payment meters being installed. I explained that I was moving to another energy provider. They asserted that I could not move with an outstanding bill. In conversation with UW, it appears that I need to get them to "release" me to another energy provider and they would not if I had an outstanding balance. I explained to the Warrant that I needed some time to gather information and get advice because I didn't want to be "married" to an organisation who threatened to cut my electric and gas off just before Winter. The warrant was mildly aggressive and seemed to feel that the only option I had was to accept the pre payment meters and if I did not, they would get a Court order to break into my property and fit them. I am then responsable for the additional costs of obtaining a Court Order and work to break into my property.
In any event, I asked UW to fit these pre pay meters... now it seems that the outstanding money is taken via the key/card meter. My first top up was £20...to see how long it lasted me. The meter took £10 of that. I panic borrowed £10 to have enough gas to last (hopefully) a week. The next week, I was down to £2, so I put £10 on...the meter tells me £7 for the debt and £3 for gas....WHAT??? The £10 was meant to last me almost a week... it's almost all the money I have. So I borrowed more money and pit a quid on the meter... 10p for debt and 90p for gas. The last 2 days I have been topping up a quid at a time, though the whole quid is going for gas. I admit that it takes me half a day to get £5 on the meter but I can't afford to top up more because I loose to much.
The above is just the gas meter. I have no idea how the electric meter works. I just put a tenner on and it went on no problem.
The problem I have is, I need the gas to function because it provides hot water for bathing and washing dishes. I need the electric to function to power the gas boiler. I have gas central heating, but I use it for 2 hours a day. Rest of the day the house is cold and people wear jumpers and coats.
I consulted a debt advice company. Seems if I had stayed with Southern Electric, me having the finantial difficulty I have, there is a way for my bill to be financially managed in a way that I am not without gas or electric. Seemingly with help to pay the arrears and help to pay for the energy I use. There does not seem to be this offer of assistance from Utility Warehouse. This really makes me want to leave UW, but having debt with them prevents me leaving and keeps me using their services.
During the time I was trying to leave UW, one of the other energy providers said that if UW did not release me, I could complain to an ombudsman (which one I am not sure).
So, my questions are as follows. Can I leave UW and how best to progress this move?
I obviously don't want to keep topping up by a quid at a time and spend half a day getting a fiver on the meter, but there is no prospect of me making my life easier if I am to keep the money I pay for my use. Is there a way that I can terminate the payment of the debt via the prepay meter or at least stall it till the summer.
I am that annoyed at Utility Warehouse at the moment that I am considering moving home and then not keeping them as energy providers and then pay them their arrears at £1 a month just to annoy them. Their decision to impose discomfort due to lack of electric/heating is, in my opinion most insensitive. I expect they will argue the same back to me. However if they bothered to send me individual bills so I could pay something (while I can) I am unlikely to have this problem.
I am not opposed to paying the bills and if I had the finantial means, I would willingly pay. I have had a set of unforeseen circumstances which are set to continue for another 6 months, where after my situation should improve. There is a realization that I will be catching up with finantial past, which I do anticipate. I obviously can't guarantee anything in the future, but foreseeable, the finantial problem is not destined to last. This notion seems unacceptable to Utility Warehouse.
Has anyone else witnessed a similar problem?
Thanks.
Utility Warehouse took over my phone, broadband, electric and gas. At the first month, when I wanted their cash back card, I was told I needed to have paid my bill in full for 3 consecutive months. Before the phone call, I had the idea to pay the UW bill with the cash back card, but during a phone call, it was explained that I could not. Further, the cash back from particular shops were from shops I didn't usually use.
After a few months, the bill at the end of the month was higher than I could afford to pay, so I paid what I could, however with the limited income I had, I simply couldn't ever pay the whole bill.
UW decided to suspend my phone (outgoing calls and internet use). This forced my to rely on my PAYG mobile phone which effectively forced me to spend much more on my mobile than I would but also caused me to pay more to a mobile phone service provider than I could afford and thus less to UW to reduce the debt.
Toward the end of a month, I offered to pay just over half the outstanding balance and I asked them to put my internet and phone back on. The response was they could do but my phone and internet would be suspended at the end of the month because the bill was not paid in full. As I could not afford to pay all of the bill then or at the start of the new month, I saw little option but to end the internet and phone service with UW. UW claimed that I had to pay £70 early termination of contract. I explained that I wasn't getting what I had been paying for and as they suspended my services, there wasn't a contract. I was paying the bill, just not as quickly as they wanted.
I signed up with another service provider for phone and internet.
The UW bill arrived at the end of the month. As I was no longer a UW customer, I was expected to phone an 0845 number and pay to resolve any problems. The bill was a combined bill, so I refused to pay anything. I agreed with paying gas and electric only but the telephone and internet bill was disputed on 2 fronts. I was being asked to pay the early termination of contract fee and I was still being charged for telephone and internet service. I also saw a "legal" charge added to the bill. This has been the case for a few months. I sent an email asking for bills to be separated out so I could pay towards the gas and electric. It seems that the email was ignored, quiet possibly because they want me to phone them.
A few months ago, I got a letter threatening to cut my electricity and gas off. I made the decision to move to another utility provider and applied. A few months later, I appeared to be joined with one...but...
At about that time, one of UW representatives, attended my property. They described them self as a warrant officer. They explained that I had to pay the bill in full or accept pre payment meters being installed. I explained that I was moving to another energy provider. They asserted that I could not move with an outstanding bill. In conversation with UW, it appears that I need to get them to "release" me to another energy provider and they would not if I had an outstanding balance. I explained to the Warrant that I needed some time to gather information and get advice because I didn't want to be "married" to an organisation who threatened to cut my electric and gas off just before Winter. The warrant was mildly aggressive and seemed to feel that the only option I had was to accept the pre payment meters and if I did not, they would get a Court order to break into my property and fit them. I am then responsable for the additional costs of obtaining a Court Order and work to break into my property.
In any event, I asked UW to fit these pre pay meters... now it seems that the outstanding money is taken via the key/card meter. My first top up was £20...to see how long it lasted me. The meter took £10 of that. I panic borrowed £10 to have enough gas to last (hopefully) a week. The next week, I was down to £2, so I put £10 on...the meter tells me £7 for the debt and £3 for gas....WHAT??? The £10 was meant to last me almost a week... it's almost all the money I have. So I borrowed more money and pit a quid on the meter... 10p for debt and 90p for gas. The last 2 days I have been topping up a quid at a time, though the whole quid is going for gas. I admit that it takes me half a day to get £5 on the meter but I can't afford to top up more because I loose to much.
The above is just the gas meter. I have no idea how the electric meter works. I just put a tenner on and it went on no problem.
The problem I have is, I need the gas to function because it provides hot water for bathing and washing dishes. I need the electric to function to power the gas boiler. I have gas central heating, but I use it for 2 hours a day. Rest of the day the house is cold and people wear jumpers and coats.
I consulted a debt advice company. Seems if I had stayed with Southern Electric, me having the finantial difficulty I have, there is a way for my bill to be financially managed in a way that I am not without gas or electric. Seemingly with help to pay the arrears and help to pay for the energy I use. There does not seem to be this offer of assistance from Utility Warehouse. This really makes me want to leave UW, but having debt with them prevents me leaving and keeps me using their services.
During the time I was trying to leave UW, one of the other energy providers said that if UW did not release me, I could complain to an ombudsman (which one I am not sure).
So, my questions are as follows. Can I leave UW and how best to progress this move?
I obviously don't want to keep topping up by a quid at a time and spend half a day getting a fiver on the meter, but there is no prospect of me making my life easier if I am to keep the money I pay for my use. Is there a way that I can terminate the payment of the debt via the prepay meter or at least stall it till the summer.
I am that annoyed at Utility Warehouse at the moment that I am considering moving home and then not keeping them as energy providers and then pay them their arrears at £1 a month just to annoy them. Their decision to impose discomfort due to lack of electric/heating is, in my opinion most insensitive. I expect they will argue the same back to me. However if they bothered to send me individual bills so I could pay something (while I can) I am unlikely to have this problem.
I am not opposed to paying the bills and if I had the finantial means, I would willingly pay. I have had a set of unforeseen circumstances which are set to continue for another 6 months, where after my situation should improve. There is a realization that I will be catching up with finantial past, which I do anticipate. I obviously can't guarantee anything in the future, but foreseeable, the finantial problem is not destined to last. This notion seems unacceptable to Utility Warehouse.
Has anyone else witnessed a similar problem?
Thanks.
0
Comments
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Has anyone else witnessed a similar problem?
Thanks.
Yes.
Anyone with any gas/electric company that DIDN'T PAY THEIR BILL.
I understand money gets hard up sometimes - but this is not their fault. Your post is a mass of 'they did this and they did that'
Perhaps you should look towards the fact you didn't pay your bill so its your own fault...
If you cancelled internet with any company when in a year contract their would be an early cancellation charge - if you don't pay your bill then yes you get cut off...that doesn't make it ok that you didn't pay your bill or get you out of the contract or we'd all be going round getting free iphones on contracts and not paying etc.
If you were running a business and provided a service surely you would expect to be paid?People don't know what they want until you show them.0 -
Kayalana99 wrote: »Yes.
Anyone with any gas/electric company that DIDN'T PAY THEIR BILL.
I understand money gets hard up sometimes - but this is not their fault. Your post is a mass of 'they did this and they did that'
Perhaps you should look towards the fact you didn't pay your bill so its your own fault...
If you cancelled internet with any company when in a year contract their would be an early cancellation charge - if you don't pay your bill then yes you get cut off...
I would have paid the bills that I agreed with. I wasn't going to pay money to them only for them to pay something I did not agree with then be left to pay the rest of the bill which I accept liability for.
They cut the service. I agree that they may, but if they cut the service, the can't reasonably continue to keep charging me for a service I am not getting. As I was reliant on the service, I saw little other option but to change providers. Coincidently, I have not used Utility Warehouse for some 5 months for phone and internet but I still get a bill asking me to pay for their phone and internet.
My finantial situation is difficult due to my personal situation and my personal situation cannot get resolved for another 6 months. Unfortunately, my personal situation has been influenced by factors well beyond my control, but there is an end in sight.
I am not accusing Utility Warehouse of influencing my finantial or personal situation. I am however distinctly disgruntled that they want to aggravate my personal situation. If the inconvenience was confined to me only, I can live with that, but the energy provider's actions is also influencing others and this unfairly.
It also seems a bit on the wrong side that some energy providers make provision for people experiencing difficult times but others do not. Those that do not also prevent escape.0 -
We are not supposed to discuss UW outside of the special thread for this company; however your points are not UW specific and as indicated in the post above would apply to any company.
Firstly you cannot move gas and electricity supplier if you have a large debt; the losing company can, and will, stop the switch.
On the rest, you have simply broken your contract for phone and internet and the company are playing 'hard ball' - perhaps understandably.
As you have explained the situation, I cannot see what grounds you would have to make a complaint.
Sorry to appear unsympathetic, but your financial situation is not the fault of UW.0 -
ooops. Apologies. I guess I should have read forum rules before posting. I didn't realise that I should confine my issue to a dedicated thread of posts.
Thanks for the correction and response.0 -
ooops. Apologies. I guess I should have read forum rules before posting. I didn't realise that I should confine my issue to a dedicated thread of posts.
Thanks for the correction and response.
It is only UW that have this rule applied - read Martin's first post on the thread for the explanation.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/24735470 -
Thanks for that.0
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