Add your feedback on energy supplier Extra Energy

footyguy

zwanzig20 wrote: »

Nightmare firm. I was with them for just over 4 months last day being 7/4/15 and received my final bill yesterday 22/2/16.


They reckon I owe over £500 despite having paid monthly by direct debit roughly the same amount I have paid for the last 6 yerars in this house which has always been about right.


Having checked their bill and my previous supplier (Npower) before them, they have estimated my starting gas meter reading as 162 points lower then the final meter reading from Npower meaning they are charging me for gas used which I have already paid Npower for.


Worse, when spoken to on the phone (12 mins on hold, 18 mins conversation) they wouldn't accept anything was wrong (stated the discrepancy was 'within tolerance') and if they changed the started meter reading to one which was 162 higher then I would end up paying more. I couldn't understand this - it was queried with a manager and they stood firm. I have now raised a dispute and await the outcome - was told it could take 3 weeks.


By my calculations, if they change the starting meter reading to that which the former company used as their final meter reading I would be owed £67 ish as opposed to owing over £500.


Exasperating.


Final bill from Npower dated 26-11-14 shows final estimated gas reading of 6859 on this date.
Bill from Extra Energy shows starting Gas meter reading on 27-11-14 of 6697.


AM I going mad?

[STRIKE]These readings should be the same, irrespective of what that 'same value' actually is.

So yes, you either owe EE for 162 extra units, or you owe nPower for an extra 162 units.

Who would you prefer to pay?
Or would you prefer to keep schtum and hope they don't ever notice and keep the approx cost of those 162 units (About £50) in your pocket?

(if there is no '0' infront of those readings on your actual meter, then it sounds like you have an imperial meter and that means you owe EE or nPower about £150 instead)

This would, on the face of it, be in addition to the £500 EE say you owe them. I can't comment on the accuracy of that claim, as you have provided no details to do so.

Perhaps since you appear to have misundertood both the above, and made by your own admission a mistake in your calculation of what the £500 owed to EE should be (you initially calim you are actually owed £67, but now agree you probably do owe £200), you may want to provide full details of your complaint here for someone to double check it for you ... but that is entirely up to you [/STRIKE]

Edit: Ignore that. See good advice below by Eric Disley

Eric_Disley

footyguy wrote: »

These readings should be the same, irrespective of what that 'same value' actually is.

So yes, you either owe EE for 162 extra units, or you owe nPower for an extra 162 units.

Who would you prefer to pay?
Or would you prefer to keep schtum and hope they don't ever notice and keep the approx cost of those 162 units (About £50) in your pocket?

(if there is no '0' infront of those readings on your actual meter, then it sounds like you have an imperial meter and that means you owe EE or nPower about £150 instead)

This would, on the face of it, be in addition to the £500 EE say you owe them. I can't comment on the accuracy of that claim, as you have provided no details to do so.

Perhaps since you appear to have misundertood both the above, and made by your own admission a mistake in your calculation of what the £500 owed to EE should be (you initially calim you are actually owed £67, but now agree you probably do owe £200), you may want to provide full details of your complaint here for someone to double check it for you ... but that is entirely up to you

I think you've misunderstood the issue. EE used a start reading which was 162 units lower than the final reading used by NPower. Which would mean paying for those 162 units twice.

I'd go to the Ombudsman, it's been 8 weeks and they've not resolved the query.

footyguy

Eric_Disley wrote: »

I think you've misunderstood the issue. EE used a start reading which was 162 units lower than the final reading used by NPower. Which would mean paying for those 162 units twice.

I'd go to the Ombudsman, it's been 8 weeks and they've not resolved the query.

Whoops

Your advice is probably best.
But I do wonder why nPower have used an "estimated" final reading.
I see no evidence that EE have used any estimated start reading.

Bearing in mind any complaint to the ombudsman will take at least 3 months before they even attempt to start looking at a resolution, it might be more expeditious for zwanzig20 to attempt to clarify the situation with nPower. Perhaps they have overbilled based on an inaccurate, estimated reading?

In that time, who knows what damage may occur to zwanzig20's credit file? (since EE appear to ignore any email communication to them, in my experience)

(The other issue of whether or not the £500 demand is correct, or should only be £200, or should actually be a £67 refund, I still can't comment on as no details have been provided as to the nature of that part of the complaint)

easylife_2

Hi, I'd be really grateful for some advice re: Extra Energy.

I switched to them on 22/09/14 using the MSE switch service because their tariff appeared so good.

I set up to pay be direct debit £88pcm which was about £14 ppm better than my previous supplier. The tariff was fixed for 12 months.

I provided regular meter readings and I contacted Extra Energy at least five times during the period asking for a bill or confirmation that my DD was covering my usage. This was by telephone (service appalling) and by email. I never received a bill or response despite being told on many occasions that i would receive one 'in the next few days'. If i had known my usage was above my DD i would have increased my DD and tried to reduce usage.

The fixed tariff came to an end on 30/09/15. I received my first statement on 05/10/15 stating that i owed £450.00 above my DD. I wrote to Extra energy immediately using their formal complaint process highlighting that i had received no bill or statement during the entire 12 months despite numerous requests. i received no response to this letter.

I switched to a new, decent supplier on 13/10/15.

I thought/hoped the issue had gone away as i had not heard anything since last October, only to find on 16/04/16 Extra energy withdrew £532.00 from my account. Going back through my emails i see i received a bill from them on 06/04/16, however i hadn't spotted it as it comes from 'Customercare' which i didn't recognise.

Is there anything i can do? While i accept i may have used that energy (although given my experience of them i have no confidence their calculations are any better than their customer service) i think it is absolutely wrong that they could refuse to disclose to me (despite repeated requests) a statement which meant in effect i could not calculate how much i was spending. To then not respond to my letter and go silent for 7 months before billing me £532 and giving me 10 days notice before withdrawing the money from my account.

I can't afford to lose £532 in one hit. Is there anything i can do, grateful for any advice. I just tried to phone them today but they are closed!!

Sam

molerat

Although tardy the first bill came within an "acceptable" time frame and in accordance with their terms and conditions. They sent you a second bill, again poor but "acceptable" which you chose to ignore (the bill would also have been available on line in your account) stating when they would be taking the payment. You stated that you hoped it had gone away, not a very clever move as bills rarely go away. You also failed to cancel the direct debit. I am afraid there is not a lot you can do unless you dispute the accuracy of the bill.

You are the only one that knows accurately what energy you are using, you have meters which you can read as often as daily if you wish and there are many tools available, for free and paid for phone apps, which will accurately show the costs of what you are using. When EE messed me around I was able to dispute what they had stated telling them accurately to the penny where my account balance actually stood.

footyguy

easylife wrote: »

Hi, I'd be really grateful for some advice re: Extra Energy.

I switched to them on 22/09/14 using the MSE switch service because their tariff appeared so good.

I set up to pay be direct debit £88pcm which was about £14 ppm better than my previous supplier. The tariff was fixed for 12 months.

I provided regular meter readings and I contacted Extra Energy at least five times during the period asking for a bill or confirmation that my DD was covering my usage. This was by telephone (service appalling) and by email. I never received a bill or response despite being told on many occasions that i would receive one 'in the next few days'. If i had known my usage was above my DD i would have increased my DD and tried to reduce usage.

The fixed tariff came to an end on 30/09/15. I received my first statement on 05/10/15 stating that i owed £450.00 above my DD. I wrote to Extra energy immediately using their formal complaint process highlighting that i had received no bill or statement during the entire 12 months despite numerous requests. i received no response to this letter.

I switched to a new, decent supplier on 13/10/15.

I thought/hoped the issue had gone away as i had not heard anything since last October, only to find on 16/04/16 Extra energy withdrew £532.00 from my account. Going back through my emails i see i received a bill from them on 06/04/16, however i hadn't spotted it as it comes from 'Customercare' which i didn't recognise.

Is there anything i can do? While i accept i may have used that energy (although given my experience of them i have no confidence their calculations are any better than their customer service) i think it is absolutely wrong that they could refuse to disclose to me (despite repeated requests) a statement which meant in effect i could not calculate how much i was spending. To then not respond to my letter and go silent for 7 months before billing me £532 and giving me 10 days notice before withdrawing the money from my account.

I can't afford to lose £532 in one hit. Is there anything i can do, grateful for any advice. I just tried to phone them today but they are closed!!

Sam

When you switch supplier, the supplier will create a final bill that is due for (almost) immediate settlement.

You could try contacting them (good luck with that!) and see if they will allow a payment plan, but now you are no longer their customer, even if they do agree, don't expect it to be more than about 3 months.

Also, I hope you have revised your usage you input when you consult comparison sites - ca. £532 p.a extra consumption may well bring up totally different results. (i.e. suppliers/tariffs)

It seems you managed to get your monthly cost down from £102 to £88 by using totally wrong consumption figures. If you had used more accurate ones , your monthly cost would have been more like £132 per month which doesn't look so good compared to £102 pm you were paying. See what I mean about using innacurate consumption figures?

Edit: So you knew last October you owed £450?
Anyway, I see you've now paid the bill.
So what do you mean by "I can't afford to lose £532 in one hit" ? :huh:

easylife_2

Thanks for the advice above.

You are both correct it seems i likely did underestimate our consumption when using the comparison site. If i recall correctly i did select the option which reflected our family size, but clearly i need look at that again.

My main issue is with the level of service Extra Energy have provided. Although i guess i could have calculated the bills myself, i didn't realise the seriousness of my over consumption despite asking them on many occasions. I do have the information written down so will try and validate the bill myself, i always found it more confusing with the standing charges etc. Noting that i've already had the money withdrawn from my account, if i was to identify a significant discrepancy with the bill would i / could i ask my bank to reclaim the payment?

I accept this might be a costly learning mistake, but having reread their welcome letter it states "You have opted to pay by Direct Debit and there are advantages to paying for your energy in this way. These include the Direct Debit Guarantee, which is outlined below. Also, a Fixed Direct Debit allows you to spread your energy costs over the year. We will review your account at least once per year to ensure your payments cover your usage. We recommend that you take regular meter readings so we can base our calculations on the most accurate information available." It also states at para 3a (i) of their t&cs that "We will review your Direct Debit payment regularly to ensure your fixed payments are accurate."

They did not 1. review my account at least once during the first 12 months, 2. respond to my repeated requests for a bill/statement, 3. respond to my complaint in Oct 15.

While i accept my naivety in choosing to trust a utility company has in part led to this situation it seems to me they have not met their commitments or even a minimum acceptable level of customer service.

They have already taken the money from my account, but when i say i can't afford to lose £532 in one hit means i will be really struggling for the next few months as my monthly budget does not have the flex in it to absorb an unexpected amount of that size in one month.

Grateful for any further advice, I guess i could proceed as follows:

1. Validate bill myself, if there is a significant mistake should i contact my bank?
2. Call Extra Energy to request a refund / payment plan? Probably a waste of time given my past experience of their customer service?
3. Write to the ombudsman due to their failure to respond to my complaint letter of October 15, and their failure to regularly review my account against my DD in line with para 3a (i) of their terms and conditions.

Alternatively, i just accept it as an expensive mistake and simply advice family / friends to stay well away from this amateurish company.

Thanks again, sam

footyguy

easylife wrote: »

...
They did not ... respond to my complaint in Oct 15.
...
Grateful for any further advice, I guess i could proceed as follows:

1. Validate bill myself, if there is a significant mistake should i contact my bank?
2. Call Extra Energy to request a refund / payment plan? Probably a waste of time given my past experience of their customer service?
3. Write to the ombudsman due to their failure to respond to my complaint letter of October 15, and their failure to regularly review my account against my DD in line with para 3a (i) of their terms and conditions.
...

Regarding your numbered points:

1. If you believe the bill to be in error, then I suggest you contact the supplier in the first instance (good luck with that!)
You were presumably given advance notice before the collection of the DD - that should have alerted you to an error in the bill, if the bill you received itself had not done so at the time, and so should have been when you disputed it.
2. You can try and contract the supplier (good luck with that!), but I fear it is now far too late. You have already paid the supplier what they claimed you owed them.
I can't see them now giving what will essentially be an interest free loan - they are first and foremost an energy supplier not a credit provider.
(Of course, if you are successful in (1) above, then a refund should then be forthcoming)
3. Yes if you wish to pursue the complaint made last October, you should act immediately. You could have gone to the ombudsman after just 8 weeks of making your complaint.
If you do not go within 9 months of making that original complaint, the ombudsman will not entertain your complaint.

(The ombudsman will only entertain a complaint, or component thereof, that you have previously graced the supplier with)

zwanzig20

footyguy wrote: »

Whoops

Your advice is probably best.
But I do wonder why nPower have used an "estimated" final reading.
I see no evidence that EE have used any estimated start reading.

Bearing in mind any complaint to the ombudsman will take at least 3 months before they even attempt to start looking at a resolution, it might be more expeditious for zwanzig20 to attempt to clarify the situation with nPower. Perhaps they have overbilled based on an inaccurate, estimated reading?

In that time, who knows what damage may occur to zwanzig20's credit file? (since EE appear to ignore any email communication to them, in my experience)

(The other issue of whether or not the £500 demand is correct, or should only be £200, or should actually be a £67 refund, I still can't comment on as no details have been provided as to the nature of that part of the complaint)

Thanks to both for your replies.


I must admit having always switched seamlessly before encountering Extra Energy I was ignorant of the importance of checking and giving meter readings, and how bills are actually worked out hence my initially <incorrect> assumption that I was owed money.


I did contact my previous supplier Npower as soon as this issue arose and they were a breath of fresh air - call answered within minutes and a call handler that was informative and efficient. Yes they used a estimated meter read of 6859 to close their account on 26.11.14 BUT they had an actual reading of 6837 just 9 days earlier on 17.11.14 which points to their estimated meter reading being correct and not Extra Energy's starting estimate. It should not be too difficult for the 2 firms to communicate and agree a figure! This was pointed out to Extra Energy to no avail.




Regarding the bill, Extra Energy have used start and finish reads of 6697 (estimated according to their bill) and an actual read of 7318 = 621 cubic foot (my meter is imperial).


x 2.83 to convert in cubic metre
x 39.2 (calorific value)
x 1.02264 (meter correction value)
divided by 3.6 to convert into KWH.


= 19569.7 KWH @ 3.132p per KWH = £612.95
plus standing charge of £22.70.


This gives a bill (once electricity and other fees are added) of £927.77. Minus payments already made of £436 = a balance of £491.77


If I use the Npower closing metre read as a starting point that works out as 459 cubic foot. Using the above calculations, that works out as 14464.6 KWH @ 3.132 per KWH = £450.72, £162.23 less leaving a balance to be paid of £329.55 I think !!


Which I will happily do on receipt of a correct bill. Or maybe I should just pay that amount anyway. I have had no communication from Extra Energy despite promises, not even a threatening letter following their unsuccessful attempt to take payment.

molerat

Just fired off my complaint for my 42p refund