Add your feedback on energy supplier Extra Energy

applicationcen

ukpdb111 wrote: »

Same above happened to me, I quoted the Ombudsman and Credit Style said they had referred my debt back to Extra Energy.

Shortly after I received a letter from hlw Keeble Hawson solicitors in which they said one of the options was to send an agent round to my property to address my debt. I rang the number in the letter and and Credit Style answered.

I did say to the Ombudsman that I really did not want bailiffs turning up- and you have experienced exactly what gives me nightmares!

Ofgem said I should start another complaint through EE's system and initiate a second Ombudsman complaint if EE fail to apologize and cease the action. They also want to see evidence of EE's failures.

AndyE3000

Hello

Would like a brief and to the point bit of advice about how to deal with Extra Energy. I thought I had settled this account earlier on in the year after I informed them I had moved out of the property and paid the last small credit on the account. They've recently been contacting me about an outstanding bill for months when I wasn't in the property and I was assured by an agent that this was a fault and the account is closed. But I keep being contacted by CRS about a large sum I owe to Extra Energy, 10 months down the line and after my account was closed.

I've no idea how to stop CRS contacting me. They have asked for my tenancy agreement to prove that I had left the property when I said I do not have it.

Extra Energy are without doubt the worst customer service I have ever dealt with. I feel sick when I have to ring them all the time going over the same procedures.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Andy

hra_2

AndyE3000 wrote: »

I've no idea how to stop CRS contacting me. They have asked for my tenancy agreement to prove that I had left the property when I said I do not have it.

If you explicitly closed your account and they confirmed the account was closed, the more proof you have of this the better. Did you ever have a final bill and was it correct?

There must have been some calculation of the small amount of credit you were owed, and possibly a charge for exit fees if you were on a fixed term contract. There certainly should be some invoice or bill for the amount they now claim is outstanding.

applicationcen

AndyE3000 wrote: »

Hello

Would like a brief and to the point bit of advice about how to deal with Extra Energy. ,,,
Extra Energy are without doubt the worst customer service I have ever dealt with. I feel sick when I have to ring them all the time going over the same procedures.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Andy

Do you have a record of the initial date that you made your first complaint to EE about this issue?If not I would recommend you state the date of the first telephone call as your date of original complaint. As this is over 10 months you exceed the 8 week minimum requirement, as they will have a record of that call. They may claim otherwise but they are widely recognised as highly questionable ethically, and the Ombudsman will apply common sense to your purpose. You must open a complaint with the Ombudsman. EE willfully ignore common sense so simply compile a complaint within the terms required by the Ombudsman and set that in motion. As your file had appears to have been passed to a debt collection agent and or solicitors it is highly likely that they have made negative reference on your credit files - so your complaint needs to require an apology and for the credit file to be cleared. Ombudsman is free and they are good at showing you how to proceed.

Mshi86

It's quite simple with EE ... simply dangerous

The reality is that they give you a super one year rate. In fact, they hardly make a profit on that deal.

What they want you to do is forget about termination notice date. Their policy is about 180 days in advance, which seems very inappropriate, and most people forget

When you do forget even by one day, you are locked in a new rate which is most likely double the price.

Thats where they make their money

Their policy has slightly changed now, but when its too cheap, it means there has to be a catch

I believe they operate under a new company called utility professional. Research needed there.

Few tips. Where ever you go for your bills

People really worry to much about the standing charge, the focus should be more on unit rate. If you are an extremely low user like a garage or a storage then theres no point paying standing charge.

E.g 10p standing charge is 36.50£ pound a year . Multiply the standing charge by 365 to give you annual figure. Or divide it by 12 after to give you monthly figure, in this case its 3£ a month

Always buy your gas and electricity in advance. Best time to shop is summer as prices are low then. Low demand. In uk we tend to use more electric in winter and a lot more gas. Therefore, there's a high demand on limited stock, then the prices go up. You can shop whilst you are in contract, some allow you to shop 6 months before your contract is due to end

Finally... always look out for your contract end date.

Book early and save later. Happy new year

I-LOV-MONEY

Mshi86 wrote: »

Always buy your gas and electricity in advance. Best time to shop is summer as prices are low then. Low demand. In uk we tend to use more electric in winter and a lot more gas. Therefore, there's a high demand on limited stock, then the prices go up. You can shop whilst you are in contract, some allow you to shop 6 months before your contract is due to end

Are you suggesting that we should change contracts in the summer, or go to a electricity / gas company and 'buy' their electric / gas in advance ?

Mshi86

Lets say your contract is due to end December 2016.

The best time to shop around is may or june or july 16

Once you find your deal, whether its the same company or not, you can reserve or enter a new contract. So when your contract finishes in dec 16 you will automatically be put in a new contract as you have signed it in may june july

Also. If i was a supplier and i gave you all the chance in the world to shop around, you come to me very close to your end date, i would charge you high price as i can see you are a last min person and desprate.

If you come to me in advance, then i be happy to give you a cheaper option as i can make more money on the people that come last min. Thats how they think

So what happens if your end date is not december.... if your contract ends in may... you can shop 6 months in advance or up to a year depending what company you are currently with. So.. give your self a chance to view the market in advance, call them all up, you will notice a pattern in the drop in prices is March, thats when you should buy or reserve

I always say 2 year deals are better than one. I also say 2 year deals might be slightly abit higher than a 1 year. Maybe by half a penny. But the best thing is that you are secured for 2 years fixed.

We all see the oil drop from 100 usd to 50 usd. We all see the natural disasters and political issues around the world. We all see draught. We all see recession and lack of economic growth. All this effects the prices of gas and electricity.

So if you are in a one year deal paying 10p. Next year it could go up to 12p. But if you was in a 10.5 or 11p but on a 2 year deal, then u are saving your self from the inflation. It's better to think long term.

One good example to show how suppliers work is by looking at any farm that grows fruit or veg .
When you buy strawberry in season it is much cheaper than if it was not in season. This is because it becomes a demand. This is the same with the gas and electric. Buy early and buy anytime but not winter as thats the high season.

I mostly understand commercial energy bill side of things more as these little half pennies can effect alot on business . But i use the same principle to my house

So yes i am suggesting to buy in advance


:j

System

Mshi86 wrote: »

Lets say your contract is due to end December 2016.

The best time to shop around is may or june or july 16

Once you find your deal, whether its the same company or not, you can reserve or enter a new contract. So when your contract finishes in dec 16 you will automatically be put in a new contract as you have signed it in may june july

Also. If i was a supplier and i gave you all the chance in the world to shop around, you come to me very close to your end date, i would charge you high price as i can see you are a last min person and desprate.

If you come to me in advance, then i be happy to give you a cheaper option as i can make more money on the people that come last min. Thats how they think

So what happens if your end date is not december.... if your contract ends in may... you can shop 6 months in advance or up to a year depending what company you are currently with. So.. give your self a chance to view the market in advance, call them all up, you will notice a pattern in the drop in prices is March, thats when you should buy or reserve

I always say 2 year deals are better than one. I also say 2 year deals might be slightly abit higher than a 1 year. Maybe by half a penny. But the best thing is that you are secured for 2 years fixed.

We all see the oil drop from 100 usd to 50 usd. We all see the natural disasters and political issues around the world. We all see draught. We all see recession and lack of economic growth. All this effects the prices of gas and electricity.

So if you are in a one year deal paying 10p. Next year it could go up to 12p. But if you was in a 10.5 or 11p but on a 2 year deal, then u are saving your self from the inflation. It's better to think long term.

One good example to show how suppliers work is by looking at any farm that grows fruit or veg .
When you buy strawberry in season it is much cheaper than if it was not in season. This is because it becomes a demand. This is the same with the gas and electric. Buy early and buy anytime but not winter as thats the high season.

I mostly understand commercial energy bill side of things more as these little half pennies can effect alot on business . But i use the same principle to my house

So yes i am suggesting to buy in advance


:j

How exactly do domestic consumers 'buy in advance'? To my knowledge, there is no way that I can take out a contract in the summer with supply starting later in the year. An example of how you have achieved this for a domestic energy supply would be helpful to MSERs.

Mshi86

Each supplier has its own terms.

The big 6 usually give you two months in advance upon till your contract end day for domestic

Smaller suppliers has different terms some longer.

Always try to get your end date close to the summer, even if it means you sign up for 18 month contract . I would only do this to align your end dates towards the summer.

Always buy when the demand is low which is summer and abit of spring

For commercial energy some suppliers allow you to renew upto a year in advance. And that is British gas .

As for you... sign up for a 18 month contract and make sure it ends around the summer time then keep an eye out 2 months before your end date and shop around. There you have killed 2 birds with one stone. One is that your contract ends when the demand is low (spring summer) and two is that you have 2 months to find the best deal with any other supplier which again have low prices too due to demand.

:j

I-LOV-MONEY

Mshi86 wrote: »

Lets say your contract is due to end December 2016.

The best time to shop around is may or june or july 16

Once you find your deal, whether its the same company or not, you can reserve or enter a new contract. So when your contract finishes in dec 16 you will automatically be put in a new contract as you have signed it in may june july

All very well, if it is possible to sign a contract 6 months ahead of the date you want to change. However, in the interim, to use your example, September / October another company may come up with a better deal. You are presumably stuck with the contract you agreed on.