Can I change supplier if I have not had a Bill for 5 mths?

applepad

I am with First Utility and at first all was well, I submitted my meter readings and I got an email with my bill. Then still submitting my readings no email but my bill was online for me to see.

But since Nov I have not had a bill, my fix finished 31/12 and I signed up for another fix for 15 mths I think.

I have rung them 5 or 6 times since Jan asking where my bill is, be fobbed off saying I would be emailed my bill, only to be told a few weeks later it was impossible for anyone to do this as a bill had not been generated.

Anyhow rung today to complain and they say they are going to ring me Thurs.

Thinking of switching as I need to see my monthley bills so I can budget. But is this a good idea? They say they can calculate my bill from Nov to now but not give me a monthly breakdown, which is what I really want.

Can I ask for compensation? Spent 42 mins on phone to them today, 15 mins before I even got to speak to anyone!

footyguy

applepad wrote: »

I am with First Utility and at first all was well, I submitted my meter readings and I got an email with my bill. Then still submitting my readings no email but my bill was online for me to see.

But since Nov I have not had a bill, my fix finished 31/12 and I signed up for another fix for 15 mths I think.

I have rung them 5 or 6 times since Jan asking where my bill is, be fobbed off saying I would be emailed my bill, only to be told a few weeks later it was impossible for anyone to do this as a bill had not been generated.

Anyhow rung today to complain and they say they are going to ring me Thurs.

Thinking of switching as I need to see my monthley bills so I can budget. But is this a good idea? They say they can calculate my bill from Nov to now but not give me a monthly breakdown, which is what I really want.

Can I ask for compensation? Spent 42 mins on phone to them today, 15 mins before I even got to speak to anyone!

Yes you can switch supplier if that is what you want to do.

Usually the only reason you cannot switch is if a supplier has billed you and you haven't paid the amount so demanded (needs to be quite sizeable too.)

I think there is a £30 per fuel early exit fee with First Utility with the traiff you chose ... but I'm sure you can check that before making any final decisions

matelodave

What is stopping you read your own meter and working out how much it's going to cost you so you can budget for it.

It's not hard, it's not advanced maths, all it requires you to do is read your own meter and do a couple of sums. If you do it once a month then you'll have your own monthly breakdown of consumption & costs.

I'm with FU and haven't had a bill, nor has the online account system worked since I joined them on 4th November 2013. They are collecting my money and it's being recorded by them. I am recording my consumption myself and sending them a monthly reading by E-mail (although I'm not sure what they do with it). I know how much I owe (£8.72p at the moment) and I can work out what I estimate they'll owe me at the end of next month and every month until my contract runs out next April (when I expect to be about £25 in credit - depending how severe next winter is). That's when I shall start getting annoyed with them if I decide I want to move and they haven't sorted it out by then.

undaunted

If there is no unpaid bill (unpaid for 28 days) & no other contractual bar then there's no reason you can't switch supplier if that's what you want to do.

If the budgeting is all that's really bothering you however and they can give you the 5 months figure wouldn't simply dividing it by 5 be enough to give you an average for budget purposes?

Are you paying anything at the moment - if not have you set it aside? If not and you do intend switching you may not want to push them for the bill before switching or they'll just block your switch if you can't pay.

applepad

matelodave wrote: »

What is stopping you read your own meter and working out how much it's going to cost you so you can budget for it.

It's not hard, it's not advanced maths, all it requires you to do is read your own meter and do a couple of sums. If you do it once a month then you'll have your own monthly breakdown of consumption & costs.

That's fine to do from now on, but I can't go back in time and see how much I used in Dec.

At the end of the day I'm not happy with the service I am getting, one of the reasons I went with FU in the first place is because I would get monthly bills, and they are not providing me with the service they promised.

The other problem is I am disabled, and on a lot of medication, which means my brain does not often work as it should. As part of my payment to them I expect them to provide me with a bill every month, so I can see in black and white what I owe. I do not go to the supermarket and add the bill up myself!

matelodave

applepad wrote: »

matelodave wrote: »

What is stopping you read your own meter and working out how much it's going to cost you so you can budget for it.

It's not hard, it's not advanced maths, all it requires you to do is read your own meter and do a couple of sums. If you do it once a month then you'll have your own monthly breakdown of consumption & costs.

That's fine to do from now on, but I can't go back in time and see how much I used in Dec.

At the end of the day I'm not happy with the service I am getting, one of the reasons I went with FU in the first place is because I would get monthly bills, and they are not providing me with the service they promised.

The other problem is I am disabled, and on a lot of medication, which means my brain does not often work as it should. As part of my payment to them I expect them to provide me with a bill every month, so I can see in black and white what I owe. I do not go to the supermarket and add the bill up myself!

So you wouldn't be able to budget in the supermarket either or know whether you were being overcharged in there either:(.
All you've got to do is find out what the reading was on the last bill you had, read the meter, take one from the other and "voila" you have the amount that you've consumed between then and now. You can then work out how much it's cost you since then. Why is it so difficult?

Avasgrandad

I am also with First Utility and they are not taking my direct debit each month so the most important question for most of us is: When First Utility finally get there act together, will they take the money in one lump or spread the payments. Try asking that and you are met with silence.

matelodave

If they aren't taking the money then I suggest you work out how much you should be paying and put the money aside ready for the day that they do ask for it.
If the DD isn't being taken then you've still got the money in your account so there'd be no excuse for not having it available when the bill does finally come in.

John-Sheffield

I've had the same problem, I've been with First Utility for over 18 months. All was well for the first year, I receive an e-mail requesting my meter readings and I submit them.Then receive my bill the following month.


I pay via monthly variable direct debit and up until November 2013 this worked well, paying only for the fuel used that month.


I've not had a bill from them since November 2013, I've been making interim payments (based on the previous years usage) since then so I don't get landed with a large bill.


However I've had the same problem, I was promised on the 14th March via e-mail that I would receive my bill within 28 days.
Still nothing received.


Should I complain to the energy ombudsman ?
Any suggestions would be appreciated.

footyguy

John-Sheffield wrote: »

I've had the same problem, I've been with First Utility for over 18 months. All was well for the first year, I receive an e-mail requesting my meter readings and I submit them.Then receive my bill the following month.


I pay via monthly variable direct debit and up until November 2013 this worked well, paying only for the fuel used that month.


I've not had a bill from them since November 2013, I've been making interim payments (based on the previous years usage) since then so I don't get landed with a large bill.


However I've had the same problem, I was promised on the 14th March via e-mail that I would receive my bill within 28 days.
Still nothing received.


Should I complain to the energy ombudsman ?
Any suggestions would be appreciated.

What happened when you phoned FU on 12 April to query where your bill they promised you was??? :huh:

No point going to the ombudsman. He won't be interested until at least 8 weeks after you submit a formal complaint to the supplier (or the supplier gives you a deadlock letter) ... and so far I guess you've not even started.