isupply refund/DD reduction offer - is this the best I can get?

GrouchoMinx

Hi Moneysavers,

Since I switched to iSupply I've contested the level of the DD payment, my account currently is £305+ in credit and, ideally, I would like all of this back and my DD reduced to reflect approximately my level of usage which is low.

Should I accept this latest offer from them or not? Any comments/advice would be gratefully received.

I'm disappointed in the length of time and the way this has been handled, but I'm thinking that pragmatically I might have to accept this offer as going through their complaints procedure/ombudsman/OfGem and/or small claims court/suspending DD payments is likely to be even more long-winded and time-consuming ... any thoughts?

06/01/14
Hi, my account is not yet active ... I have an issue with the level to which you have set my direct debit payment - hope to hear from you soon about that.

13/05/14
Please can you refund the money you are holding on my account.
I would also like you to adjust the level of my direct debit payments downwards.
I am a low user of electricity and currently on benefits so I would appreciate your swift attention to this matter.

15/05/14
Thank you for your recent message.
Please be advised that as a company we do not issue any midterm refunds.
Using the credit on your account we can decrease your payments to £67.00 a month, this is with effect from the 1st June 2014.
If you are happy for us to amend your payments to this amount, then please send us a message back by the 23rd May 2014 confirming this.
If you have any other questions or queries please do not hesitate to contact us.

23/07/14
I am now over £300 in credit.

When I asked you last time to refund this overpayment your reply was

''Please be advised that as a company we do not issue any midterm refunds.''

I believe that most of the large suppliers (British Gas, NPower, Eon, etc) issue refunds when a customer is in credit as, under condition 27 of the Gas Supply Licence which states credits must be refunded and direct debits fair, they are bound to do so.

Self-evidently the level of the direct debit you have set is not fair as (even after the winter payment) I am £300 plus in credit.

So, once again, I am asking you nicely to review the situation, refund my overpayment, reduce my direct debit to a realistic level or give me a full and proper explanation of your reasons for refusal.

08/08/14
Thank you for your recent message and apologies for the delay in us responding to you.

As per our last message we do not offer any refunds on credit mid contract, this is because we are a small supplier and this decision has come from our Managing Director, also it is best to have a credit rather than a deficit on an account.

I have spoken to my manager and as you have a large credit on your account, we can refund half of the credit on your

account of £150.00 and keep the rest on your account as a buffer for the winter months.

Please can you message us back with your decision?

Kind regards


10/08/14
Thank you for your offer.

I really don't accept your explanation which seems to amount to you preferring to keep my money as you don't trust me to honour my obligation to pay my bill in the highly unlikely event that some time in the future I might start using much more electric than currently, which I find fairly insulting.

However, as a gesture of goodwill, I will try to compromise.

I don't think it reasonable that you should hold any more than £100 of my overpaid money on account. You have record of my winter use and have no justifiable reason to allow the excess to rise above that level.

I will therefore accept immediate refund of held money above £100.

You should also adjust the direct debit amount accordingly as the level is too high.


29/08/14
Thank you for contacting us regarding your account status.

I have calculated your direct debit with the meter readings we have from February and July, the amount you should be

paying per month is £18.00.

We can process the refund of £150 and change the next 4 direct debit payments to £0.00 to be taken away from the

remaining credit on your account.

I understand your request for a refund as you have a credit on your account, however, it does state in your terms and conditions any credit will be used to reduce your monthly payments. Then any credit left will be refund at the end of your contractual agreement.

Please reply back to this message confirming you are happy for iSupply Energy to process a refund of £150.00 and

reduce your next four payments to £0.00.

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

I think their email dated 8th August was reasonable (notwithstanding the awful English throughout).

To try and manufacture a situation where you have no credit built up before winter is unlikely to be accepted by many energy companies.

Did you enter accurate KWh consumption figures when you switched? If so, I fail to see (barring genuine error) how the DD can be too high? Certainly, £300 isn't that outlandish a figure to be in credit for just as we enter September.

I personally would have taken the £150 credit, and then waited until I'd been there a full year to assess, but that's just me. If you want to force them, you'll have to read the contract carefully - if they say they don't refund credit balances mid contract there's very little you can do.

SueP19

I am going through the same problem

My electric is a consistent even usage despite winter

I joined in Feb 2014 for one year fixed

On 20th October was told that it was in my contract "no refunds" When I asked them to tell the clause that said that I was ignored not once but 4 times, eventually resulting in more calls to strainghten it all out

It does however Birdman say in their FAQ's how they have a duty to monitor your account to ensure large overpayment is not ran up !!!! Obviously they are not doing that

A refund to the value of my last statement was agreed on 27th October, leaving a substantial deposit for supposed extra winter usage.........................not got it yet, apparently this is due to technical difficulties on paying refunds

During my time on the phone with them the odd customer service rep has been nice but the rest are RUDE, NASTY, OBNOXIOUS, TWIST WHAT YOU SAY AND LIARS

You have my sympathy GrouchoMinx
Sue x