MSE News: First Utility faces customer backlash as complaints double

Pippox

Just read most of this forum

Utter MUPPETRY

AVOID AVOID AVOID

Can you tell I'm annoyed with them?

Wasting time effort and honest folks belief in their shabby promises. I really wish I had avoided uSwitch now!

That's where it started......hmmmm

matelodave

Not my experience, a shaky start getting the initial billing sorted out but I have just got my tariff changed correctly, sorted out a reduction in my direct debt and received my £200 overpayment back. Bills are all in line as well.

grimsalve

I've been an FU customer for a couple of years, I've never had a problem with them... until a couple of months ago. My fixed tariff (fixed until April 2015) was coming to an end so I asked to switch to the latest one (fixed until April 2016)... I've not had a bill since March so something's gone wrong. I've tried emailing and phoning their CS but all I get is "give it a few days and it'll be sorted, if not call us back". And it's still not sorted.

Now that the May 2016 fixed is available (and works out maybe a tenner a year cheaper) I was thinking of switching to that... who knows, it might even fix my billing problem!

ameygee

Just thought I would post my experience with FU and ask for advice.
I moved out of an old property on 31/3/14 and over a year later and phone calls practically every week I still don't have a final bill. Apparently there has been a problem with their 'billing system' which has prevented a final bill being processed. They also decided to have my move out date as the middle of May.
I've spoken to a third manager (just recently hung up with one)
He has now confirmed my final bill is £45, but as a good will gesture he will write off the balance and close my account.

This is great, however after the amount of effort it has taken me to get to this point I'm so annoyed and feel like I deserve more. Baring in mind i've been passed to a debt collector, and be constantly promised phone calls back.

He reckons he has passed my account to the 'specialist complaints team' and I should hear from them in a week, I don't hold my breath.

Ofgem want a deadlock letter, which a manager can't give me.
Pulling my hair out with them. I'm still supplied with them in my current property and had no issues with my new account.

2010

ameygee wrote: »

I've spoken to a third manager (just recently hung up with one)
He has now confirmed my final bill is £45, but as a good will gesture he will write off the balance and close my account.

AFAIK, if ANY energy company hasn`t given you a final bill within 12 months, then according to Ofgem rules, you don`t have to pay it.
So it looks as if the goodwill gesture was a load of crap.

In all my previous posts I can only speak as I find and I haven`t had any problem and everything went through smoothly.

I think a lot of the posts on here are just made up because the posters only join the forums to slag off FU and are never heard of again.
Put FU into trustpilot and they get great up to date reviews.

https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.first-utility.com

ameygee

Ah I didn't know that. I had told them I wasn't going to pay it around the six month mark.

I received a phone call about an hour after I posted my last post and spoken to someone in the complaints team and they're giving me £60 goodwill.

At least my account is finally getting closed. I just hope their customer service can improve, i've never spoken to anyone horrible at FU, they just don't follow through on their promises.

Lets hope I don't have any more problems with FU, they've been supplying my new home since I moved and touch wood everything is okay!

2010

Latest monthly bill from FU after I put in my readings, exact to the nearest penny.
Can`t fault them at all and the DD went out on the right day for the correct amount.

2010

Usual monthly email this morning to ask me to put in my meter readings.
Can`t fault FU for their accurate billing.
Puts the like of SP and Npower to shame.

Micky-c

Micky-c wrote: »

Finally managed to resolve my dispute with FU. It was amazing that after literally years of ignored emails/letters/phone calls, and multiple broken promises, once I initiated formal legal proceedings they snapped into action, assigned me a competent and honest case worker, and sorted things out within a few weeks. They paid all the bonuses I was entitled to going back the full 5 years, and they paid around three hundred pounds more on top to cover my court fee (£70), interest, and inconvenience. As soon as the money was transferred into my account, I switched via Uswitch, and saved another £1300. I'm very happy to finally part company with FU.

It seems they had/have a (probably deliberate) policy of not paying customers their annual bonuses unless they're threatened with a County Court Judgement. Not even the intervention of the Ombudsman seems to cut much ice with them. I'm a very high user so they owed me around £1500 in missed payments, but I guess they assume that most customers won't bother chasing them over what may only be a few hundred pounds.

I would recommend that anyone who has genuinely reached a brick wall with this company should visit the MCOL website and sue them. It's a very simple and fairly quick process, and there's a decent helpline if you get stuck on some of the legal phrases.

FU are moving beyond parody now. As detailed in my earlier posts, after fighting this company for years over unpaid bonus payments, they finally coughed up the £1500 they owed me, but only once I was at the very last stages of securing a CCJ against them. Once I had my money, I immediately switched (to Sainsburys).

Unfortunately, they still owed by around £250 as part of my final bill, and once again, true to form, they keep promising to pay this money, but they never do. I've just had another 40 minute telephone conversation, in which I was told over and over again to ring back in two weeks to request a cheque, despite all closing meter readings having been submitted an agreed weeks ago.

The good news is, they answer the phone a bit quicker these days (in the past, it was all but impossible to speak to a human). The staff are all friendly, but FU simply seem to be incapable of keeping their promises. I eventually managed to secure a promise today that my cheque will arrive in 10 days, but I have absolutely no faith that this promise will be kept.

Micky-c

2010 wrote: »

...I think a lot of the posts on here are just made up because the posters only join the forums to slag off FU and are never heard of again...

You keep on saying this, with no foundation at all. Please stop suggesting that I and other people are sad enough to invent complaints about what is, without doubt, the worst company I have ever had the misfortune to give my custom to.