MSE News: First Utility faces customer backlash as complaints double

AndysDad

Wyedale wrote: »

Been with FU for nearly 3 years having left BG. FU cheaper at the time. They have just e-mailed me to say they have re-estimated my usage for the next 12 months and are reducing my DD from 160 to 108 a month. Great I thought. Then having watched Martin on TV last week I thought I'd check my balance. Went to their website and nowhere could I find my balance (having logged in).
So next day I rang them and they were very polite. No the balance didn't show on my account (WHY?). However, they told me it was £750.97. I am now waiting for them to BACS it back to my account. I will then be leaving them. It may not be illegal but it is morally wrong to keep so much of a customer's money when they have overpaid. This was the first time in the 3 years that they had re-calculated my account.

Why didn't you set up a variable DD then none of this would have happened.

his_missus

I am quite happy with FU. I have never called customer services but I have emailed them to complain and had a satisfying response within a few days.


They informed me my DD payment would be increasing by £16 to cover winter as they predicted my account would be in debt by May despite being almost £100 in credit at the time.


I queried this, asking for an explanation of how they'd come to this conclusion and just got a general, non-personal response.


So, I sent them an email full of figures and calculations of how I predicted my usage would change over winter compared to theirs, explaining that their figures suggested they thought I was going to increase my usage by £100 a month even though I'd never had a bill more than £44 a month, and they immediately reverted back to my old DD payment amount.


Half way through the winter months and I'm still £80 in credit

2010

I`ve read this thread and i`ve read a lot of reviews about FU, the very latest link posted above to Trustpilot.
i`ve been with Scottish Power before and found them to be accurate with their billing but useless at answering phones in a reasonable time.
Also waiting a good eight weeks to get back the money they owed me when I switched.
However after searching the comparison sites they`ve come up with a saving of £68 a year BY switching to FU.
I called their customer service (not sales)to see how long they took to answer.
After the usual menu of options i pressed the one i wanted and it was answered straitaway, this was approx 1-30pm yesterday.
I then wen`t online and filled out the transfer, withn a minute three emails arrived, one welcoming me, the next giving a username and password to get my account set up immediately, the third giving me a 14 day cooling off period and saying after that period i would be switched within three days.
The reviews on trustpilot are all recent within the last few weeks and most people seem happy.
If you read the reviews of ANY power company none of them are perfect, so i guess it`s pot luck.

Mark333032

Mark333032 wrote: »

Hold on one minute Matelodave


1. I joined FU a V15 tariff. I checked the initial invoice and all was well. I continued to provide monthly readings and they sent me a link to open up subsequent invoices. I am on DD so did not bother to open them until now.
2. Just three months into the plan, FU switched me to something much more expensive without informing me. Had I been opening my invoices I might have spotted the switch to a new tariff, but if you have ever been an FU customer you will realise the tariff name is far from obvious. But in any case before making any changes, FU should have properly informed me
3. I continued to use comparison websites on the basis I was on the V15 tariff (which I was not) just to be sure I was still getting the best deal


I am all for taking responsibility for my own actions or inactions but you must accept that FU's practice of secretly switching tariffs in this way is sharp practice. I am really quite angry about it.


2 weeks after submitting my complaint, I have just received a meaningless, ill-considered response from FU to which I have already replied.

Good news for me today. After 7 weeks FU finally got around to dealing with my complaint. I had long since given up hope and in any case had already transferred to a new provider. They called me on the phone to say they were crediting my account with £305.46 which was good news because I was £227.56 in debit. Strangely the chap on the phone had no idea I had already transferred away on 26 Jan. Seems COOP have confirmed I am now served by them, but FU don't yet know it!

marmitemayhem

FU are really FU


I transferred G+E, but G failed (their error) and loads of phone calls before they agreed they could not retry leaving me split. Promised I could move E back to original without penalty as they did not fulfil their contract


Despite 5+ hours of phone calls, them agreeing everything, writing letters confirming etc I got billed for gas they never supplied and received threats of non payment of gas bills, they are going to visit and remove meter etc etc. (I fully paid elec bills)


After more calls they agreed it was all in error, sorted it out, end of.


Then I get "you must pay £60 penalty for leaving before fixed tariff end within 7 days or else" email.....










But if I ignore it, no doubt I will have baliffs knocking, so I have no choice but to waste more of my life on this.


Oh - if there is any doubt, I recorded all phone conversations - and have 100% crystal clear "you can leave us without any penalty charges being applied as we didn't fulfil our side of the contract". And confirmed on a subsequent call when trying to fix bill. And reconfirmed on another subsequent call trying to fix another bill. (And I told them I was recording at start of call)


Head on brick wall, yet still I have to waste time and deal with it.


I really wish there was a way I could take them to court and claim back all my time wasted on this (being self employed I know how much 10+ hours cost) and the agro for sleepless nights worried about threats of knocks on door.


Actually, I'd be happy for a 5 min phone call to sort it.


But more chance of winning lottery....




If you are thinking of changing to First:Utility - research well.... Wonder why their customer service isn't a Freephone 0800? Maybe because they'd go bust with so many people on hold.

2010

marmitemayhem wrote: »

Wonder why their customer service isn't a Freephone 0800? Maybe because they'd go bust with so many people on hold.

There is a freefone number if you`d took the trouble to look it up.

marmitemayhem

2010 wrote: »

There is a freefone number if you`d took the trouble to look it up.

lol! Do share a number that gets to customer services. Don't just be Mr Forum Expert with all the facts but can't be bothered to divulge secret details.


The only number I've tried went to "complaints" who refused to speak to me as I had to speak to customer services first. After a long debate they put me through but after an hour of a dead-end queue it clearly didn't happen.


The other number I've seen is for prepayment meters, though I will admit I never saw that last time - and yes, I made the trouble to look. Funny how FU don't show any 0800 customer service number clearly on their website.




I see you are so *pro* FU - do you work for them? I hope so - please pm me details and I'll give you mine and we'll get it all sorted.


If not, accept the fact many many people are fed up of broken promises.


How many calls should we make saying the same thing?


1? 2? 3? 4? 5? etc


And why would the next call be any different to the previous broken promises? Apart from another hour or so of wasted life.




At somepoint, even the most tolerant people (aka me) give up and start shouting.




Moved back to Sainsburys. Not the cheapest, but an 0800 customer services number and they do what they say. Not difficult.

marmitemayhem

Oh, just seen, you joined them 8 days ago?
Congrats
When I joined I was very impressed too. Great emails. All seemed to be going well.
Until they took the wrong gas... Then admitting they made an error despite having perfect details Then promsing a retry in a few weeks. then promising a retry a few more weeks later. then eventually admitting they were not able to retry ever. Then billing for the service they never provided. then never getting a bill right. then theatning me for non payment of the service they never provided. then agreeing I can leave without penalty. then refunding me and settling the account and confirming. then sending me a bill a month later.....
With hours of calls at each step agreeing the "correct" details, agreeing what they are going to do next, and hanging up confident (but an hour wasted). Each time. And a few week later, its back to square one as its not happened as hey ageed.


If it works, yep, no doubt they'd be great. And cheap


If it goes wrong, that's when you know who is good and who isn't


And in my experience, FU is the worst company I've dealt with - ever. The only one who has threatened me for non payment of bills for services I've not actually had! AFTER they've agreed they've never supplied them.


Anyway. Thanks for your replies, keeps this thread high up with more viewers the more the merrier and maybe someone from FU will see this and help out.

2010

marmitemayhem wrote: »

I see you are so *pro* FU - do you work for them?

I think you work for one of the big six, who can`t/wont match the smaller companie`s prices and are losing customers hand over fist and the only tactic you`ve got is scare stories.
Look up reviews of ANY of the energy companiees and they all get bad reviews from some customers.

https://www.trustpilot.co.uk/

marmitemayhem

2010 wrote: »

I think you work for one of the big six, who can`t/wont match the smaller companie`s prices and are losing customers hand over fist and the only tactic you`ve got is scare stories.
Look up reviews of ANY of the energy companiees and they all get bad reviews from some customers.

https://www.trustpilot.co.uk/

Thank you, you've made my day! :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:
Oh - I'm still awaiting the Freephone number


Personally, I think many of the TP reviews are encouraged by suppliers when things go well to balance it out. For sure, FU score was a lot lower when I transferred. I haven't reviewed them there yet thanks for reminding me - I may post a link to here. I read their naff reviews and thought, "pah - bad things happen to others, I'll be OK, and I'll never have a problem, and I'll never have these issues". For sure, I'd be pro them if it all went well. But it didn't - its gone pear shape and I have to deal with banging a head on a wall and getting nowhere despite FU agreeing with everything. If you were in my shoes you'd say the same.


Remember the article this thread is related to - http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/utilities/2014/11/first-utility-faces-customer-backlash-as-complaints-double - is that sponsored by one of the big 6?


And if you think I work for them, how about you put your money where your mouth is? Bet me a tenner (payable to Wiltshire Air Ambulance please). I will happily then PM you scanned letter from FU confirming their mistake and case closed, copy of subsequent payment demand, and I'll send you a link to my business website which is not related to utilities in any way.


Oh - and a working 0800 for FU customer services you promised....?