Switch to incompetent Sainsbury's Energy

kc110 · 7 January 2015 at 9:21PM

Does the Cheap Energy Club take any responsibility for recommending incompetent suppliers (Sainsbury's, otherwise known as British Gas)?
My electricity eventually switched on 28 November 2014.
I have been given three dates for the gas switch but it still has not happened. The most recent date given was for yesterday (6 January 2015).
It is supposed to be dual fuel.
My EON account has been closed and a "final" bill sent with an estimated gas meter reading???????
I cannot enter a gas meter reading with Sainsbury's.
I cannot do anything meaningful on their website. I cannot view bills, usage data and all the other wonderful tools promised.
On contacting them, any reply is always headed with the phrase "Do Not Reply".
Customer Services are telling me not to speak to them!!!!!

I have absolutely no confidence in the ability of Sainsbury's Energy.

kc110 · 8 January 2015 at 10:15AM

Your switch is complete but we've some bad news...

You asked to switch to the dual fuel tariff Sainsbury's Energy - Fixed Price November 2015 . We've heard that the electricity part of this switch has been accepted.
However I'm afraid your switch application on 10 November 2014 to gas has not gone through. This means if you were due cashback you will only get half of what you were due.

Suppliers won't tell us why they reject switches but it could be because:

There was a problem with your application details
Log in to your account to check your details are correct. If any of the details on your application were incorrect the supplier might have had a problem completing your request.
Are you in debt with your current supplier?
Sometimes your current supplier can stop you from switching. Check below, if you think it's blocked you incorrectly, get in touch with it.

-On a key/card meter and in debt? You can switch energy suppliers and transfer debts up to £500 (you'll need to stay on a prepay meter at least until the debt's paid off).

-On a bills meter and in debt? If you don't have a prepay meter and are in debt with your supplier, it can stop you from switching until your debt is paid off. Speak to your current supplier to see if you can reduce the debt or set up a payment plan which will allow you to switch.

-Debt due to supplier's mistake? If your supplier made a mistake that caused you to fall into debt, for example it read you meter wrong, it can't stop you from switching away. Though you'll need to pay the debt back in most circumstances (for exceptions to this see theMSE guide). What you can do
There's no easy answer but here's what you can try:
1) Get in touch with the supplier you were trying to switch to and try and resolve the problem. Either ask them to switch you or once the issue is resolved, come back and switch via Cheap Energy Club so we can monitor your tariff and possibly get cashback.
2) Do a single fuel switch to a different supplier. Another supplier might be willing to take you, so you could give it a go, but be prepared to encounter the same issues.

kc110 · 8 January 2015 at 10:23AM

The above email was received from the Cheap Energy Club a few minutes ago.

I have always paid my energy bill by direct debit and I am currently awaiting a refund of my credit balance from EON.

I now would appear to not have a gas supplier but I have gas being piped into my property.

Will somebody now cut off my gas supply with a one year old baby in the house?

Despite emailing Sainsbury's on numerous occasions they have never told me there was any specific problem.

This whole exercise has been nothing but aggravation.

Looks like I now have the prospect of pleading with someone to supply me with gas.

Perhaps the Cheap Energy Club will help?

kc110 · 8 January 2015 at 10:46AM

Just had a call from Sainsbury's. They assure me that the gas switch is going through but may take a while longer yet. No specific details of the technical problems.

The switch date reading will be 158 different from the actual reading but, as long as they both agree the figure, I will be pleased to get the matter closed.