MSE News: Co-op faces customer backlash following bungled system upgrade

hop3y

johnbhoy10 wrote: »

Has anyone tried getting a hold of this mob at 8am when they open. I need to try and get a d/debit set up. Going to try on my day off on Thursday. If they try and tell me that they're busy at 8am then i'll not be chuffed! Not wasting my breath on them until then!!

The only way I ever get contact with them is via DM on Twitter.

philadollphia

philadollphia wrote: »

Even if you could access your account online, it probably won't show any recent activity. Mine shows nothing after 2nd Feb.

Unfortunately, like an idiot I didn't cancel the DD as I was hoping to get my refund that way. So, they took a further £104 yesterday.

I can get through on the phone after queueing for half an hour or so. To date I've spoken to 4 different people. The lady in Customer Services today, was the first person to admit that she couldn't actually access my final bill on the computer system, although my account HAS been stopped.

She's escalated my query to a complaint & advised me to cancel the DD. I'm supposed to hear from a manager within 48 hours. I won't hold my breath.

I was hugely in credit & they owe me a large amount of money. I have received nothing in writing since February 2nd & have no idea where I stand.

I actually laughed out loud at the Co-op quote in the MSE article, saying customers who've switched away are experiencing no problems.

Of course no-one got back to me, so I phoned them again Friday PM. After the usual phone queue I reached the same person I spoke to previously.

She got hold of her manager, who was going to sit down with a billing manager to sort out my final figures. She promised faithfully that her manager would phone me back within 15 mins.

He did phone back & we checked & agreed the final figures. He arranged a CHAPS payment into my bank a/c for the amount owed to me, which appeared in my a/c yesterday.

This morning a final bill arrived in the post, so I can draw a line under the whole frustrating experience.

My advice is to insist on speaking to a Customer Services Manager as they appear to be the only employees with the clout to get things done.

awjhall

I regret the day I ever switched to Co-op energy.

I did it because they were offering a good deal and because it was the Co-op, a reputable, ethical company.
Over two months it took to switch because the Co-op did not send the readings to my previous energy provided despite repeated phone calls to them.

The first bill was wildly over estimated, the website did not believe my readings so I had to give them over the phone.

I asked for a copy of the updated bill but they refused as it wasn't their policy to send out an updated bill, no other energy provider has ever had a problem doing this, obviously the co-op are a special case but there you go. I was told the new amount in an email but have never seen a copy of the correct bill.

Fast forward three months and several meter readings and I am still waiting for my next bill. Despite several 30 minute waits on the phone to speak to them and promises made it never materialises.

If it wasn't for the cost of leaving the contract early I would already be gone. My advice AVOID Co-op energy like the plague. An absolute shambles ...

bubieyehyeh

I rung co-op this morning and they answer and tell me their computers have crashed and can I ring back in 2 hours.

I rang back later and finally got though to someone who finally managed to work out how to generate my final bill (3rd time lucky). They told me the amount, and arranged the refund of my credit balance. This took about 40 mins.

I'm now awaiting the final bill in the post and the refund to appear in my bank account. So I'm now hopeful my co-op experience maybe coming to a end.

My online account now shows the final bill amount, but I can't download a PDF version to check it.

The person on the phone wanted to check my details were correct in case I ever wanted to go back. I didn't have the heart to tell her I wouldn't be buying anything from the mid-counties co-op ever again after this shambles.

kingstreet

Received yesterday;-

Dear Ian

After many months of careful planning, we launched our new Customer Care and Billing System in March. The new industry leading Oracle system will enable us to provide customers with an improved service and better customer experience.

We have migrated over 7 million pieces of data onto the new system and, like any big change, we have experienced a number of teething problems which are preventing us from giving some customers the service they deserve. We are working extremely hard to fix these problems as quickly as possible to ensure our service levels return to those which customers are entitled to expect.

The changeover has generated a significant number of customer calls and email enquiries, which has reduced our ability to respond within satisfactory timescales. This is not the level of service we want customers to experience. If you have had cause to contact us recently and our speed of response has not been as you would expect, please accept my sincere apologies.

The last couple of years have been exciting and challenging for us all at Co-operative Energy as we strive to create a real alternative to our Big 6 competitors. Our success has meant that we outgrew our systems hence the need to upgrade, however I want to assure you that we remain focused on our original objective of creating an energy supplier that is owned by its customers and therefore responsive to their needs.

I am acutely aware that our customer service standards have slipped over the past few months and I am determined to put that right. I am equally determined that we use this new system to support a continuation of our rapid growth and thereby prove that Co-operative Energy represents a better way of doing business.

Thank you for your continuing support.

Yours sincerely,

Ben Reid OBE
Chief Executive Officer

modsandmockers

When I helped my daughter to switch to Co-opEnergy last August, the following statement appeared in the Welcome Pack - “(switching is) a long process, partly because that’s how things were designed when the energy industry was privatised in the 1990s”

To paraphrase - “switching is a long process because the energy industry has done nothing to modernise itself since it was privatised in the 1990s, and it continues to offer a level of customer service which is only possible because of the continuing absence of any real competition between different energy providers”

hop3y

kingstreet wrote: »

Received yesterday;-

I got this too - infuriating.

I am acutely aware that our customer service standards have slipped over the past few months and I am determined to put that right. I am equally determined that we use this new system to support a continuation of our rapid growth and thereby prove that Co-operative Energy represents a better way of doing business.

"I know we've gone to pot, but I'm not reyt bothered"

bubieyehyeh

I noticed they now have more than one 0800 number, and now have a seperate sales line. I hope that doesn't mean the sales line is a higher priority queue than the numbers for existing customers. Maybe co-op should stop taking on new customers until they sort out their new system.

YellowStar

Is it just me or are there others who have already managed to submit readings on their new system in the past couple of weeks, now find that they cannot log in and get the following?


“Oops, the username and/or password you have entered doesn’t match our records. Please check and try again.”

Also interested to hear if anyone has received their Warm Home Discount rebate? – Had letter dated 3 Mar 15 to say it would shortly be applied to account – was not showing on my account when last checked middle of last week.

Not in the mood to try and phone them and hang on the line for 30 minutes only to be cut off yet again.

modsandmockers

YellowStar wrote: »

Is it just me or are there others who have already managed to submit readings on their new system in the past couple of weeks, now find that they cannot log in and get the following?


“Oops, the username and/or password you have entered doesn’t match our records. Please check and try again.”

Also interested to hear if anyone has received their Warm Home Discount rebate? – Had letter dated 3 Mar 15 to say it would shortly be applied to account – was not showing on my account when last checked middle of last week.

Not in the mood to try and phone them and hang on the line for 30 minutes only to be cut off yet again.

I no longer have problems logging in, but I still have no billing information, and the payments history makes very little sense. Last week, I was unable to post my meter readings online, and so I included them in my latest email of complaint. Today, I noticed that my emailed meter readings have been recorded onto MyAccount, but there has still been no reply to my requests for detailed billing and payment history. I also noticed that it would now be possible to try to enter my meter readings online - the cursor now flashes in the windowbox, but I have not actually given it a go.

The contract is in my daughter’s name, and it states that she will receive quarterly statements, but there are no online records at all about the account since day one (August 2014). As a result, I feel no compunction at all about cancelling my daughter’s direct debit payments until Co-op Energy provide me with some meaningful figures.

The Warm Homes Discount, sfaik, is paid by whoever was supplying you with electricity in June/July of the preceding summer. I think it’s normally paid during the winter months - I usually get mine well before Christmas. Not all energy suppliers subscribe to the WHD scheme.