Utility Warehouse - Breaking the rules!

weejangus

Hi All,

Wonder if anyone here can advise on possible next steps with my ex-supplier Utility Warehouse.

I recently signed up in February after a visit from one of their reps. The Tarrif prices were on par with my current supplier (Scottish Power) but also had the Discount Club giving cashback on purchases. I paid £10 via my debit card and this was to top up the Discount Card (i.e. I could use the card in one of many stores and use the £10).

Shortly afterwards, Scottish Power offered me far better rates to go back so I opted for this and signed back up for SP. We didn't use the discount card once as we always forgot about it so didn't mind losing this "benefit".

Our supply was taken back on 23rd March however UW issued me with an estimated bill for nearly £100. Despite giving both Gas and Elec meter readings when they took over & providing readings when we left them, they have based this bill on completely fabricated readings. The best part is that the bill actually states that, after payment, we will have a credit of £96. When I called UW, I gave them all meter readings again and pointed out that I had calculated my final bill to be approx £40. I said I would wait for them to produce the correct actual bill and make payment at that point (I also informed them that the Direct Debit had been cancelled to avoid making such a vast overpayment).

I have now discovered that UW have taken the payment anyway. As the DD had been cancelled, I called my bank and asked why they let the money leave the account - they confirmed that it had not been taken as a DD but as a card payment. So basically, UW had stored my card details (long card number, CVV code, etc) from when I made the payment to top up the discount card. On top of this, they are trying to charge me an additional £6 to cover the cancelled DD.

So, finally to my questions -

Would I have been entitled to wait for my final bill after leaving UW or should I have made the payment based on estimates (even though they were clearly wrong)

Should UW have deleted my card details after the payment had been made to top up the discount card? I figured the Data Protection Act would require these details to be deleted?

What should my next course of action be? My bank has advised me to have the transaction charged back as it was un-authorised.

Thanks in advance.

J

footyguy

weejangus wrote: »

Hi All,

Wonder if anyone here can advise on possible next steps with my ex-supplier Utility Warehouse.

I recently signed up in February after a visit from one of their reps. The Tarrif prices were on par with my current supplier (Scottish Power) but also had the Discount Club giving cashback on purchases. I paid £10 via my debit card and this was to top up the Discount Card (i.e. I could use the card in one of many stores and use the £10).

Shortly afterwards, Scottish Power offered me far better rates to go back so I opted for this and signed back up for SP. We didn't use the discount card once as we always forgot about it so didn't mind losing this "benefit".

Our supply was taken back on 23rd March however UW issued me with an estimated bill for nearly £100. Despite giving both Gas and Elec meter readings when they took over & providing readings when we left them, they have based this bill on completely fabricated readings. The best part is that the bill actually states that, after payment, we will have a credit of £96. When I called UW, I gave them all meter readings again and pointed out that I had calculated my final bill to be approx £40. I said I would wait for them to produce the correct actual bill and make payment at that point (I also informed them that the Direct Debit had been cancelled to avoid making such a vast overpayment).

I have now discovered that UW have taken the payment anyway. As the DD had been cancelled, I called my bank and asked why they let the money leave the account - they confirmed that it had not been taken as a DD but as a card payment. So basically, UW had stored my card details (long card number, CVV code, etc) from when I made the payment to top up the discount card. On top of this, they are trying to charge me an additional £6 to cover the cancelled DD.

So, finally to my questions -

Would I have been entitled to wait for my final bill after leaving UW or should I have made the payment based on estimates (even though they were clearly wrong)

Should UW have deleted my card details after the payment had been made to top up the discount card? I figured the Data Protection Act would require these details to be deleted?

What should my next course of action be? My bank has advised me to have the transaction charged back as it was un-authorised.

Thanks in advance.

J

New threads discussing this company are not permitted

Expect this thread to be merged with the existing, permitted thread which you can find here:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2473547

Meanwhile I suggest you follow the supplier's complaint procedure

naedanger

weejangus wrote: »

So, finally to my questions -

Would I have been entitled to wait for my final bill after leaving UW or should I have made the payment based on estimates (even though they were clearly wrong)

In my view you should not have made payments based on estimates if you had submitted accurate final readings. Though if you were able to pay the amount you thought was due then you should have done so.

Should UW have deleted my card details after the payment had been made to top up the discount card? I figured the Data Protection Act would require these details to be deleted?

Not sure. I suspect you may have agreed to them storing these details to make future payments easier. However if they took an unauthorised amount, which from what you say was the case, then they were wrong to do so.

What should my next course of action be? My bank has advised me to have the transaction charged back as it was un-authorised.

Take your bank up on the suggestion and have the transaction reversed as it was not authorised. Then follow UW's complaint process. Ask them for what you believe is reasonable and don't worry if their view is different. If you are dissatisfied with the outcome they will explain that you can take the case to an independent Ombudsman.

spiro

On CoS it is the new supplier that supplies the reading no the old one so if you don't agree with the reading used contract your new supplier and they will agree a new CoS reading with the old supplier.

Robedge

Wow, don't like the sound of a company helping themselves from my bank account!!!!