MSE News: Not-for-profit energy provider launches, but is Robin Hood Energy any good?

[Deleted User]

Just signed up to Robin Hood Energy for my electric saving £78 a year compared to British Gas who I'm currently with.

matelodave

£60 a year more for me than GB Energy

[Deleted User]

matelodave wrote: »

£60 a year more for me than GB Energy

GB were cheaper too but they require monthly set direct debits. I prefer to pay on receipt of bill. Robin Hood were next cheapest.

System

Deleted_User wrote: »

GB were cheaper too but they require monthly set direct debits. I prefer to pay on receipt of bill. Robin Hood were next cheapest.

Each to their own, but I don't understand this fear of monthly direct debits. All that is required is some simple monitoring of usage and credit/debit balances. If I think that I am underpaying, I just put a little bit aside each month which I pay to the supplier when my DD is reviewed. If I think that the supplier has got its review widely out, then I just pay what I owe and ditch and switch.

molerat

Hengus wrote: »

Each to their own, but I don't understand this fear of monthly direct debits. All that is required is some simple monitoring of usage and credit/debit balances. If I think that I am underpaying, I just put a little bit aside each month which I pay to the supplier when my DD is reviewed. If I think that the supplier has got its review widely out, then I just pay what I owe and ditch and switch.

Agreed. I know I am underpaying my DD but the correct amount is going into my budget account where the DDs are taken from and earning a little interest.

Haarlem

I have been with them since October 2015, No real complaints but they do bill monthly and ask for meter readings which their system does not always accept. It looks for a higher useage,

gilbert_and_sullivan

Been with them 3 months now, no complaints, website is working well, at first the site didn't accept my readings, i spoke to them about this and they said it was because the final bill hadn't been issued by the previous nightmare npower and some code hadn't been sent over, once the 2nd final bill was issued (we'll see if they come back for more still like some money grabbing ex) sure enough the readings went in fine.

Billing accurate, i get debited the used amount each month, they use your figures but if you put them in say 4 days before the due bill date the system estimates that 4 days use and adds it to the bill...it may not be perfect but i can live with it, and it's streets ahead of the previous supplier where i hadn't a clue what was going on half the time.

Customer services are nice to deal with, sorted out an address of meter glitch in 5 minutes that no one else has been able to do in the 14 years we've been here.

Very happy with them, unless we could save a serious amount the simple website, simple accurate and easy to read billing, and good and friendly customer service team is worth a few quid a year.

Anif

I have been with Robin Hood since November 2015, today (7th December 2016) I received a call from one of their staff, telling me not to be alarmed but I haven’t been billed since April 2016 therefore I have £900 to pay. This mad me absolutely mad and is the very definition of alarming. They have put me in £900 owing due to their negligence as I always provided them with a meter reading every month without a fail. She told me I have three options to make the payment:
1. Pay all at once
2. Make payment over three months
3. Make a fixed monthly payment

I think its very wrong that I feel penalised by them for their error and they should take some responsibility by reducing the amount.

If anyone has any advice as I can go about this, it would be most appreciated.

Consumerist

Anif wrote: »

I have been with Robin Hood since November 2015, today (7th December 2016) I received a call from one of their staff, telling me not to be alarmed but I haven’t been billed since April 2016 therefore I have £900 to pay. This mad me absolutely mad and is the very definition of alarming. They have put me in £900 owing due to their negligence as I always provided them with a meter reading every month without a fail. She told me I have three options to make the payment:
1. Pay all at once
2. Make payment over three months
3. Make a fixed monthly payment

I think its very wrong that I feel penalised by them for their error and they should take some responsibility by reducing the amount.

If anyone has any advice as I can go about this, it would be most appreciated.

They are within their rights to make charges for up to one year late. If it has been longer then you will need to show that you have made a reasonable attempt to get them to bill you.

They say they have not "billed" you since April 2016 but, if you normally paid by direct debit, have they been collecting them? If you normally paid on receipt of the bill, how many have they missed?

Is the amount they are demanding reasonable based on your consumption?

Whilst I agree it is their error, I think you too should accept some responsibility for not having followed-up the billing delay.

You could start their complaints procedure with a view to receiving some compensation for the delay but it would be a good idea to check your consumption to see if their demand is reasonable.

Be firm but polite in your dealings and you may get some compensation.

Anif

Consumerist wrote: »

They are within their rights to make charges for up to one year late. If it has been longer then you will need to show that you have made a reasonable attempt to get them to bill you.

They say they have not "billed" you since April 2016 but, if you normally paid by direct debit, have they been collecting them? If you normally paid on receipt of the bill, how many have they missed?

Is the amount they are demanding reasonable based on your consumption?

Whilst I agree it is their error, I think you too should accept some responsibility for not having followed-up the billing delay.

You could start their complaints procedure with a view to receiving some compensation for the delay but it would be a good idea to check your consumption to see if their demand is reasonable.

Be firm but polite in your dealings and you may get some compensation.

Hi there,

Yes I pay via direct debit on a monthly basis and not receipt on bill. They failed to collect 9 months of payment. As with all other direct debit set up on my bank account, I don’t not check each one every month to make sure they have taken their money and am sure so do many people out there. If they knew they weren’t taken out the payment which according to them they didn’t, they should have informed earlier and not wait for 9 months. This reason make it difficult for me to take any responsibility and why it is more upsetting that they knew from the start yet decided not to say anything until now. I was meant to provide monthly meter reading and that I always did.

Yes I will be double checking my consumption against the bill and thank you so much for advice.