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

anotheruser

chanz4 wrote: »

a lot of npower ex managers have set it up....say no more

Please cite your source for this information.

Lord_Baltimore

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.

Sorry to hear about the shock you've had but honestly, if you don't check what is being taken from your bank account regularly, I think you can expect future surprises too (and not just because of utility companies)!

Of course, the Company has a resposibility to do its job too and you may be lucky to get some form of compensation. Good luck .

footyguy

Anif wrote: »

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.

I don't know who you bank with, but a lot of online banking nowdays allows you to see (a) which DD mandates are live on your account and (b) last or next scheduled collection date.
(If no collection has ever been made, that will also be stated)

Definitely worthwhile spending a little time managing this, as it allows you to see what DD mandates are live, cancel DD mandates that maybe incorrectly lodged (worth a complaint if that happens too) or more often are no longer required (e.g. due to a cancelled subscription)

footyguy

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.

If the bills are correctly calculated, then I'm afraid you will owe them the money.
Check (a) you have been billed according to your agreed tariff and (b) that actual (not estimated) meter readings have been used.

As you have agreed to pay by monthly direct debit, suppliers usually collect any accrued arrears by modifying your monthly paymnent accordingly (they need to provide proper advance notice of any change of amount)

Suppliers usually have no difficulty agreeing repayment over a similar period to which the arears accrued, especially where you are still their customer.
Not sure if they will be so accomodating on this occassion as it appears you were sent a bill 7 months ago, which presumably showed you owed them for about 5 months consumption then ... and which you have failed to address.

However, you could register a complaint if you wisg as it would appear they have for some reason not set up or at least collected the monthly DD. - they might give you say £20 goodwill credit against the account you now owe.

£900 quid over 12 months? That means presumably they should have been collecting about £75 a month from you.
I think I would certainly notice whether or not £75 per month was being deducted from my bank account.

If they have not collected the money, then presumably the money is still sitting in your account? So you could pay them the arrears which will keep the monthly payment at about £75, instead of the £150 (ish) it will probably otherwise become.

On relection, I think this one desrves a Good Luck! too

[Deleted User]

Been with Robin Hood for electricity since May, last night was the first time they sent a meter reader round to read the meter.

It was all very weird, bloke knocked on the door and when I answered he asked if it was the correct address and then asked if I was Mr LeeUK (I thought he was a TVL salesman at first). I asked what it was about before confirming my name and he said he was from Robin Hood Energy to read the electric and gas meters. Meter readers usually just knock and say meter reader without all the guff.

I don't get gas from Robin Hood and explained it to him so he only read the electric meter.

He wrote down the reading on his bit of paper and asked who my gas supplier was and wrote that down too. First time I've ever had a meter reader who has used pen and paper instead of a handheld terminal.

Consumerist

He might have read your meter numbers (not consumption readings) so that you could be switched without your knowledge or consent.

Might be a good idea to email Robin Hood explaining what happened and confirming that you don't want to switch.

Edit
Same applies with your other energy supplier too.

[Deleted User]

Consumerist wrote: »

He might have read your meter numbers (not consumption readings) so that you could be switched without your knowledge or consent.

Might be a good idea to email Robin Hood explaining what happened and confirming that you don't want to switch.

Edit
Same applies with your other energy supplier too.

He wanted to read both electric and gas as his sheet of paper told him so even though my gas is with Ebico.

If it was a scam how would he have known I was with Robin Hood. It's not like it's a well known big 6 supplier that he could bluff over if he had said the wrong one.

I'm going to email Robin Hood Energy now just to double check.

chanz4

anotheruser wrote: »

Please cite your source for this information.

friends went to setup / run it whom were ex npower managers

[Deleted User]

Received a response and it turns out they ask their meter reader contractors to read both meters "to avoid confusion" even when the customer only has electric or gas.

Not sure who's confused.

fewkeste

I joined in September 2015 with no problems for electricity only on a fixed E7 tariff. In January 2016 my meter had to be changed because of a problem with the internal clock drifting. Ever since then they have been unable to issue a bill due to a TPR error - Transposed Readings error. I suspect that either the contractor that changed the meter mixed up the E7 and Day meter readings or RHE entered the wrong ones in their system. Either way I haven't had a bill since early February 2016!!! They have been taking the DD every month and I give them meter readings manually every month by phone (the website and automated phone system won't accept my readings any more) but they are having trouble getting their system to issue bills because of some transposed meter readings. They are working to try and resolve this but I think their own systems are making it difficult to resolve I suspect. Everybody is pleasant and polite but their own systems seem to be defeating them!!