Sainsbury's Energy Con

Annieroo4

Hi,

I switched to Sainsbury's energy in January this year to try and save some money on what I thought was a better tariff. My direct debits have been very Low (£44 per month for both Gas & Elec) compared to around £139 with E-on.

I spoke to Sainsbury's earlier in the year (although they have no record) and they explained that as I was a new customer the first few payments would be low and that I didn't need to do anything as they would automatically be adjusted through the year, and definitely after a review in May. I have now had a letter saying my payments would go from £44 a month to £129 a month as I am now over £500 in debit with them. They also stated that the half yearly review didn't happen because they received an estimated reading (the only estimated reading for the year conveniently!)

I feel that this has been a complete con and just totally morally wrong, and wondered how many other people has this happened to.

I feel that I pay them for a service, they are the ones that should sort out the billing.

I have complained to them and am currently in the process of getting this complaint escalated. Am not sure if I would be entitled to any compensation though, if any, as I know they could argue that I should have increased my DD's. But on each and every statement it states that they would automatically change them and they haven't.

Any advice/ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks

Rubidium

Annieroo4 wrote: »

Hi,

I switched to Sainsbury's energy in January this year to try and save some money on what I thought was a better tariff. My direct debits have been very Low (£44 per month for both Gas & Elec) compared to around £139 with E-on.

I spoke to Sainsbury's earlier in the year (although they have no record) and they explained that as I was a new customer the first few payments would be low and that I didn't need to do anything as they would automatically be adjusted through the year, and definitely after a review in May. I have now had a letter saying my payments would go from £44 a month to £129 a month as I am now over £500 in debit with them. They also stated that the half yearly review didn't happen because they received an estimated reading (the only estimated reading for the year conveniently!)

I feel that this has been a complete con and just totally morally wrong, and wondered how many other people has this happened to.

I feel that I pay them for a service, they are the ones that should sort out the billing.

I have complained to them and am currently in the process of getting this complaint escalated. Am not sure if I would be entitled to any compensation though, if any, as I know they could argue that I should have increased my DD's. But on each and every statement it states that they would automatically change them and they haven't.

Any advice/ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks

It is not a complete con and you seem to have been rather naive.

If you are now over £500 in debt after 11 months, that means that you should really have been paying at least the £44 DD + £45 = £89 per month which is still a large saving compared to paying eon £139 per month.

I don't really see what you have to complain about. You have meters that you can read and you could have calculated how much the energy that you are using actually costs and therefore how much you DD needed to be to cover your actual usage.

Sorry but I can't see why your naivety should be rewarded by compensation.

JJ_Egan

You have not paid them for the service/ usage and that's why you have now a large bill .
Anyone that put their meter readings in monthly and read the actual bill would have seen this discrepancy building up over time with usage at say £70 and DD at £44 .

[Deleted User]

I can t believe you would think that going from £139 down to a mere £44 a month that you would nt be in a large monthly debt with any supplier. Someone somewhere has nt filled in the approx yearly kwhr useage or anywhere near it. I m sorry but if you sat back and accepted that huge difference then its your own fault entirely. You ha ent lost any money with this error, hopefully you was putting £85 a month aside to pay for your above average monthly usage

Annieroo4

I think you've missed the point. I have previously sent in meter readings and they have also come to read the meter. The fact that they haven't changed the Direct Debits despite me highlighting it to them is what i'm complaining about. Also I am not disputing that I owe them money. I just think it's the way that they have handled it is wrong.

Rubidium

Annieroo4 wrote: »

I think you've missed the point. I have previously sent in meter readings and they have also come to read the meter. The fact that they haven't changed the Direct Debits despite me highlighting it to them is what i'm complaining about. Also I am not disputing that I owe them money. I just think it's the way that they have handled it is wrong.

I believe that it is you who have handled this totally wrong!

How many times have you asked your supplier to change your DD to say £100 to cover your actual usage?

Compensation - don't be silly.

JJ_Egan

I am in exactly the same situation .
My DD was set at £76 pm but my usage is about £66 pm and i have a large credit .
Should i also get compensation or should i be grown up enough to look after my own bills and usage .

As the OP knew she was underpaying then presumably that amount due was put away each month ??

Bigphil1474

As others say, I don't think you've been conned. There may have been a mix up with monthly payments, but you are still saving money from your previous supplier. Did you work out how much you were going to save by switching? If you did, you'd know that £95 a month reduction would have been a massive drop and not enough to cover your costs. The last time my supplier wanted to reduce our monthly DD, we argued to keep it as it was as we knew that we'd end up being behind. They kept it up and we have been a few quid ahead over the summer which is gradually going down now its winter. You do have to do some work yourself.
Although I don't agree with talk of compensation, I do think you are right and Sainsburys could have done better, and had they adjusted the payments after a few months, you wouldn't be so upset. On the up side, your increased payment is still less than you were paying with Eon. Bottom line is, they only charge you for the energy you use, the only issue you have is the time frame you pay it on. You may also find that you don't pay the £500 owed back that quickly, as most energy is used in winter so it may take til next summer before everything straightens out.
We did have a few teething issues with our current supplier EDF, but I gave it a bit of time, and it all worked out in the end, and their customer services were very helpful. Probably why we're still with them, even though we could save a few quid if we switched again.

teddysmum

As the MSE said on tv, the other night, people are still confused about whether a new supplier will be cheaper.


It is the unit rate and standing charge which matters; not the monthly payment.


A more expensive company could well, as here, charge lower monthly amounts, but this just builds up arrears, which have to be paid by increasing the payments, possibly to more than was being paid to the former supplier.

akkers

I had awful problems with switching to Sainsburys. It took so long and their customer service was diabolical.
In my case they have also started off with a low direct debit. I contacted and told them that I need to be paying more to cover my usage. So they increased the payment by a little but still not enough.
I have decided to submit regular readings and stay on toop of things. If I fall behind, I am going to make extra payments.

System

akkers wrote: »

I had awful problems with switching to Sainsburys. It took so long and their customer service was diabolical.
In my case they have also started off with a low direct debit. I contacted and told them that I need to be paying more to cover my usage. So they increased the payment by a little but still not enough.
I have decided to submit regular readings and stay on toop of things. If I fall behind, I am going to make extra payments.

I have switched about 6 times in the past three years and I have never experienced a low starting direct debit. This can only happen if incorrect annual projected usage figures (in kWhs) are entered into the comparison site. If you know your annual usage and tariff, then it is a simple process to find out your annual cost and work out your monthly DD. If a particular energy company is deliberating miscalculating a DD to retain you as a customer, then this is a type of mis-selling. Complain and escalate to the EO.