First Utility new exit fee scam switching tariffs

jblackmore

Well done John for pursuing this.

I do wonder what the purpose of the ombudsman is if they deal with each complaint singularly, when surely if they find as in this case that a supplier has not acted "in an honest, transparent and professional manner" as required by licence, then they should push supplier to address this for all customers so this doesn't continue and lead to future complaints, or other customers being mistreated who may not bother to complain.

I guess the ombudsman is funded by energy suppliers, and I am guessing is paid for each complaint, so they are acting in their own best interest over those of UK energy customers

footyguy

jblackmore wrote: »

...
I guess the ombudsman is funded by energy suppliers, and I am guessing is paid for each complaint, so they are acting in their own best interest over those of UK energy customers

You are entitled to guess, but a quick glance at their website would have clarified matters for you

https://www.ombudsman-services.org/about-ombudsman-services-os.html

Not-for profit
The Ombudsman Service Ltd is a not for profit organisation, limited by guarantee. This means that we do not have shareholders and do not pay dividends. We can make a surplus but with no dividends to distribute, this surplus is used for two specific purposes: to provide sufficient reserves to ensure the company can continue operating against a background of variability of income; and to invest back into the business to further its aims of independent redress.


Funding

Our business model is responsive, sustainable and provides value for money. There is no cost to the public purse. We are funded by those whose complaints we handle through a combination of subscription and case fees. The case fee is our charge to consider a complaint - its payment is not dependent on outcome. This means that the more complaints companies resolve in-house, the less they pay; this provides an incentive for them to improve their customer service...

But you should never let the facts get in the way of a good conspiracy theory

Energyexpert_2

It is true that first utility love to charge customers exit fees. There is no way out of them if your switching to they longer fixes then they will credit your account the exit fees if you’ve noticed them and complain but the long term deals are £100s more then the cheapest available deals from others. Most suppliers let you switch tariffs free like BG SP EOn npower edf see and many more
And pretty much all don’t charge exit fees for moving home even if you didn’t take them at new address apart from First Utility. Also the cheapest deal is only offered to customers who agree to have smart meter the catch is if you already got one you won’t be shown that deal as they systems will recognise that. A complaint manger from FU told me only way exit fees are not charged if the customer dies or has go to go for military service and you got to proof this. Disgraceful stuff really
They started off giving cheep deals but now are on scams they fix deals are on par of the standard tariffs of big six. TIME to switch to fair suppliers like bulb energy octopus energy no exit fees and low prices good service

System

Energyexpert wrote: »

Most suppliers let you switch tariffs free like BG SP EOn npower edf see and many more

I can think of a number of the smaller/cheaper suppliers that charge exit fees for a change of contract: Zog for example.