First Utility new exit fee scam switching tariffs

Treble44

Can the trick of switching to a variable plan not work with fu ? I also swap frequently with fu and noticed this new change of policy ,with bg to avoid fees you switch to variable first then back to the cheapest plan to avoid fees so wondered if this will work with fu as well

footyguy

Treble44 wrote: »

Can the trick of switching to a variable plan not work with fu ? I also swap frequently with fu and noticed this new change of policy ,with bg to avoid fees you switch to variable first then back to the cheapest plan to avoid fees so wondered if this will work with fu as well

I don't think BG terms apply to any other supplier. I suggest you refer to the terms of your own supplier to understand the terms of the contract you previously agreed to abide by

Muttleythefrog

footyguy wrote: »

I don't think BG terms apply to any other supplier. I suggest you refer to the terms of your own supplier to understand the terms of the contract you previously agreed to abide by

We've been over that! The FU terms are pretty meaningless on the point of exit fees because they apply underlying policies which determine whether they do apply exit fees or not. i.e. The terms may well say both that they will charge exit fees and may charge exit fees... but in practice it is policy dictating if they do or do not. Hence all the above! There's no point you keep referring people to the terms because the terms (certainly all that I've had in contract with them) do not conclusively tell you when exit fees apply... their policies do... as they've indicated in responses to customers... such as to me "Our new policy states that if a customer switches from a short term tariff to what First Utility consider to be another short term tariff, which is a tariff that lasts for approximately one year, there will be a termination fee." All the terms do is effectively cover FU should they decide to charge exit fees...i.e. if they apply exit fees it will likely be legally compliant with the terms of the contract. The problem here really is that FU have changed their policy without either advanced warning or informing customers... and in doing so have caused customer conflict, confusion and meant some will have previously made contractual decisions/assessments based on a factor that has now changed.[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]
[/FONT]

dogshome

May charge Exit fees ?

Not a legal eagle,but I don't think such a condition is lawful. Remember the law student who took on Barclays for their extortinate bank charges? He had a good run through the court system but failed in the end as the Appeal Court judges ruled that as the detailed charges were listed in the T&C's, they were valid - If they had not been listed he would have won

ladymarmalade222

I have been on first utility a few years now and liked I was able to switch tariff without charge. Even moved several family members onto them.

Now they have started charging they are no different than the big six so time to move on. I switched 2 wks ago to the BG MSE switch as I still saved a fair bit taking into account the fees for leaving.

If they had not introduced the charges I would have stayed even if they were slightly more expensive as I like their app and smart meter but this has really annoyed me.

Xxx

pennymakespounds

Just happened to see this thread about switching tariffs with First Utility ....... I started a thread a few weeks ago .. which very few people were interested or supportive in ......suggesting that MSE should include in all their postings on tariffs whether there is a facility to change tariffs with same company , over the period of the fix contract ... .....Without incurring charges .

This was because i am with EDF and regularly change tariff .. which happens immdiately , without penalty.

Just done it again now .. from Feb 17 to March 17 tariff that just launched this week .. saved me a further 2.5% ... the 4th time in 6 months i've changed tariff to save more money.

There is 4 suppliers who have a better deal than my current one ... max saving £80 a year ... but if there is a c£60 charge to change tariff , then it's not worthwhile ... and clearly over the year of the fix period surely you'll likely end up paying more because you've been "locked in" over the period . .. instead of freely being able to change tariff & follow the falling prices ?

Really think this is a very big issue now !!! ??

Jay_Jay_5

I agree I am angry about the change in policy as I, like you, am a loyal First Utility customer. I will take the plunge and transfer to a company which will save me £75 via the 38 degrees big switch. May be they will take a little notice, may be not.

matelodave

I've been a reasonably happy FU customer for the past two and a half years and done a couple of penalty free tariff swaps during that time.

However the imposition of an exit fee on internal swaps and the fact that I can save even more by shifting to another supplier means that I'll be jumping ship by the end of April when my present fix ends.

Perhaps FU now feel that as they are getting a bigger share of the market they can start mucking customers about, just like the big six.

Hopefully a look at Npower's present woes will help concentrate their minds a bit. A mass exodus of customers can't really be good for business

jblackmore

Philosophically I think this is probably inevitable, big suppliers will always be inefficient/lazy, new suppliers will aim to be cheap/agile, but as they grow become inefficient and lazy, and the merry go round continues.

I've often wondered if the solution would be Ofgem growing a pair and enforcing no exit fee's, transparent pricing and 24hour swaps.

I suspect this would just mean price comparison websites could actually automate monthly swaps and bankrupt all but a few of the suppliers, who could then charge what they liked - back to the good old days

MarkBargain

Muttleythefrog wrote: »

I tried to contact FU from their website form but it failed.

I've had that too, that's poor. I have also had emails return undeliverable messages.

Due to these exit fees I am stuck with iSave Fixed January 2017 Direct Debit ebill. Electricity prices haven't changed much with their new First Fixed April 2017 v7 tariff but gas has fallen quite a lot.