First Utility new exit fee scam switching tariffs

davedebrax

I argued that:

1. I got undelivered email responses when trying to use the online customers' service form
2. Yes I had agreed to all the forms saying I may have to pay fees but...
3. in the past charges had been waived
4. I was therefore working on the assumption that the fees would be waived because they always had been in the past.
5. OK they had changed their policy in december but they had not told their customers - how could I know?
6. Had I know they would not waive the fees this time, I would not have changed my tariff because I would obviously lose money.
7. They were actively advertising the tariff in my online account, when it made no sense for me to switch if they were going to charge fees.

A few days later the fees were fully refunded to my bank account and I was able to stay on the new cheaper tariff.

Hope this helps!

John214

Hi davedebrax.
Thanks for comment.
What tariff did you switch from and to.
Can you tell me when you recently switched and when previously had you switched
Regards John.

davedebrax

I switched from iSave Fixed July 2016 to First Fixed April 2017 v2 early February, having previously switched in June 2015. I complained after the two weeks cooling off period, and was refunded early April.
Regards

nemorobinson

Hi guys,

I actually work for First Utility customer service at the moment and it's been interesting reading all your comments, for the most part your frustrations make a lot of sense and I think some terms could definitely be cleared up! If anyone does have any questions in exit fees/tariffs/anything else to do with First Utility, let me know

danielinto

I would be interested to know of any companies that allow changing contracts midway through a fix like FU used to, without a charge as long as the end date is later than the end date of the current deal. That is one of the best features FU had, and now they have changed their policy I think I will move on to someone who continues to allow it.

As an aside, I find the people on this thread who keep mentioning "read the Ts&Cs" quite irritating, the Ts&Cs are vague on this aspect and their policy up to December was not to make the charge where the new deal had an end date further in the future than the end date of your current deal, they always confirmed this in their confirmation of change of tariff. That they changed this with no notification to customers I think is wrong.

shadowdog

I was going to renew to First utility May 2017 V3 when my May 2016 finished but this has now been replaced by June 2017 ( increase on May 2017 prices). Very strange to increase prices just before one tariff ends? (SSE cheaper tariff and cashback)

KDH_2

This is all likely to become even murkier with the scrapping of the 4 tariff rule

Previously FU had a reasonably simple line up :-
A year long fix
A 2 year fix
A 3 year long fix
A variable rate tariff

More recently though the 2 year fix has varied between 15 and 25 months
- they have just withdrawn April 2018 and replaced it with August 2017 which is only 2 months longer than their year fix of June 2017.
Presumably there's no charge to switch to Aug 2017 but there is for a switch to June 2017 if you're currently on 1 year deal.

If they introduce many more tariffs they need to make the charge situation much clearer as it's already mighty confusing with just the 4 tariffs.

Alpha_5

I've started the switch process away from First Utility today - my fix ends next month.

I've been a happy customer for three years and found their app useful for monthly meter reads etc and liked knowing my exact account balance on a monthly basis.

I had no idea they had changed their policy on ETF's until I looked to switch tariff earlier this year. I queried with Customer Services via twitter and they confirmed I would now have to pay £60 to switch to the longer tariff with them. I felt disappointed as I had always thought that waiving the ETF was a good way to reward customers signing up for longer and it seems a fundamental change has not not been communicated to customers.

With wholesale gas prices at their lowest level for several years, my guess is that tariffs may fall before they rise, so I'm not prepared to renew or sign up with any provider charging large ETFs.

I'm switching to So Energy - not only are they a few pounds a year cheaper than FU, their ETF is only £5 per fuel. The only drawback I can see is that they are a new company, so there aren't many reviews about them.
The way I see it, I could only lose out financially if they go bust and I'm in credit - and presumably I could fall back on the direct debit guarantee in that event...?

the_bandit

Despite me giving notice via telephone on 6-Apr to cancel my online tariff switch and a further phone call on 15-Apr to remind them my online account had not been updated, FU have still not corrected this!

Looks like FU service is going to the dogs.

footyguy

Alpha_5 wrote: »

...
I'm switching to So Energy - not only are they a few pounds a year cheaper than FU, their ETF is only £5 per fuel. The only drawback I can see is that they are a new company, so there aren't many reviews about them.
The way I see it, I could only lose out financially if they go bust and I'm in credit - and presumably I could fall back on the direct debit guarantee in that event...?

No, the Direct Debit Guarantee does not give any specific protection in the event a supplier goes into administration/liquidation.

(You can, of course, cancel a Direct Debit Mandate at any time)