First Utility Total Farce

cattie

I applied via the energy saving club to switch to First Utility on a 2 yr fixed deal for both gas & electricity from early Jan. I then seemed to get conflicting emails & letters from F.U telling me first that they could not help me for electricity as my meter isn't standard type, then welcoming me & saying new accounts were up & running. When I then received a letter detailing my account info, I was horrified to find that they'd put me on an Economy Seven elec. tariff which I certainly didn't want & hadn't asked for.

I then contacted them & told them that I didn't want to switch to them & wanted to cancel as I wasn't interested in what they were offering regarding electricity supply. More conflicting emails were sent to me & 2 further phone calls were made to them ensure that my application was cancelled & I was assured each time that it had been.

Having received final statements out of the blue from my previous supplier yesterday (Eon), I rang them to find out what was going on seeing as I'd elected to stay with them & had cancelled the switch. It turned out that First Utility had failed to action the cancellation despite my 3 phone calls regarding this & I was now their customer like it or not. To add insult to injury, not only I have been bunged onto an economy 7 tariff for elec against my will, but whilst I'd applied for a 2yr fix it being the cheapest option, it seems my gas fix is for 1yr only.

Today an email from MSE Energy Saving Club informs me that First Utility have denied me the cashback that was part of the switch offer, so I am absolutely fuming :mad: They choose not to cancel my accounts despite my requests, thus holding me hostage as a customer like it or not & then have the audacity to deny the cashback they were supposed to give. What an outfit.

So, here I am, on more expensive tariffs than those I was initially applying for & with no cashback to look forward to I'm definitely in a worst financial position than I was before applying

Needless to say, I'll be leaving them as soon as possible & will be making a complaint regarding their very questionable & quite sneaky behaviour.

System

Did you inform First Utility of your wish to cancel within the 14 day 'cooling off' period, and was this acknowledged? If the answer is 'Yes' then ask your old supplier to treat the transfer as an Erroneous Transfer of Supply. There is an industry Code underpinning this and EDF is required to put you back in to the contractual position that you were in prior to the erroneous transfer. You will only pay EDF for the energy. They will recover all payments made to FU.

If you were not in the 'cooling off' period then your complaint is firmly against FU.

footyguy

cattie wrote: »

I applied via the energy saving club to switch to First Utility on a 2 yr fixed deal for both gas & electricity from early Jan. I then seemed to get conflicting emails & letters from F.U telling me first that they could not help me for electricity as my meter isn't standard type, then welcoming me & saying new accounts were up & running. When I then received a letter detailing my account info, I was horrified to find that they'd put me on an Economy Seven elec. tariff which I certainly didn't want & hadn't asked for.

I then contacted them & told them that I didn't want to switch to them & wanted to cancel as I wasn't interested in what they were offering regarding electricity supply. More conflicting emails were sent to me & 2 further phone calls were made to them ensure that my application was cancelled & I was assured each time that it had been.

Having received final statements out of the blue from my previous supplier yesterday (Eon), I rang them to find out what was going on seeing as I'd elected to stay with them & had cancelled the switch. It turned out that First Utility had failed to action the cancellation despite my 3 phone calls regarding this & I was now their customer like it or not. To add insult to injury, not only I have been bunged onto an economy 7 tariff for elec against my will, but whilst I'd applied for a 2yr fix it being the cheapest option, it seems my gas fix is for 1yr only.

Today an email from MSE Energy Saving Club informs me that First Utility have denied me the cashback that was part of the switch offer, so I am absolutely fuming :mad: They choose not to cancel my accounts despite my requests, thus holding me hostage as a customer like it or not & then have the audacity to deny the cashback they were supposed to give. What an outfit.

So, here I am, on more expensive tariffs than those I was initially applying for & with no cashback to look forward to I'm definitely in a worst financial position than I was before applying

Needless to say, I'll be leaving them as soon as possible & will be making a complaint regarding their very questionable & quite sneaky behaviour.

What type of electricity meter do you have?
As the supplier has put you on an E7 tariff, then presumably you have an E7 meter.

I'm not certain what you originally requested, but presumably a single rate tariff, but I'm not sure FU supply that if you have an E7 meter - hence why they first refused to to accept your request.

Anyway, if you didn't like what you eventually were offered, did you cancel within the cooling off period?

If so, you should have stayed with the previous supplier - probably best to contact that previous supplier as you probably trust them more than FU.
Of course you won't get cashback if you cancelled the switch

However, if not cancelled within cooling off period, then I'm not sure what grounds for complaint you would have against FU.
As MSE Martin says, cashback is not guaranteed until it's in your bank account - so you are unlikely to get too far there. You could try the comparison site, but as you didn't get the traiff you originally requested (as you did not have the right metering for that) then I can understand why cashback was denied.

cattie

Hi, yes I did notify them of my wish to cancel within the 14 day period & unfortunately once I assumed that my switch definitely was cancelled, I shredded any paper work, including a cancellation reference they gave me during one phone call close to Christmas. I don't recall the names of any of the staff I spoke to as each time I phoned I spoke to a different person.

Unfortunately EON are adamant that they cannot switch me back to them at the moment. They are saying it's because of the type of meter I have, even though I have only just finished being on a 'normal' tariff with them. They are saying they just don't quite understand how I managed to be put on a 'normal' tariff with them with this type of meter.

It isn't Economy 7, but what they call a something or other phase meter. Eon are saying that I need to get the meter changed before they could accept me back as a customer, hence me feeling a bit of a hostage to First Utility now

When I moved here I discovered that the property was on a tariff called Eco 20, which I eventually asked to be switched from as electricity was more expensive during the hours I tended to use it most. I was then offered the EON Energy Fixed 1yr v12 tariffs for gas & electricity & switched to this in Jan 14 & my fix with them ended Jan of this year.

footyguy

cattie wrote: »

...

It isn't Economy 7, ....

And it's not a single rate meter either.

Good luck with that one. As I often post. Do not attempt to switch supplier with that type of meter as it often ends in tears.

(and as you have found in this instance, the old legacy supplier is under no obligation to take you back)

I suggest you get professional help to sort out your electrics (and possibly the appliances too). Then ask your supplier to arrange a new meter to be fitted (E7 or single rate - it's up to you) The supplier may charge you for this type of meter exchange. But then you will then be able to switch suppliers.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi cattie

This is a strange one. Do you know the type of meter? There might be a description on a plaque on the front of the meter. You mention a tariff called Eco 20. Do you think it could be Eco20:20? This is a product offered by EDF with lower prices for electricity used at night and at the weekends. This would usually mean a particular type of multi-rate meter would be needed to take advantage of the off peak prices. If this is the case, I share our advisors confusion as to how we managed to put you on our Fixed 1 Year version 12 tariff in the first place. This tariff was only available to customers with a single rate or Economy 7 meter.

Did you switch to us previously or were we the supplier when you moved in? If we supplied when you moved in, what tariff were you on then?

Sorry for all the questions cattie but, must admit, bit baffled here.

Malc

cattie

Thanks for your input Eon rep.

When I moved in here yes it was to find that the meter was Eco20:20 & the account was with EDF. I subsequently applied to switch to Eon for what I term a 'normal' tariff & was put on the EON Energy Fixed 1yr v12 tariffs for gas & electricity & switched to this in Jan 14.

I don't believe the meter was changed & as my meters are quite high up in an external cupboard, I can't climb up to see them to see if there is a plaque description or such on the electric meter, me being a disabled person. Eon always read them for me. )

It does seem quite odd then if I managed to get at tariff that should not have been available to me!

What I've now done is requested First Utility to chance the meter & this should be done sometime within the next few weeks. I expect I shall still be shackled to them for at least the next year, unless I can get them to admit that their staff have made a huge error & I am free to go elsewhere.

Nathan94

Sometimes it's difficult to get anyone to admit to their errors.

[Deleted User]

The 20/20 meter is quite a large white meter which I think is unique to EDF. Its not an Eco 7 meter but a variation on standard but with 12 hrs norm and 12 hrs lower rate. You can t mistake it for any other meter because it has 20/20 marked on it and a button for scrolling the reads. Some people love it but its similar to Ovo and Utilita with their Liberty meters in that you can t switch supplier with that meter. Maybe you would have to pay EDF to rid yourself of this meter. I have the timings of this meter somewhere and it includes weekend rates if I remember correctly. I read a few of these for EDF and like Eco 7 they may well mess the bills up if rate 1 and rate 2 is reversed. I have always thought it was a meter installed, free , in order EDF can stop you switching easily like Ovo and Utilita do with their smart prepayment meters
The meter has been around a few years now and It seemed so good when I first saw the rates I wanted it myself but with todays rates being so competitive its had its day when I can get my electric for only 8 p kwhr. Its EDFs meter, they fitted it and they own it.Maybe a good idea would be to switch , if poss, back to EDF and organise the removal.It was the sort of meter which applied to working people as there was weekend reductions. Any meter readers for other suppliers coming to read the meter will be baffled and get wrong readings leading to an estimate or under billing.
EDF would surely have blocked any switching to stop total confusion to all with their meter.Occupiers would probably have to pay a fee to rid themselves of the meter before any switch

footyguy

cattie wrote: »

Thanks for your input Eon rep.

When I moved in here yes it was to find that the meter was Eco20:20 & the account was with EDF. I subsequently applied to switch to Eon for what I term a 'normal' tariff & was put on the EON Energy Fixed 1yr v12 tariffs for gas & electricity & switched to this in Jan 14.

I don't believe the meter was changed & as my meters are quite high up in an external cupboard, I can't climb up to see them to see if there is a plaque description or such on the electric meter, me being a disabled person. Eon always read them for me. )

It does seem quite odd then if I managed to get at tariff that should not have been available to me!

What I've now done is requested First Utility to chance the meter & this should be done sometime within the next few weeks. I expect I shall still be shackled to them for at least the next year, unless I can get them to admit that their staff have made a huge error & I am free to go elsewhere.

I thought you said there were PPMs fitted in the property when you bought it? :huh:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/54306927#Comment_54306927

I'm not sure what an EDF Eco 20:20 meter is like, but I know you can't get it on a PPM.

Anyway, Eon is one of the suppliers that is more flexible in being able/willing to supply a single rate tariff from a multi rate meter.
But Eon are in the minority in doing so; most suppliers will not do so. But even Eon seem to say they won't supply you on a 20:20 meter.

Once you get an E7 or single rate meter installed, then you will be able to switch supplier almost immediately. An early exit fee may be applied if that is applicable to the tariff you agreed to from FU.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

cattie wrote: »

Thanks for your input Eon rep.

When I moved in here yes it was to find that the meter was Eco20:20 & the account was with EDF. I subsequently applied to switch to Eon for what I term a 'normal' tariff & was put on the EON Energy Fixed 1yr v12 tariffs for gas & electricity & switched to this in Jan 14.

I don't believe the meter was changed & as my meters are quite high up in an external cupboard, I can't climb up to see them to see if there is a plaque description or such on the electric meter, me being a disabled person. Eon always read them for me. )

It does seem quite odd then if I managed to get at tariff that should not have been available to me!

What I've now done is requested First Utility to chance the meter & this should be done sometime within the next few weeks. I expect I shall still be shackled to them for at least the next year, unless I can get them to admit that their staff have made a huge error & I am free to go elsewhere.

Thanks for the information cattie. Must admit, I'm still a bit baffled as to how we put you on a standard tariff with that type of meter. I'll hazard a guess though. As footyguy says, we can put customers with Economy 7 meters on a single rate tariff if that's better for them. All we do is add the day and night usage together and charge it all at the one rate.

I'm not very familiar with your meter but sacsquacco has posted some excellent information. Thanks sacsquacco. I suspect we treated it as a two rate Economy 7 meter so, at the time you joined us, were able to put you on one of these tariffs and then switch it to a single rate to suit your usage. As I say, only guessing. Our Fixed 1 Year version 12 tariff was one of our better offerings at the time so you'll have definitely been better off than with the usual tariff for this type of meter.

Although this may have been the case a couple of years back, we've since revised our systems to stop this sort of anomaly. This is why we're no longer able to offer a tariff suitable for this type of meter. You're doing the right thing, though, in asking the current supplier to change it as it doesn't suit your needs.

Sorry I can't help more cattie but hope this is of interest.

Malc