energy switching

notamoneygrabber

hi i have not been on any forums for some considerable time so who ever i upset on another thread i humbly apologise .
what i wanted to know was if anybody else is having problems switching companies .i am going from EDF TO FLOW and EDF seem to be determined to make the switch awkward by not accepting meter readings given to them.i think they are stalling (because they can).any feedback would be useful please.many thanks

ajbell

Have switched many times,6 last year and twice already this year. Never had any trouble including switching from EDF to first utility. Normally completed in 7 days now.

System

notamoneygrabber wrote: »

hi i have not been on any forums for some considerable time so who ever i upset on another thread i humbly apologise .
what i wanted to know was if anybody else is having problems switching companies .i am going from EDF TO FLOW and EDF seem to be determined to make the switch awkward by not accepting meter readings given to them.i think they are stalling (because they can).any feedback would be useful please.many thanks

Under OFGEM regulations, the Gaining supplier is responsible for managing all aspects of the switching process. At the appropriate time, Flow will ask you for meter readings. These readings are then passed on to an independent third party for validation. Once validated, the third party passes the readings back to the gaining and losing suppliers. These readings are used to open your new account and to close your old account. There is no need to contact your old supplier and they will not use any meter readings that you provide to produce a final bill. Why? Because it is not unknown for people to misread the meter - either accidentally or deliberately to save a couple of £s.

All you need to do is to check that your opening and closing readings are the same meter reading.

Edit: The switching process has an OFGEM target of 17 days from application to switch (cooling off period plus 3 days). That said, the Licence Condition is 35 days to transfer supply (cooling off period plus 21 days).

notamoneygrabber

thanks for replies very helpful .this is the third time in the last 7 years i have switched and every time its a mess .we wait and hope its ok but i am cynical because the big companies listen very well at the time you call them then completely ignore you.every time i have switched they owed me money and always had to fight for my money.

footyguy

notamoneygrabber wrote: »

hi i have not been on any forums for some considerable time so who ever i upset on another thread i humbly apologise .
what i wanted to know was if anybody else is having problems switching companies .i am going from EDF TO FLOW and EDF seem to be determined to make the switch awkward by not accepting meter readings given to them.i think they are stalling (because they can).any feedback would be useful please.many thanks

All meter readings are first approved by an independent 3rd party, (the Meter Reading Agency)

It is probably they that are refusing to validate your readings. This may be because they are so far different to what would usually be expected. However as this is not the first time you have had such an issue, it could be you are reading the meter incorrectly.

Anyway, none of this should delay the switch. If the readings you provide are not validated, then alternative meter readings will be used.
If the readings are above the otherwise permitted variation, then you can make a complaint to your supplier who will kick off a long investigation in the background.
(But as I said, none of this should affect your actual switch of supplier)

The final reading of the outgoing supplier must be the same as the start reading of the new supplier - no question about that.
If the reading used is within the permitted variation from the one you advised, then the cost difference will be negligible.

footyguy

notamoneygrabber wrote: »

...every time i have switched they owed me money and always had to fight for my money.

That appears to be a slightly different issue.

This MSE article explains how to go about recovering money from closed accounts (if not automatically forthcoming)
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/reclaim-energy-bill-refunds

And this MSE article explains how to minimise the issue in the first place
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/lower-energy-direct-debits

notamoneygrabber

i thank you but i am not reading any meter readings wrongly i know what i am doing .i have also invited both companies to come and read my meter both avoid this process with all sorts of reasons given.it stinks but iam willing to back off for now and let flow do the d86 again which they have told me they have done.whats frustrating just who this third party and how do you get to talk to them.sadly i think its a closed shop.patience is a virtue they say .huh

footyguy

notamoneygrabber wrote: »

i thank you but i am not reading any meter readings wrongly i know what i am doing .i have also invited both companies to come and read my meter both avoid this process with all sorts of reasons given.it stinks but iam willing to back off for now and let flow do the d86 again which they have told me they have done.whats frustrating just who this third party and how do you get to talk to them.sadly i think its a closed shop.patience is a virtue they say .huh

You don't talk to the independent 3rd party, (the Meter Reading Agency). You don't even need to know who they are.
Please refer to my earlier post if you have any cause to complain.

notamoneygrabber

many thanks again but i will have patience hopefully sorted by end of next week .got to believe.

System

notamoneygrabber wrote: »

i thank you but i am not reading any meter readings wrongly i know what i am doing .i have also invited both companies to come and read my meter both avoid this process with all sorts of reasons given.it stinks but iam willing to back off for now and let flow do the d86 again which they have told me they have done.whats frustrating just who this third party and how do you get to talk to them.sadly i think its a closed shop.patience is a virtue they say .huh

With the greatest respect, you are making this switching process more difficult than it is. The simple truth is that customers do misread their meters and they do lie if they can see some financial advantage in doing so. The independent third party seeks to remove this possibility from the switching process. They do get their estimates wrong and there are limits outwith which your gaining supplier can raise a dispute. For example, the limit of gas is 125CM3s between the reading provided by the customer and the industry estimated figure. I had a switch last year when the difference was 105CM3s in the old supplier's favour. I was out of pocket by a couple of £s.

As far as final billing is concerned, your old supplier has 6 weeks in which to raise your Final Bill. That said, most are pretty quick to do so once the agreed switching readings are received.

notamoneygrabber

thanks again --my solution to any possible miss reading of meters is to take my invitation to come and read the meter--simple really