The Big Deal - not all switching facts up front

whichwaydidhego

Hi, I'd been meaning to switch from Scottish Power for ages. After reading up on the Big Deal and decided to take the plunge. This time, the energy supplier was GB Energy who were offering the deal. Now, as ever, the switch was all too easy. And nowhere on the switch were we told:

The payments are upfront, so a month in advance = we pay 2 bills in the first month - one to GB and last one to SP.

The payments are on a Summer tariff which will soon switch to a Winter Tariff = monthly budgeting scuppered as low rates in Summer and double rates in Winter! I'll be paying more in Winter than I would have with SP!

Also, emails full of conflicting info eg £181 monthly tariff - average of Summer and Winter tariffs - on one email, yet we're told by phone we can't have this; that the tariffs are definitely split.

And told payments come out x amout of time after start/use date on one email and on another email we're told they'll be taken out X amount of time after join up - which is a whole lot sooner.

None of this info was available during any of the pre-switch process. And we've now passed 14 day cooling off period - we were happy originally with deal, but during this 14 day period these other emails came in with conflicting information, so by the time we sat down and looked at it all we were too late.

I feel that this info only became available too late in the day. I also feel slightly duped. Even if the saving will be better over the year, who wants to be paying an increased tariff in Winter, leaving us worse off in the toughest months than we were with Scottish Power!

I really think we've been mis-sold - not having had the info up front and now too far into the switch to prevent it happening, thus having 2 electricity bills in one month - and I so wish companies would just be honest and helpful. No wonder people don't like switching - you feel swizzed!

Anyone else had similar experiences and know where we stand with regards to being able to unswitch or switch to another supplier who won't ask for money in advance or have a split tariff.

Thanks in advance for any advice. x

System

I doubt that you have been mis-sold anything. All suppliers have their terms and conditions and these need to be read before you switch. FWiW, I am with GBEnergy and I have found them to be an excellent supplier.

Why don't you give them a call and ask whether you can switch to equal monthly payments. Point out that this will enable you to build up a credit balance for the Winter.

As far as billing is concerned, GB only produces a bill based on your actual meter reading if you give them a reading on the day that your transfer was actioned. My transfer went through on the 10th so I give them a reading on the 10th and get a simple to understand bill 3 days later.

Smodlet

The more I hear about GB Energy, the more glad I am they are not my supplier. Split tariffs, indeed! How is anyone supposed to budget for that? Noooo, thank you to them. Thank you to you, OP, for the warning.

You could try telling them you were under the influence when you signed up so the contract is invalid... worth a try, at least?

System

Smodlet wrote: »

The more I hear about GB Energy, the more glad I am they are not my supplier. Split tariffs, indeed! How is anyone supposed to budget for that? Noooo, thank you to them. Thank you to you, OP, for the warning.

You could try telling them you were under the influence when you signed up so the contract is invalid... worth a try, at least?

They are not split tariffs. The tariff price is fixed for the period of the contract. The variability is in the monthly payments. Customers pay more during the Winter months and less in the Summer months so payments made more accurately track actual usage. There is nothing sinister at work here. That said, I pay the same amount each month and I find that GB is a good company to deal with.

Fixed Rate Tariff

A "Fixed Rate" tariff ensures that the unit price of your energy stays at one price for the duration of your plan. GB Energy Supply currently offers a 12 month fixed plan. You should note that this does not mean you'll pay the same regardless of your energy usage. During the winter months, October to March, you will pay the same amount each month, calculated on your estimated energy usage, during the summer months April to September your monthly payment will be 50% of your monthly winter payment.

Fixed rate tariffs protect you against price rises during your contract but can be more expensive than the cheapest tariffs.

Tariff available from 24/06/2016

Smodlet

And most fixed tariffs do what they say on the tin: Charge you the same all year round so you can budget. What a faff for no good reason, imo.

System

Smodlet wrote: »

And most fixed tariffs do what they say on the tin: Charge you the same all year round so you can budget. What a faff for no good reason, imo.

This forum is littered with MSErs who do not like DD payments or big credit balances. GB's charging system does get round the latter - it also prevents large debts accruing. That said, I am happy just to pay the same amount each month.

JJ_Egan

Must say i have no problem paying GB winter and summer direct debits .

matelodave

I'm also with GB - I read and understood all the T&C's before I transferred and I can understand the two level DD arrangement - it does save going into the winter with a large surplus which a level DD produces.

I also understood that the first payment would be taken before they actually took over supply.

I have no sympathy whatsoever those who are too idle to bother reading and understanding what they are signing up for and then whine and whinge that they didn't understand..

As Hengus says, send in your readings on the right day - I signed up on 23rd of the Month and I send mine in on the 22nd (not the day I get the e-mail reminder which is usually a few days before) and check the statements to make sure that it's correct.

If you send in a reading too early, too late or dont bother they will make an estimate and it will be your fault not theirs. Take control and you'll have no problems.

Smodlet

I agree with your last point, Matelodave and, Hengus, I like both DDs and fairly large credit balances, especially going into the winter. I merely choose not to bother with a tariff with such, imo, unnecessary complications and restrictions... and GB are nowhere near the cheapest for me, so it's all kinda moot, now, ain't it?

uva_caresi

The switch the gb was easy and trouble free. The problem with banks and utility companies is how they perform when there is a problem.

In my case i was overpaying by over £30 per month. I was happy with the dd staying as was just wanted my £260 refund as my daughter at Uni could make better use of this and leave the dd as was, as was happy to build up a buffer for the winter.

I tried calling - no one ever answered!
I tried emailing - at best it took about four or five days to get a response, at worst 13 days!
I was advised initially by GBenergy that they like to keep 2 months dd payment on account in case of any 'spikes' in usage and this was their policy.

So my request for refund was completely ignored and I got an email stating their self centred policy. Gee thanks for the customer service GB....you are the tops.

I politely and business like advised them that I didn't agree with their 2 month policy and would like my credit refunding asap.
Some days later I got an email asking for my meter readings to enable them to enact the refund....I can't think why they can't do it on the previous bill, but i went along with this and tried to submit my readings online. The website was down!

So I put the readings in a reply to the email that requested them and advising them of the website not accepting readings.

Then all went quiet.....all very quiet.

So I tried calling again and ended up emailing as I couldn't get through after 25 minutes. I got an email response saying - i paraphrase '...what??? right! oh sorry, not sure what's going on here, please provide updated meter readings....

And so it went on various emails further....

Then they reduced my DD to £80 without my intervention - which I didn't want and had requested NOT to happen as the £30 over charge would continue to build a credit for the winter... all this happened in the space of about 3 weeks.

Am exhausted with dealing with them....

Then they altered my billing date so that the refund was calculated just before the dd payment credited the account.....why??? the nett result was that this reduced my refund by £115. In their interests...???

I am now leaving GB energy and wouldn't advise anyone use them. There are many suppliers with similar tariffs and much better customer service.

uva_caresi

My wife checked the web for comments about GBEnergy. I wish I had done the same before I switched to them. There's plenty of real life negative experience of GBEnergy out there outside of MSE and Cheap Energy Club (or whatever it is called). For what it's worth this is the worst experience of an energy supplier in 35 years of dealing with them. I can't think why they're on a recommended listing.

Hey ho... feet voting....