Add your feedback on energy supplier Tonik

LiGhTfasT

Just renewed with these, cant fault them. Still very competitive and as I was hoping you do stay on the old taffif till it ends which is a bonus since energy has since gone up a fair bit.

Thanks for renewing with Tonik – we’re really pleased to hear you’re staying with us! We’ll move you onto your new tariff when your current one comes to an end on 18 May 2019.

No credit for renewing on to the go green v2 tarrif for me. Shell was coming in at the same price and £25 cashback from mse, went for the easy option in the end and renewed. I've posted my referral up in the hope it pays off and i'll break even. If anyone's looking to sign up.:beer:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5694919/tonik-energy&page=10#182

Telegraph_Sam

I have just renewed my contract with Tonik based on generally favourable experience over the past year and a competitive tariff. 4 - 5*'s would be in order were it not, as I had gradually come to suspect and is now becoming apparent, for their policy on running the account: I was encouraged to "build up" my credit balance in advance of the winter demands to a point where I felt a refund was in order. This was promised me at the end of the previous contract. Since then it has been a case of fudge and procrastination and delays. I have now come to the conclusion that the "business model" of Tonik and I dare say others is to use customers as a source of working capital and hold on to (and increase) credit balances for as long as they can. Granted that you get 3% interest on credit balances, I believe, but show me a bank or credit card co that provides finance at 3%! For this I downgrade Tonik to 2 - 3 stars.

SkyBlueJack

I moved to Tonik ~18months ago through the Energy Saving Club - all worked well for the first 12 months and no complaints there... however as I approached the end of my contract I was moved on to their variable rates (faux pas from me) however in just 5 months I’ve quickly racked up £300+ debt on the account. Now granted I for one have some accountability for not switching schemes and checking their rates, but what worries me is just how different these are and therefore the ethical questions this raises about being responsible providers. This will hurt our outgoings but thankfully not put us under. But I know all too many families who this would quite literally sink. Surely there is an expectation or a requirement on lenders to act in the interests of their consumers? Maybe I’m being naive..
So what I’ve been faced with is the news that my DD more than doubles as a result... feeling kind of locked in now as I have this large debit to pay off upfront if I leave... ��

themilnes

I've just renewed with Tonik. They weren't the cheapest but weren't badly priced either and I like their green credentials and the various interesting schemes that they've got in the pipeline. I've found them really helpful when I've had an enquiry, (I've always contacted them via Facebook messenger), and they've always come back in a timely manner with a response.

My last supplier messed around when I tried to leave them for Tonik but Tonik stuck with it and were very helpful throughout the process. They even managed to use my existing smart meters which was an unexpected bonus! I had a bit of a problem with the bill calculation around a month ago when I logged on and found a huuuuuggeee deficit on my account. I notified them of this and they looked into it, told me that there was a problem and to ignore the live balance for a few days whilst they rectified the issue. True to their word, it was all fixed in a few days, so can't complain.

I think it speaks volumes that I'm sticking with them...

quensh

I switched companies using this website over 3 months ago with a credit on my account of circa £125 they are claiming they do not have sufficient detail to close the account and refund the money. Which is a joke. They have emails fro me and the new supplier months ago but they are happy to do nothing and keep the money for as long as they can. I am hearing as i research my options that Tonik have a reputation for doing this. - They appear to be a company with little moral standing. Not one i would recommend you trust in the future.

grumpycrab

quensh wrote: »

they are claiming they do not have sufficient detail to close the account and refund the money

What detail is missing? Has the new supplier billed you yet - showing start meter reads - perhaps copy the bill to Tonik?

Telegraph_Sam

Interesting since this bears out my own experience. I would classify the account admin as friendly but incompetent such as could be expected from a company experiencing "growth pangs". There is a mix up over exactly which tariff I am on - but the prices are good. I have been promised a refund of my credit balance on more than one occasion but this has never happened, they wish to continue adding to it via the monthly D/D's. Each time a different customer service adviser "picks up" my account queries he / she seems to be insufficiently aware of the background. I don't trust the "Live Balance" and how it is arrived at, but go by the statement balance instead. If one can live with these niggles then great!

texter

quensh wrote: »

I switched companies using this website over 3 months ago with a credit on my account of circa £125 they are claiming they do not have sufficient detail to close the account and refund the money. Which is a joke. They have emails fro me and the new supplier months ago but they are happy to do nothing and keep the money for as long as they can. I am hearing as i research my options that Tonik have a reputation for doing this. - They appear to be a company with little moral standing. Not one i would recommend you trust in the future.

It can take up to 3 months for any supplier to refund your balance after appplying to switch to another supplier.
e.g. 3-4 weeks for the switch to actually occur
6 weeks to produce a final bill
2 weeks to settle the final bill

At least with Tonik, it sounds as though they will pay interest on any account balance at a rate of 3% pa - that's greater than you will get from almost any savings account

isihac_2

Couldn't agree more with the comments made by other posters regarding energy companies procrastinating about refunding excess credit balances during or at the end of a contract. In my experience this started soon after privatisation when there were just a small number of suppliers; it has become even more noticeable with the appearance of a large number of new entrants to the market, many of whom are probably 'skating on thin ice' wrt funding their operation not least because initially they can only compete on price. Personally I prefer the option to use the approach (rarely offered) to pay less in the summer months and more in the winter period so that payments are more closely matched to consumption. Otherwise it seems to be a case of keeping on badgering them to refund excess credit balances, something that the regulator should surely be able sort by specifying a set of rules that the industry has to abide by? (cue for hollow laughter?!!!)

Telegraph_Sam

Yes, I was also "persuaded" to build up quite a credit balance in advance of anticipated higher winter consumption. The trouble was that come the approach of summer the reverse was not put into effect, and the credit balance would have gone ballistic - had I not suspended the D/D's. In theory this should not have mattered since the excess should be earning 3% - but I could not work out how it was calculated and where the "bonus" lived. Considering the % amounts at stake I'd prefer to have my savings lodged in a savings account for all to see ..:)