Add your feedback on energy supplier Tonik

Smokieno1

ask66 said:

I've been with Tonik for a few years now... I like the fact that they're a small, local company and that some of the energy they supply is 'green'.  Today I phoned to take advantage of the MSE 'best buy' tariff, the phone was quickly answered and I spoke to an extremely pleasant man currently working from his home somewhere in the West Midlands.  Afterwards I checked online and the tariff switch, meter reads etc have all been recorded correctly.  I don't scrutinise my bills every month, but I can see that there's been a problem with their new billing system since around the start of 2020.  I guess I trust that they'll sort the problem out... in the meantime, I'm getting excellent value energy.  If it turns out that I am overpaying on my DD then it'll get sorted out and I think I'm protected by the banks' direct debit guarantee, Ofgem and the Energy Ombudsman.  I'd still be very happy to recommend them at the present time!

*Note- just don’t try to switch. Took me 4 months to get manually calculated final bill and refund of my £400 credit balance...

reefer37

good luck getting them to lower your direct debit (ask66). final reason i left is they wanted to put my bill up even though i was in credit. they side you use more in the winter. i said yes i know i have the heating on. look back at the last two years and you will see from my cons this happens. as they would not keep it the same i thought best to move on.
on the move on front i sort of finally have my final bill. although only from 7/1/20 to 12/1/20 and my move was 23/1/20 or 28/1/20 depending if looking at my new provider or tonik. also readings are not same as new provider so can see either i will need final fianl bill or tonik will just leave this as that.hahahahahaha

CrossUser

MSE_Andrew said:

This is a feedback thread on energy supplier

Tonik

Switch originally went smoothly, and up to this very month, service has been good.  All of a sudden, email reminders for readings have ceased, and the latest 'offer' to tempt us to stick with them when our tariff ends in 20 days' time includes a 'free' boiler service 'worth £84'.  However, we live in a village which has no gas, and turns out the offer is only for gas boilers.  I phoned to see what alternative carrot they were giving to customers in my position - zilch it would appear.  Asked for a manager to call me back to explain why.  They never did.  Anyway, turns out I could save £100 a year by switching to Octopus, so have done that instead of staying with Tonik.  Shame, as their website and customer service up to this point was brilliant.  They seem to have taken their eye off the ball.  Popularity would appear to breed complacency.

robert11

Energyhound2017 said:

Decided to switch to Tonik from OVO after seeing quote of £x a month on this site; got the same quote on Tonik's site too; DD was set up 16% more than the £x in the two quotes. Explanation from Tonik- it's winter, you'll use more. Fair enough, and in their Ts&Cs they give themselves the option to do this, but IMO it's not a great experience for a new customer. Have cancelled switch now, staying with OVO.

Hadn't realise until leaving Tonik they actually pay 3% interest on any credit balance up to a maximum of £1000 which is almost twice as good as the best bank rates! If you've spare money sitting in a bank account it would be better sitting in your gas/electric account. The interest is credited monthly and offsets your bill. I'm in the process of leaving Tonik for a cheaper supplier but just wonder if Martin's tool takes this into account?

Smokieno1

robert11 said:

Energyhound2017 said:

Decided to switch to Tonik from OVO after seeing quote of £x a month on this site; got the same quote on Tonik's site too; DD was set up 16% more than the £x in the two quotes. Explanation from Tonik- it's winter, you'll use more. Fair enough, and in their Ts&Cs they give themselves the option to do this, but IMO it's not a great experience for a new customer. Have cancelled switch now, staying with OVO.

Hadn't realise until leaving Tonik they actually pay 3% interest on any credit balance up to a maximum of £1000 which is almost twice as good as the best bank rates! If you've spare money sitting in a bank account it would be better sitting in your gas/electric account. The interest is credited monthly and offsets your bill. I'm in the process of leaving Tonik for a cheaper supplier but just wonder if Martin's tool takes this into account?

I think you’ll find actually getting it back is the problem...

MWT

ask66 said:

If it turns out that I am overpaying on my DD then it'll get sorted out and I think I'm protected by the banks' direct debit guarantee, Ofgem and the Energy Ombudsman.

You can remove the bank from that list, as long as they are only taking the correct DD from your account the bank will not be much help if you need a refund at some point in the future. Also you can remove Ofgem, they will step in and assign a new provider if yours goes bust, but they do not have any interest in finding the cheapest or best one for your needs, and it can take a long time for the new provider to deal with an outstanding credit balance due to you... especially as there are no enforced time-limits on refunds in cases where a provider has taken over customers from another failed provider.

In reality the Ombudsman is your only protection and that may take many weeks to get a resolution and even longer to get paid.

Don't let a large credit balance build up in the first place, this isn't a savings account, it is a free loan you are providing to your supplier...

Shrewdmoneysaver1

My experience is that Tonik used to have really great customer service. Sadly it is now virtually impossible to get any response from them. I suspect it will end with the ombudsman or in court

fliss2g

Smokieno1 said:

robert11 said:

Energyhound2017 said:

Decided to switch to Tonik from OVO after seeing quote of £x a month on this site; got the same quote on Tonik's site too; DD was set up 16% more than the £x in the two quotes. Explanation from Tonik- it's winter, you'll use more. Fair enough, and in their Ts&Cs they give themselves the option to do this, but IMO it's not a great experience for a new customer. Have cancelled switch now, staying with OVO.

Hadn't realise until leaving Tonik they actually pay 3% interest on any credit balance up to a maximum of £1000 which is almost twice as good as the best bank rates! If you've spare money sitting in a bank account it would be better sitting in your gas/electric account. The interest is credited monthly and offsets your bill. I'm in the process of leaving Tonik for a cheaper supplier but just wonder if Martin's tool takes this into account?

I think you’ll find actually getting it back is the problem...

That's very disheartening.  I switched away from Tonik at the end of January and still haven't had any refund.  It's taken them three months to produce statements but there's no indication of how they will pay what they owe me.  They've issued two statements for electricity, one saying I was £220 in credit, the other saying I was £300+ in credit and no statement for gas.  I'd be really grateful if anyone could advise how to get them to refund to me - like many people, I really need this money right now.

inspectorperez

fliss2g said:

Smokieno1 said:

robert11 said:

Energyhound2017 said:

Decided to switch to Tonik from OVO after seeing quote of £x a month on this site; got the same quote on Tonik's site too; DD was set up 16% more than the £x in the two quotes. Explanation from Tonik- it's winter, you'll use more. Fair enough, and in their Ts&Cs they give themselves the option to do this, but IMO it's not a great experience for a new customer. Have cancelled switch now, staying with OVO.

Hadn't realise until leaving Tonik they actually pay 3% interest on any credit balance up to a maximum of £1000 which is almost twice as good as the best bank rates! If you've spare money sitting in a bank account it would be better sitting in your gas/electric account. The interest is credited monthly and offsets your bill. I'm in the process of leaving Tonik for a cheaper supplier but just wonder if Martin's tool takes this into account?

I think you’ll find actually getting it back is the problem...

That's very disheartening.  I switched away from Tonik at the end of January and still haven't had any refund.  It's taken them three months to produce statements but there's no indication of how they will pay what they owe me.  They've issued two statements for electricity, one saying I was £220 in credit, the other saying I was £300+ in credit and no statement for gas.  I'd be really grateful if anyone could advise how to get them to refund to me - like many people, I really need this money right now.

I think persistence is the key!

If you review the one star posts on Trustpilot I think you might get an idea of what you need to do by regular posting of your situation.

The posts I am referring to generally seem to indicate its a waste of time complaining to OFGEM and you are better off being a persistent nuisance by a campaign of regular negative posts perhaps merely reitterating each day that you are still waiting for your money.

Every time someone posts a negative review, there seems to be an almost immediate response of positive five star reviews (Hmmmmm!!) hence the need for persistence

Smokieno1

fliss2g said:

Smokieno1 said:

robert11 said:

Energyhound2017 said:

Decided to switch to Tonik from OVO after seeing quote of £x a month on this site; got the same quote on Tonik's site too; DD was set up 16% more than the £x in the two quotes. Explanation from Tonik- it's winter, you'll use more. Fair enough, and in their Ts&Cs they give themselves the option to do this, but IMO it's not a great experience for a new customer. Have cancelled switch now, staying with OVO.

Hadn't realise until leaving Tonik they actually pay 3% interest on any credit balance up to a maximum of £1000 which is almost twice as good as the best bank rates! If you've spare money sitting in a bank account it would be better sitting in your gas/electric account. The interest is credited monthly and offsets your bill. I'm in the process of leaving Tonik for a cheaper supplier but just wonder if Martin's tool takes this into account?

I think you’ll find actually getting it back is the problem...

That's very disheartening.  I switched away from Tonik at the end of January and still haven't had any refund.  It's taken them three months to produce statements but there's no indication of how they will pay what they owe me.  They've issued two statements for electricity, one saying I was £220 in credit, the other saying I was £300+ in credit and no statement for gas.  I'd be really grateful if anyone could advise how to get them to refund to me - like many people, I really need this money right now.

Contact the energy ombudsman. It’s the only way to get your money back. It’s easy. You can just answer a few questions online and upload proof of the emails and messages between them and you then just leave it to them.