Add your feedback on energy supplier Tonik

Mabel2012

This is an extract from an email I received from Tonik a few days ago.

"However - unfortunately, we are having some trouble producing your bill due to a system error.
There was originally some missing technical information which we have now fixed and the data is all correct. However - when trying to bill the account, there is a glitch in the system that is preventing this from going ahead.  
This has been raised with our Continuous Improvements Team who are investigating the problem but unfortunately for now, there is nothing we can do.

I have noted your account down and please be re-assured that this issue is being looked into to get resolved, but for now we have not yet found a fix for this. Once we do – this should be a blanket fix for all affected accounts."

I thought the billing problems had been resolved. Has anyone else received this reasoning for not receiving up to date bills.

I have not had a bill since early July and have been requesting the bills for July and August usage. The readings for both months were provided within a day of their request for a meter reading and confirmed with a photo of the meter at the same time. I have kept my part of the contract. I have an account balance of £153 which is sufficient to cover 3 months average usage. If I suspend the direct debit until billing is up to date I am in  breach of contract. My account will then revert to the expensive variable rate tariff and I presume to exit fees. They have me by the short and curlies. Once I receive a bill that looks normal, I'm jumping ship.

Gerry1

Mabel2012 said:

This is an extract from an email I received from Tonik a few days ago.

"However - unfortunately, we are having some trouble producing your bill due to a system error.
There was originally some missing technical information which we have now fixed and the data is all correct. However - when trying to bill the account, there is a glitch in the system that is preventing this from going ahead.  
This has been raised with our Continuous Improvements Team who are investigating the problem but unfortunately for now, there is nothing we can do.

I have not had a bill since early July and have been requesting the bills for July and August usage.

That's unacceptable.  They can still send you a bill, even if it means resorting to a calculator, pen, paper and a postage stamp.

OTOH, you could keep quiet, hope nothing happens for over 12 months and then rely on the back billing rules ! 

Mabel2012

Gerry1 said:

That's unacceptable.  They can still send you a bill, even if it means resorting to a calculator, pen, paper and a postage stamp.

OTOH, you could keep quiet, hope nothing happens for over 12 months and then rely on the back billing rules ! 

Everything was fine until the billing system upgrade. I would have given them 4-5 stars then. Since April when they restarted billing I have charges ranging from £14 up to £357 on my account dashboard. The only way of checking the accuracy was when I demanded they update the annual projection of usage. That is the only thing that makes sense.

I gave them a chance to redeem themselves after my meter was changed at the end of June and they have failed once again. TBH I'm now at the stage where I hope Tonik goes bust and another supplier is nominated to take over our accounts. They are slowly driving me insane.

Telegraph_Sam

Are you 100% quite sure that you could be got at for breach of contract for suspending your D/D at a time when your account is in substantial credit??  This would give them in effect carte blanche to milk your bank account to cover their financial problems and overlooks the fact that there is an option to make ad hoc manual top-up payments. If your credit balance was arguably enough to cover a rough estimate of your liability in the absence of a proper bill (their failings) then I reckon they would be on very weak ground as far as taking action was concerned. I suspended  my own D/D when the credit balance was getting out of hand and things gradually reverted to "normal" thereafter.

Mabel2012

Ginger123456789 said:

Oh well: I guess I am the only person in the world that has not had any real problems with Tonik: yes it all went wrong in January 2020 - I continued to pay my bill and it worked out fine - yes I got confusing bills in July and August however the bottom line was correct so hey all good - and this month September I got my first non confused bill that looked like my pre-January 2020 bill so all good. And it is accurate: I am on a smart meter so I guess that helps: £55 per month and I can move to an even cheaper tariff saving an £5 so again all good as far as I am concerned. I have no losses to cut so far. A cautious 4 out of 5 from me and a cautious welcome back to Tonik. 

I expect to get accurate and timely bills from any company I deal with. Not getting them for 9 months is totally unacceptable. 

Mabel2012

Telegraph_Sam said:

Are you 100% quite sure that you could be got at for breach of contract for suspending your D/D at a time when your account is in substantial credit??

We've been notified that you've cancelled your Direct Debit to Tonik Energy.

The current balance on your account is £-133.25.

If you would like to set up your Direct Debit again, or believe there may have been an error, please call our Member Services Team with your bank details on 033 3344 2393 between the hours of 08.00am-17.00pm, Monday-Friday.

What happens next?

As you're currently on a Direct Debit tariff, if you do not contact us to re-instate your Direct Debit, your account will default to our On Demand standard variable tariff.

I cancelled my Direct Debit earlier in the year when they failed to produce bills after I provided meter readings. The above was their reply so I reinstated it.

I want a stress free life and don't wish to get into breach of contract issues as I don't have the mental capacity or will to do so.

I have switched energy tariff and sometimes supplier about every two years since we we were allowed to. I started by ensuring I was on the best tariff with the existing supplier and later changed supplier when I could get a much better deal. I have not had any trouble with any energy company until the Tonik billing fiasco. It is all supposed to be trouble free. 

ppppenguin

Tonik threatened to switch me to a more expensive tariff when I stopped my DD. I told them where to stick it. This was shortly before my ombudsman complaint. They never did transfer me to a more expensive tariff. I'm in credit with them at the moment after the ombudsman award so I'll probably jump when I've reached a debit balance again.Saves trying to get a refund out of them when I leave.

Mabel2012

ppppenguin said:

Tonik threatened to switch me to a more expensive tariff when I stopped my DD. I told them where to stick it.

If you are on a DD tariff Tonik are within their rights to switch you to a non DD tariff if you cancel the DD.

If Tonic is not providing accurate monthly bills when we provide meter readings are they in breach of contract??

 They wanted to increase my DD by almost double despite me having a healthy account credit - that was more than double the assessed DD amount - because they were producing incredulous bills after they restarted billing in April. Figures between £14 and £350 do not make sense. I haven't received a 'normal' bill this year.

Does the Ombudsman recalculate bills if they are in dispute.

theoretica

I switched to Tonik around 6 months ago and have only needed to contact them once when their system wouldn't let me enter a meter reading online. Sorted without fuss. 

Telegraph_Sam

"If you are on a DD tariff Tonik are within their rights to switch you to a non DD tariff if you cancel the DD."
May be.  I am not a lawyer but I suspect that if T construed this to mean they could charge or debit you regardless of what you actually owed them - that you were in effect obliged to maintain a more than reasonable credit balance in your account - then I can hear "Unfair Terms ..." being shouted from the rooftops.  And I suspect that T knows this if it came to the crunch. Before that they will most likely just try it on.