Green Network Energy Reviews: Add your feedback on the energy supplier

destry

"I was taken in by the 5star rating on MLewis web page. How can this company have a good rating on M lewis web page when the company is so awful."

I did ask on this forum how to add my own star rating for GNE, but there was no reply.

I am beginning to wonder whether part of the deal MSE has done with GNE is that they offer a fractionally cheaper tarriff to Energy Club members in return for a guranteed 5-star rating -- which, on the face of it, they don't deserve.

JtF

Despite human assurances from old supplier NPower to new GNE, my switch was blocked. The Address (incorrectly on National database) didn't match my supply address - the one that NPower had been supplying for ten years. A conference call was arranged between myself and the two companies with them having sight of the database telling me the correct address (line 1) had been updated. Switch to GNE has just failed as this hasn't been done. I have now missed out on the very good tariff - not one they could administer but available from Auto Sergei - which does now not work. Replaced by a Version 3:- is not so good but still £140 cheaper than NPower.
I can not even switch thru Sergei as it won't accept my bank details - I've tried so many times maybe it thinks I'm a robot. This has all been a nightmare.
I wonder how much of a Hotel California ploy this is by companies allowing you to check out but never leave . . . . and as to Auto Sergei - neither successful or simples!
PS: I called the london office database who could not change details for me. I am completely at the mercy of my current supplier. Girl says this is happening all the time and that I should get supplier to send me a screenshot of changes.:mad:

wigidiwigidiwak

Switched to GNE on the MSE 18 Month Fix group switch back in September 2018. Been paying £65pm since then which was based on my annual usage.

Obviously usage over the winter has been higher, which has led to a £150 account debit - I understand this to be normal - however GNE have now hiked my direct debit to £100pm! I called to express concern at this and the options they gave me were:

1) pay off the £150 and reset to zero, but even then they would only lower my DD to £80pm.
2) suck it up and pay the £100pm.
3) switch suppliers but have to pay the £50 exit fee.

The guy on the phone agreed with me that £100pm would very soon lead to an account credit, but said there was nothing he could do.

Very disappointed in their approach regarding this. It is all well and good attracting new customers with competitive rates, but when you are effectively forcing them to overpay for energy and then backing them into a corner it becomes underhanded and unfair.

Should've stuck with Bulb - their rates are variable but at least you know where you stand with them and there is no exit fee.

OnlyJ9

I've been with Green Network Energy for over a year now and have been happy to date. Switch went smoothly, DD has remained the same during this period and last month for the first time have a small debit on the account.

As tariff is due to end soon, am looking at comparisons on Cheap Energy Club but will probably stay with GNE.

Only thing I don't like so far, is the lack of detail of my past usage on their website.

Sinders

HI ALL, We have been with Green Star Energy for several years and decided to change to Bulb so we did the change and that was immediately blocked by GSE because when we joined they set the payments low (and we thought oh that's good ) but we didn't realise that we were getting into debt,
So they then said we owed them £1,163 that we then paid on the 8th March 2019 with an extra £30 to ensure everything went through ok and we were eventually allowed to join Bulb on the 9th April 2019.
Now GSE are now saying that we owe them a further £271.31p for that month ????? We are paying Bulb £45 per month.
It looks like we are being FINED FOR LEAVING can anybody help ?

oldcodger69

MSE quote: Should you switch to new tiddler firms? Not really, no. This MSE guidance is, from my experience, fully relevant to GNE. The same quote is also relevant to First Utility who I left to join GNE. The Energy Ombudsman has kindly intervened with both firms to gain my release from both their respective contracts. My disappointing experience of both firms leaves me with the strong impression that their administration staff are overwhelmed with work, possibly arising from the generous MSE recommendations.


With GNE the transfer and initial contract went satisfactorily and they started to debit according to the formal annual usage figure; so no query. This direct debit was arbitrarily increased following the winter quarter and a dispute arose but was, by arrangement, reduced after three months.


GNE then wrote to me 2 months prior to the end of that contract suggesting I continue with another tariff [which was also being recommended by MSE]. Contacting GNE by telephone was impossible so an email was sent that took them one week to reply to. A further email went unanswered so I successfully contacted them in order to continue the electricity supply. The clerk seemed unsure of what I was asking and kept going away and then proceeded to sign me up to a new tariff. When I checked that it was the requested one he said it was a different tariff with better benefits [but not those that MSE were recommending at that time]. Simple calculations indicated that overall there were significantly fewer benefits and a formal complaint was submitted to which GNE did not reply. Contact was subsequently made with the Energy Ombudsman who kindly accepted my case and quickly obtained my release from that contract. GNE’s response to the Ombudsman, to my mind had not addressed the points raised, but they had offered, as a gesture of goodwill, to waive their Early Leaving charge [£30] which I accepted. Unfortunately their Billing overlooked that point and debited it. The Ombudsman kindly took that fact up separately and a suitable adjustment was soon made. Three cheers for the Energy Ombudsman!


I have now moved to Octopus [no, I’ve never heard of them either] but they also carry an endorsement from ‘Which’ magazine so, fingers crossed!!!
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williamson50

Beware, they are very inflexible over changing direct debits! They reduced ours from £90 to £65 even though I asked to remain at the higher amount as it was December, then in April they decided to increase from £65 to £137 even though we were still just in credit and entering the summer! They ignored e mails and said we could either accept the higher amount or go onto monthly billing! I will be leaving as soon as the fixed rate tariff expires.

Alanwicker

I’m in the process of switching away from Green Network Energy. We had a balance of £67 to pay after the last quarter so paid by direct debit and then they insisted on increasing our monthly fee by £30 per month. Was given no choice. After numerous calls we managed to persuade them to only increase it by £10 extra even though we were using less energy and had used less over the year than estimated. Guess what? They went and took the higher monthly payment. Only after switching have they offered to put next months direct debit back to the very original fee as a gesture of goodwill Big Deal! Happy though as it’s made me realise that the deal I was on was not the best available on the market.

Xj797433

I transferred to GNE using ML Energy Club in Oct 2018 on 18mth fixed. Direct Debit £88/mth. I used my ACTUAL kWh from past three years to project my usage. January 2019 GNE inflated my kWh usage projections without consultation and thus increased my DD to £110!!
So far as I'm concerned they obtained my business under false pretences as they have arbitrarily increased usage projections. My circumstances have not changed. There is no reason why my annual kWh usage should be significantly different. Mild winter. If I enter my same projections into their website directly today their new 18mth fixed product predicts £89/mth DD. New users of their calculator could be fooled into taking their product only to find their projections and DD arbitrarily increased. NOTE: I fully understand that at the end of the contract it is actual usage that counts and refunds will be paid, but in the mean time I am having to find more money every month for their coffers! What is the point in entering usage into a calculator to make an informed choice if the energy company then does its own thing !! It makes a mockery of the using the energy calculators to budget for your monthly spend. Not happy and complaints so far fobbed off, but I'm not giving this one up. They need to justify their projections in the face of my historical actuals.

Biscuit_Tin

xj797433 wrote: »

I transferred to GNE using ML Energy Club in Oct 2018 on 18mth fixed. Direct Debit £88/mth. I used my ACTUAL kWh from past three years to project my usage. January 2019 GNE inflated my kWh usage projections without consultation and thus increased my DD to £110!!
So far as I'm concerned they obtained my business under false pretences as they have arbitrarily increased usage projections. My circumstances have not changed. There is no reason why my annual kWh usage should be significantly different. Mild winter. If I enter my same projections into their website directly today their new 18mth fixed product predicts £89/mth DD. New users of their calculator could be fooled into taking their product only to find their projections and DD arbitrarily increased. NOTE: I fully understand that at the end of the contract it is actual usage that counts and refunds will be paid, but in the mean time I am having to find more money every month for their coffers! What is the point in entering usage into a calculator to make an informed choice if the energy company then does its own thing !! It makes a mockery of the using the energy calculators to budget for your monthly spend. Not happy and complaints so far fobbed off, but I'm not giving this one up. They need to justify their projections in the face of my historical actuals.

Are we to assume that the independant Cheap Energy Club was equally misleading in their indicated monthly payment values for this supplier too? :cool:

You would have been given at least 10 days notice of any change in the monthly payment, as per the rules of the direct debit scheme

If the change in monthly payment was unjustified in your opinion, them there is an MSE article that has frequently been linked to on this board as to how to complain

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/lower-energy-direct-debits/

Ultimately, you will only pay for the energy you consume accordiing to that recorded by your meter and the tariff you agree. Monthly payments are simply payments to your account to pay towards the cost. Any over or under funding will need to be settled later.