Add your feedback on energy supplier People's Energy

Leandros

I left Peoples Energy when i moved house in December last year. At the end of April this year they sent me an email claiming i owed the over £1500 as they had underbilled me. This despite the fact that i provided several meter readings over the course of my time with them. They have argued the definition of backbilling with me and generally been brusque and unhelpful and as a result i have had to take the matter to the Energy Ombudsman. Nightmare company - avoid like a jogger with COVID 19

Blackadr

Blackdog said:

Trying to decide between this company and Gulf, both are small companies but as we know Gulf are part of the big US company. Have People's Energy started rolling out smart meters yet?

Yes. Quickest approach is to contact 3rd party installer directly and arrange the install: http://www.magnumutilities.com/  01792 721 586

martyp

I was a big fan of peoples energy to start off with, the handling of the transfer and billing has been great but am starting to lose faith in them now. I don't think they've replied to my emails before. I sent one on the 25th November and it raised a ticket in their system which I updated 9 days ago asking when I'd get a reply and still nothing at all. This was way before the data breach as well.
Now my tariff is expiring at the end of January and with a comparison it seems Peoples Energy are now outdone by a lot of other suppliers including tariffs from the big 6 and that's their cheapest tariff which is variable. Not only that the rebate seems to be getting constantly pushed back and is now 2023 which makes me wonder if there's any real benefit in waiting for it considering I can save about £75 or so possibly by switching elsewhere. Is the rebate likely to be more than the £75 a year I might save?

Bendo

There won't be any rebate. They are unlikely to be profitable any the soon and are looking at a big ICO fine now for the data breach.

Under GDPR, the size of the fine is no longer limited by their turnover.

btr30

I joined People’s Energy this time last year, and all service has been excellent.
Good email communications keeping me updated with the changeover, and easy to use web portal to submit meter readings and clear accurate billsreceived each month within about ten minutes of submitting readings.
I would rate them the best energy supplier I have used.
However, at renewal they weren’t that competitive and I am now on the process of transferring out.
I am not particularly worried with the data breach, I have been subject to a few by various companies, with no ill effect.
Would be happy to return to People’s Energy in the future if pricing is right.

martyp

I'm leaving them as although the billing was fine and reliable the lack of response to my email and hiked prices which are now beaten by many other suppliers mean I can save much more going elsewhere. Their customer support seemed great in the first couple of years or so with them actively responding to forum posts on here as well and also responding to emails in good time. I still have had no response to my query raised on the 20th November even after updating the ticket 16 days ago. All I've had was the automated ticket raised email and this was way before the data breach as well. I've had a "sorry to see you go" email now obviously automated:
"We're really sorry that you want to leave. Did you know we are a social enterprise and the only Community Interest Company energy supplier in the UK? That means we put you and your community first. Next time you want to switch check us out. Not only are we ethical, we're always competitive."
Not sure they really put me first ignoring me for well over a month. Their cheapest tariff is over £100 a year more than the cheapest I can get and I only pay around £600 or so a year so obviously a big difference.
I didn't even get my reminder email this month to submit my readings (before I started the switch) which I had received every month since joining them.

sueandjohnslater

I too have just cancelled with People's Energy after over 2 years.  They have not been the cheapest but their business model which was different to everyone else appealed to me, but they appear now to have lost their way.  They take many weeks to reply to emails, and have recently taken to altering the amount of my monthly Direct Debit to unjustified levels.  This has happened several times and I would advise to avoid this company at all costs if you want an easy life!

btr30

I have recently left after one year due to cheaper deals being available on renewal.
However, I would rate them highly and wouldn’t hesitate to return if price was right.
Ended the year with a credit balance of £22, which was refunded to my account on same day as bill issued, 5 weeks after leaving day.

violaman

Been with PE for nearly a year. Started off well but has descended into a shambles. Emails ignored, Live Chat on website not functioning, on hold for nearly an hour this morning when phoning them. They persuaded me to have smart meters installed last August - what a mistake that was! The gas meter has never worked so neither PE nor I know accurately how much gas I've consumed over the past seven months, and the In Home Display stopped working half an hour after the installer left and hasn't worked since. Many emails and phone calls over the months have resulted in nothing, just the same old "there are nationwide teething problems with smart meters". If that is so, why make false promises such as "you'll never again have to submit readings yourself" in the promotional phone call? PE has just told me I'll have to continue submitting manual gas readings if I want to be billed accurately for my consumption! When I've requested an engineer's visit to inspect the meters and fix the IHD problem, I'm threatened with an £80 charge if they find no fault. I like the premise of the company and their Customer Service reps are charming, but the actual service is a big disappointment. Think they may have grown too big too soon and can't cope. It's a shame, but unless they raise their game by June when my contract's up, I can't see myself staying with them. I'd rather pay a bit more and not have the hassle.

martandbev

I have had a bit of a disaster when trying to sign up for People’s Energy. My welcome letter had the wrong MPAN number so I followed the instructions to submit a ticket to correct this. After 8 days, the ticket had not been responded to so I decided to ring for advice. First phone call I was 19 in the queue. Second phone call I didn’t even make the queue. Third call I was 11 in the queue and decided to hang on. It was 31 minutes until my call was answered, but when it was, the person said that he couldn’t deal with my enquiry and said he would put me through to another person. I was then put on hold for a a further 12 minutes, but was eventually answered by a nice lady who sympathised with my problem and after discussing the problem with someone else, she assured me it would be sorted within a couple of days. ( total phone call 56 minutes ).
imagine my surprise when I received an e-mail from People’s Energy saying sorry that I had decided cancel my switch and that they had cancelled my standing order. I don’t want to go through all this again so will now look for an alternative supplier.