Add your feedback on energy supplier People's Energy

martyp

I've noticed they've now introduced a 1 year fix despite saying they only have 1 tariff 'the people's tariff'.
That also comes up £22 cheaper for me than the variable with the increase next month, although there's 2 months upfront and a £20 per fuel exit fee.
I am considering it though as I assume you'd still get the 75% profits back as well sometime after it ends so might ultimately be one of the cheapest fixes but still a gamble on the 75% back element.

martyp

I'm starting to lose a bit of faith in them as well I must admit. I was miffed that just after switching they upped the prices and then shortly after started a 1 year fix which is £22 a year cheaper. I asked why the variable tariff prices were increased when they were able to offer the cheaper fix for a year. They also claim to only offer one tariff - 'the people's tariff' and last time I checked that was the only one in their tariff information, not the Q1 2019 or 1 year fix.
I e-mailed them over a week ago now and not had a reply yet.
The last response was a little unimpressive as I was asked to send in photos of my meters to show something and got a reply from a different person telling me to upload my readings on the portal and sent me a new link for access to it. I had already been putting my readings on the portal and the photos were on request to verify them by a different person there?!
They've stopped responding on here as well.
I'm considering maybe sticking with them for electric on the 1 year fix and going back to Zog for a 1 year gas fix as they're cheaper. Then if the 75% profit rebate works out I can maybe get that on the electric and not have all my eggs in one basket with them hoping the 75% profit return works out.

captaincork

They WILL NOT ANSWER EMAILS utterly hopeless . email to join and they are all over you like a rash.

zolablue25

I was looking at options as my current fixed deal ends at the end of next month. People's Energy come up as one of the cheapest so popped over here to look at feedback - pretty glad I did!

Interesting that for the first couple of pages of this thread the company representative posted frequently and looked pretty helpful however, they haven't responded to this thread since 16th October so not a good sign. Looks like another Iresa - overwhelmed by customer numbers and can't afford (or won't) employ more staff to cope with the numbers.

I guess my search for a replacement for Affect continues.

captaincork

They have gone to ground on every site now. At first every comment was answered now total silence. Cessation of proper communication is always a bad sign, more so with an internet based company. I was fooled int thinking that this would be a nice local company which would run my account smoothly and allow me to relax after the horrors of eon. No such luck. How such incompetence can be allowed to continue is unbelievable. Is there any chance of Martin rattling their cage on our behalf.

ozaz

Just to add a little bit of balance to this thread, I've been with People's Energy now since 1 Dec and on the whole have been happy. I haven't experienced any significant issues with customer support: I emailed them twice after my account was set up and the response times to these queries were 5 business days (OK, a bit slow) and 2 business days (reasonable, I would say). Both emails were in December though so I don't have any experience of customer service in 2019.

Main positive compared to my old supplier - I like how bills are created almost immediately after submitting meter readings. With my old supplier I had to wait several days.

Main critique/recommendation - I wish there was more regular information/feedback provided during the switch process on the status of the switch (e.g. live switch status information on the account dashboard)

martyp

I must be honest that aside from the recent e-mail response times I can't say anything bad about them as I know they're a small company and no doubt being inundated with switches being one of the cheapest suppliers and the offer of rebates next year.
I called last week and after nearly 10 minutes managed to get through to a guy there who was helpful, knowledgeable, informative and pleasant to deal with which isn't always the case with many bigger suppliers.
I queried going from the variable to the 1 year fix this month as my prices are increasing on the 14th and I'll be going over on the 15th with my monthly direct debit now adjusted from £50.60 to £52.50 with 2 payments going out on my normal date on the 25th (£105).
I'm due about £80 or so from Outfox after they took a doubled payment from me a few weeks after I left with their new high winter payment scheme.

I think People's Energy are just struggling a bit to cope with demand but so far have proved a more reliable supplier than Outfox at least as I appreciate they have had to increase their prices which happened to be just a month after switching but at least have offered a 1 year fix that was even cheaper than the variable so makes sense to go over to that. It's 2 months upfront but if you can swallow that you pay the same each month for the rest of the year as well as the remaining 11 payments being reduced in line with the remaining expected cost for the year I believe. Also I like that the exit fees are only applicable for the first 6 months too so don't have to wait a whole year if you wanted to switch.
Their blog seems to indicate they're confident they can ride out any wholesale price increases:
https://www.peoplesenergy.co.uk/blogare-smaller-energy-companies-safe/
So just hoping they can cope and if it does work out then my 1 year fix will finish in 2020 when they're due to start the rebates so hoping it'll work out cheaper than other current fixes on that basis as it's only about £8 or so more than the cheapest fix for me.
I can also add that their switch date was just as advised with no problems, the online account set up was faultless and seems to be very reliable - I haven't had any problems accessing it and do like the live balance on there as well. Billing also seems to be accurate so being the small company that they are I think they're doing well on that part as well.
I hope they're able to recover a bit to start responding on forums again and also to e-mails again but like my experience with Iresa I'm happy to absorb any hit in customer service to not have to pay higher amounts for offshore call centres etc. and support a small UK based company that will hopefully repay the customers next year.

Derek1963

I hate to be having to grumble, but....
Having changed suppliers a lot in recent months due to the energy prices constantly rising or unfair tariff changes (looking at you here Outfox) we ended up going to PE. They weren't the cheapest but the media reviews sucked us in, so we joined. After our first month we have found ourselves running a debit on our balance and wanted to add a "top-up" manually, to get back in credit.
I e-mailed twice to ask if it is possible to add funds manually (first e-mail was not responded to) over and above our monthly direct debit. I was informed after the second mail that PE would not respond to me as my e-mail address is not the address registered with them. Well we are a couple and we have our own e-mail addresses, so this is awkward. I cannot communicate by e-mail with the company supplying our power and cannot add a second e-mail address on the website.
Anyway, told the wife that I'm incommunicado and she will have to e-mail PE herself. This she has done now TWICE and still we have not been responded to. This has got to be the worst customer service we have encountered from an energy provider and we are seriously giving thought to moving on again. We are even starting to think we should never have left our "Big Co" original supplier as the energy switching is becoming a hassle. Perhaps the grass really isn't "greener" on the other side.

jcontest

Signed up for People’s Year Fixed (2 Months Upfront)


I know that often times the way this stuff is advertised is done to make it both appealing to everyone and also make it so people of low-iq can understand things. But....

[COLOR=black][FONT=&quot]As suggested by the name of the tariff, and in line with our intention to always  act responsibly, we wanted to make sure that you are fully aware that, to access this competitive deal, [/FONT][/COLOR][B][COLOR=red][FONT=&quot]you will be required to make two monthly Direct Debit payments in the first month that your deal goes live[/FONT][/COLOR][/B][COLOR=black][FONT=&quot].  After the initial double payment, your monthly bill will revert to normal single payments. [/FONT][/COLOR]
 
 [COLOR=black][FONT=&quot]We structure the deal in this way so that the  larger payment up front helps cover  the increased usage of energy during the colder winter months. By  asking you to pay more during the colder months we can offer you a  better overall tariff, allowing you to benefit from a lower unit price  per month for the rest of the year. [/FONT][/COLOR]

I find that a "little" odd. They are asking me to pay a double payment to cover the colder months to save me money. And it allows a lower "Unit" cost for the rest of the year. But it's a 1 year "fix" so the "Unit" cost should stay exactly the same for the whole two years.


I get why they are doing it (Positive bank balance makes life easy for them), but they way they are "selling" the extra months payment seems really hard for me to grasp. They have yet to transfer me to their service, and until I go to leave or renew with them at the end of the first year it will be hard to say if their system works good or bad.


Going by their wording then I would guess that people who start the service with them in the spring would not pay this double payment. My gut feeling tells me they'll just change the advertising material to still double-charge and call it something else.


I don't mind paying a month up front, if I could get a cheap enough deal I wold probably pay for a whole year up front. I just don't like things that are made to be confusing. As long as (by the end of my contract) I have paid and been charged correctly for my usage at the agreed rates then I am okay with it all.

Dungimon

According to the energy club tariff details for the Peoples Energy fixed detail, it states:

"Your first direct debit payment with People's Energy will be double your estimated monthly cost. It will then deduct this payment from your estimated annual cost and divide by 11 to work out your remaining monthly payments."

If my estimated annual cost is £1291 then my monthly cost is not £108? my monthly cost should be as follows:

1291 / 12 = 108

First up front payment: 216

Remaining 11 monthly payments (1291 - 216 = 1075 / 11) = 98 (rounded up).

Can someone clarify please?