Outfox the Market reviews: add your feedback

Nick_C

I hadn't scrolled back that far, as I don't share your obsession with OTM.

However, it strikes me as a very sensible policy, designed to prevent people getting into difficulty in the cold winter months.

As I said in my earlier post, my credit balance at the start of the winter was 2.7 * my monthly DD, a situation I regarded as prudent.

I've been able to turn up the heating during the recent cold spell without worrying about how I'm gong to pay for it. 

Giving people refunds at the start of winter is irresponsible in my opinion.  Some people need protecting from themselves. 

With interest on instant access savings accounts around the 0.5pc mark, I'm happy for OTM to be sitting on a credit balance at the start of winter.  I don't miss the 25p interest that I might have earned by trying to get £100 refunded.

Nor do I want to spend £100 a year or more moving to a supplier that lets you pay quarterly in arrears. 

But we are lucky to live in a country where we can choose from a large number of suppliers operating in a competitive market.  I am on my fourth supplier in 6 years. I'm very happy with the excellent customer service and low prices that I get from OTM, and based on my experience over the last 16 months, I cannot recommend them highly enough.

merchcon55

Can we not all agree that with EVERY COMPANY there are going to be some very satisfied customers, some very disgruntled customers, and for the majority, those who neither care or are interested. Those who read these forums are a tiny slice of the overall customer base for ANY COMPANY. 

What is also true about forums in general, are people are far more likely to leave a bad comment than a good comment. Not many would take the time, as Nick_C above to simply state a sensible viewpoint and simply say, he is a satisfied customer.

That does not mean those who complain do not have legitimate gripes - and in the case of OFTM - I do understand that some of those gripes are VERY LEGITIMATE.

Please stay safe !!

UnclaimedEnergy

I thought Outfox did a seasonal DD where they'd increase it during the winter and reduce it in the summer, thus keeping your credit low. The 2.5 months worth of credit should had been built up during the summer to then use over the winter if you're on a fixed DD.

Having 2.5 months worth of credit on a customers account is probably an equivalent to £150 for every customer, If they have even 100k customers then this should give them £15m cash sitting in their bank accounts, whereas really this money has already been spent, meaning they physically can't refund customers and therefore need to set a policy.

I'm not saying this is only Outfox who does this, but most suppliers are in the same position. There's a reason suppliers go bust with millions worth of  credit balances left on their customers accounts.

I would be more interested to see the reasoning for keeping 2.5 months worth of credit in your account once it gets to March. (Again, not saying they will do this, but I wouldn't be surprised)

UnclaimedEnergy

Nick_C said:

As I said in my earlier post, my credit balance at the start of the winter was 2.7 * my monthly DD, a situation I regarded as prudent.

That's kind of what I'd expect at the start of winter, have you nearly used it all up or is it at a similar level as it was in October/November?

Nick_C

UnclaimedEnergy said:

Nick_C said:

As I said in my earlier post, my credit balance at the start of the winter was 2.7 * my monthly DD, a situation I regarded as prudent.

That's kind of what I'd expect at the start of winter, have you nearly used it all up or is it at a similar level as it was in October/November?

At the begining of January, I was at 1.5 months credit.  Will be checking again in a few days when I submit my meter readings on 4th.

Hammer_Time

Hi All, do I stay on my fixed tariff if I do not complete the transfer to another supplier until after the end date of the fix? Or do I go on to their standard tariff? Thanks 

Gerry1

Hammer_Time said:

Hi All, do I stay on my fixed tariff if I do not complete the transfer to another supplier until after the end date of the fix? Or do I go on to their standard tariff? Thanks 

If you've initiated a transfer to another supplier before the existing fixed period ends then you'll stay on that tariff until your switch has completed.

If you do nothing then you'll end up on an expensive standard tariff.

thelight

I'm looking for a bit of help for my parents. They have recently switched to Outfox and are having issues with the final bill from their previous supplier. Outfox have used the reading they gave when switching as the opening reading, but their previous supplier Scottish Energy have used a different reading on their final bill.

I've read a few sites which say if they is an issue switching it should be dealt with by the new provider. Is this correct even when it comes down to billing issues with the old provider? We aren't sure whether we should be contacting Outfox or Scottish Power about this.

loyal

My understanding is if you provided the new supplier outfox with a opening meter read, this read would have been shared with Scottish power to raise a final bill. If the final bill you received from Scottish power shows elevated reads for gas/power, then you should dispute that with Scottish power. 

Gerry1

thelight said:

Outfox have used the reading they gave when switching as the opening reading, but their previous supplier Scottish Energy have used a different reading on their final bill.

Sounds like The Mysterious Third Party may have rejected the final reading your parents gave to Scottish Power and have invented a reading that they prefer.

You may have to chase OTFM to use the same arbitrary figure.

It's a crazy process but that's the way the industry works.