Outfox the Market reviews: add your feedback

[Deleted User]

@scatty
But if you switched to the fixed tariff, would that be cheaper for you as the membership fees are less for high electricity users?

Scatty

gsmlnx wrote: »

@scatty
But if you switched to the fixed tariff, would that be cheaper for you as the membership fees are less for high electricity users?

Once they've sorted out the screw up with freetime meter readings on moving from BG, I'll have a look at my options - and that certainly is one.

NB58

I would seriously advise researching this company before even thinking of joining them. The alarm bells should start ringing when you view their website. Looks like a child has designed it. Viewing their tariffs they look attractive. Look closely and you will note you have to pay a monthly membership fee based on your consumption. This membership fee isn't regualted and you could suddenly see an increase which the company will claim isn't an increase in fuel prices.
My experience with this company has been horrendous. My switch to them went smoothly enough on the given date and they took payment in advance by direct debit. Then the spam started. About three or four emails a day basically advertising themselves. I complained to them and they tried telling me it was because I had switched to them via this site.
I was advised by them that my portal would go live on the date I switched, allowing me to submit meter readings etc. Over a period of a week I was given four different accounts by them of why my portal wasn't working, none of which admitted it was their fault. My previous supplier wouldn't accept a final meter reading stating it had to come from Outfox but I couldn't give a meter reading as my portal wasn't working and their customer services refused a meter reading over the phone.
My woes didn't stop there. Thoroughly fed up with this crowd I decided to switch away from them after only being with them for one week. My prospective new supplier has now informed me that Outfox are blocking the switch. It can't be because of debt as I pay in advance. I had notified Outfox of my intention and that if there was an outstanding balance when I exited, I would give them a card payment. Outfox didn't even have the courtesy to notify me they were opposing my switch. So I now have to tread the path of waiting the prescribed period before being able to take action against them. So before you contemplate joining this company, fully read peoples reviews on the net.

editor1

At 5.00PM on Friday, 11 May the following message was sent by OFTM to all existing customers on its Fixed, Whack January Tariff:

Good News!

Dear Mrs XXX XXX,

At Outfox the Market we genuinely want to make a difference to the way energy is supplied in the UK.

Since our launch in September 2017, we have helped thousands of customers make significant savings on their energy costs by providing wholesale priced energy.

Following our announcement on May 1st to amend the electricity membership structure, we have listened to valued feedback from our customers and are pleased to confirm that we have made the decision NOT to proceed with these changes for existing customers on the fixed, Whack! January tariff.

To clarify, any customers who have an annual electricity consumption in excess of 4,600kWh will pay a maximum membership fee of £13.99 for the duration of the fixed term.

Customers face no exit fee charges if they leave by June 11, after which full fees will apply.

My folks are paying £85.00 a month with OFTM, which is £15 a month cheaper than the fixed deal First Utility offered and is still among the cheapest deals available based on their actual usage over two years. However, any further mistakes may alter dramatically my opinion of OFTM.

Lizzie_OM

I switched to OFTM in February 2018 for both electricity and gas. At £42.30 per month, I!!!8217;m really impressed by how cheap this is for a low energy usage customer (which I put myself down as because not at home very much but don!!!8217;t actually know what usage you need to have to qualify for this). And also impressed that they use all renewable sources of energy.

However, I felt the need to warn people how bad the customer service is. First of all, I realised a few months down the line after receiving a request from my old supplier for a meter reading, that the switch for my gas hadn!!!8217;t happened and I was still being supplied by them. Electricity was a separate company and the switch happened without a problem. My old supplier suggested asking if OFTM have my correct gas meter serial number, which they didn!!!8217;t. OFTM were still collecting a direct debit from me for both gas and electric for 3 months. But I still had to pay the gas bill to my old supplier as well.

When I rang OFTM about this, there was no apology or offer to refund the money I had spent on gas (which they hadn!!!8217;t been supplying me). The total amount owed to me of ~ £90 was put into my OFTM account as credit. But they said that they would continue to collect the same amount by direct debit as this couldn!!!8217;t be cancelled. When I asked if the credit in my account could be used to pay my bills, I was told that it couldn!!!8217;t. So essentially this was a refund/credit that I would never actually be able to use.

In their defence, they were always contactable via web chat or email. However the one liner responses I received (not answering my question and ending with !!!8216;have a good day!!!!8217; written at the end) were really frustrating.

I asked for a refund which was apparently refused by the refunds department, no reason given. Then I demanded a more senior person to look into my case and give me a refund. 1 month after initially contacting them about it, I got a partial refund of £56 into my bank account. When I asked the reason for this not being the full amount, the response was another 1 liner email - !!!8216;I'm sorry but we are not able to refund the full amount, accounts do all the calculations.!!!8217;

I!!!8217;m unsure whether to just give up on the remaining £35 or fight for another month...

bs7

NB58 wrote: »

I would seriously advise researching this company before even thinking of joining them. The alarm bells should start ringing when you view their website. Looks like a child has designed it. Viewing their tariffs they look attractive. Look closely and you will note you have to pay a monthly membership fee based on your consumption. This membership fee isn't regualted and you could suddenly see an increase which the company will claim isn't an increase in fuel prices.

Yup!


They are a bunch of clowns and the U-turn on now honouring the fixed price on their fixed price tariff highlights this: they clearly went for a cash-grab and now regret it as folk complain and flee.

NeilW

Electricity switch appears to have gone without a hitch, and I've had none of the issues reported on the thread. I've stuck with the variable rate for now to edge my bets

100% green energy at a cheap unit price. Let's see how it goes.

Lyncj01

I've been a customer for 2 months; we only have electricity and are a very high user at 18,000kwh per annum (we have an electric aga!). All went smoothly. And I should save c £800 pa. This is definitely worth the risk - any supplier who goes bust gets 'bought' by one of the other 67 suppliers and credits (if indeed you have one) are normally taken on as part of the deal with Ofgem. And worse outcome is Supplier of Last Resort.
I've worked in the industry for years; the risk vs reward is worth it in my opinion.

Watch this space!

Lyncj01

Quick switch. Good communication (not the bet spellers though!). Switch over date went ahead as expected.
They tried to put the prices up but have since backtracked.

System

Lyncj01 wrote: »

I've been a customer for 2 months; we only have electricity and are a very high user at 18,000kwh per annum (we have an electric aga!). All went smoothly. And I should save c £800 pa. This is definitely worth the risk - any supplier who goes bust gets 'bought' by one of the other 67 suppliers and credits (if indeed you have one) are normally taken on as part of the deal with Ofgem. And worse outcome is Supplier of Last Resort.
I've worked in the industry for years; the risk vs reward is worth it in my opinion.

Watch this space!

Don’t forget the Consumer Levy. The Coop got over £10M when GBEnergy went bust - paid for by all energy consumers on future bills.