Outfox the Market reviews: add your feedback

Quentin

Not oftm's fault your smart meter went dumb when you switched to them!

thelight

gb908010 wrote: »

OFTM have blocked my switch due to a £16 debt on the account which i have now paid. Trouble is my new supplier i am switching too said that the whole switch may be cancelled and i will have to re-apply. Only time will tell, i just cant wait to be rid these idiots, i have never spent so much time on a phone to an energy supplier.

I didn't think suppliers were allowed to block for this reason unless they had made a prior request for you to pay the debit?

System

Quentin wrote: »

Not oftm's fault your smart meter went dumb when you switched to them!

Why not, they are being blamed for everything else that is going wrong with the domestic energy sector at the moment? I have some sympathy for both Ofgem and suppliers in the round. The Perfect Storm that suppliers now find themselves in is a result of Government forced intervention in a dynamic market. Yes, the average SVT customer might save £80 pro rated for 3 months as a result of the Default Tariff Cap only to find that it will increase by at least £113 pro rated for 6 months in April if ML’s analysis is correct. Sadly, the fallout might lead to higher bills for us all as we ended up paying for the costs of failed suppliers.

I have this vision of a Martian probe circling the Earth which looks at Parliament and reports back ‘there are no intelligent life forms on this planet’.

System

thelight wrote: »

I didn't think suppliers were allowed to block for this reason unless they had made a prior request for you to pay the debit?

They should not, but they do. Ofgem might begin an investigation if it gets enough complaints.... but it is not known for doing anything in haste.

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/system/files/docs/2016/07/decision_on_review_of_domestic_objections.pdf

fgen86

Just adding my feedback since switching to Outfox the Market in March 2018 on their variable Zapp! tariff (electricity only).

Switch was smooth although as others have noted it took a couple of months before monthly statements were available, and in the meantime the online account didn't show any electricity charges, just credit from monthly payments. But everything was eventually updated/backdated.

Repeated price rises have been communicated by e-mail. The first one for me was in August and the information was vague ("6.5% increase on energy" but this was for dual fuel - after an e-mail enquiry I got my electricity price which was up 7.5%). Since then they have improved the information detail (plenty of practice!) but the latest figures for the 01-Jan-19 price rises include comparisons with the November increase, not the December one, so it still feels pretty chaotic.

I am pleased they are ditching the membership fee in favour of a daily standing charge as the fee wasn't at all transparent. First of all it was calculated on inaccurate annual usage estimates (in their favour for me at least), secondly I haven't been able to find a table of fees for different thresholds for the November increase (all I know is mine went up from £14.99 to £16.10), thirdly if you switch mid-month you don't get any fee refund, fourthly although it doesn't affect me I gather fees could even be changed on fixed-rate deals.

I can understand the problems their DD price hike has caused, but they remain the cheapest supplier in my area, certainly for 100% renewable electricity.

You will need to monitor your bills like a hawk, and expect long delays if you have any issues shortly after a price hike. In the longer term we'll see if they have done enough to stay afloat but if, like me, you think you can weather the chaos then they should still save you a few £'s. I expect we'll continue to see price hikes from all providers in the coming months as wholesale prices continue to rise.

One final point on cost - for me on electricity only, the 01-Jan price change actually works out cheaper compared with the rates they quoted for 13-Dec. If you're thinking of switching on the basis of cost make sure you do the maths first (assuming you can weather the winter DD increase) and remember once they switch to daily standing charge you won't risk losing an entire month's membership fee.

tawse57

I have started the switch to British Gas which, on the new OFTM prices, will be about £50 cheaper but at least it is fixed for 12 months.


The MSE club is still showing the old OFTM tarrif - or current one - so it is telling me that I will be £147 worse off with British Gas. But, as I say, I have done the numbers and from January OFTM will be more expensive. If I decide to leave British Gas then their exit fees will mean that I will be a tenner worse off. I can live with that.


My next debit from OFTM will be around the 20th of the month. Any advice welcome on when I should cancel the OFTM direct debit.


Thanks.

hubb

I have signed up to So Energy and will be up and running on the 21st. I am in credit with OFTM and they are due to take their first price rise DD on the 5th. Should I cancel the DD or will this jeopardize any possible refunded money for overpayment ?

tawse57

kendizle wrote: »

Amazingly with the latest price hikes by OutFox, they have now become higher than British Gas!!
Here's an excerpt from the email they sent out last night:

From 1st January 2019 your electricity unit rate will change from £0.1048/kWh to £0.1279/kWh.

Your gas unit rate will change from £0.0362/kWh to £0.0438/kWh

Your monthly membership fee will be replaced by a daily standing charge of 28p per fuel.

Good News!

From January 1st, the energy regulator Ofgem is introducing a price cap to ensure no-one pays more than a fair price for their energy. Our commitment to you, is that our prices will always be below this cap - and we promise to keep it that way

Interesting, the email they sent to me has my electricity going up to 1317/kWh and my gas up to 0430/kWh from January 1st.

Quentin

You pay the tariff applicable to where you live, so paying a different rate to another poster is irrelevant and not grounds for a grumble!

jono1975

I've decided to switch to Arvo energy fixed for a year. Really got tempted by People's Enegy as they look interesting and a little cheaper.

However, as another variable tariff I just can't see prices coming down soon and want a bit of stability after this. £30 uswitch cashback makes them about the same price for me for a year.

My parents have started a move to Bristol energy. So that's two more customers foxy have lost.

This will be my fourth provider this year, as long as foxy don't try to block me.

Good luck people...