Outfox the Market reviews: add your feedback

Harryo

Ok. BS has cancelled direct debit and refunded me what Outfox the Market took from me today. BS say they will do the same if OFTM take money from me again. Also put in a complaint to the Ombudsman. To me OFTM is just a scammer. DD Guarantee clearly states ""You can cancel the DD at any time"".

Pete99

This firm really is all over the place, my switch from them completed on 5 December, I cancelled my Direct Debit mandate and received a confirmation email from them on 11 December that the DD was cancelled, on Christmas day I received an email from them requesting the next meter reading, no idea what they're doing, but you can safely cancel your direct debit mandate without involving them because you don't owe them any more until they provide you with the final bill if there's any credit they can pay into your bank account and if you owe them you can pay using a different method, my next payment would have been tomorrow, I'll see what happens then.

drsquirrel

Consumerist wrote: »

It is disappointing that CEC has become so unreliable recently.

Their excuse is that they have to rely on the suppliers to notify them of tariff changes.

In reality, of course, it's in CEC's interest and the suppliers' interest for prospective customers to be misled about the cheapest tariff. The supplier gets a new customer which it may not deserve and CEC gets its kick-backs from the suppliers. Everyone is happy - except the customers, of course.

BUCK UP YOUR IDEAS CHEAP ENERGY CLUB !

I would suggest using CEC only to get you started then go to the supplier's site to confirm what is really available and then sign up direct with the supplier. This makes the process somewhat longer but at least you should get a better idea of what you're actually signing-up for. This way you know who is responsible when it goes wrong at the cost of only £25 maximum cash-back.

I went and checked a "commercial online comparison site" (not that this isn't) and they're also behind on the tariff increase for the cheapest 3 I've received.


I'd expect slightly higher standards from MSE/CEC though - maybe they should implement a policy that the provider will be removed if they do not notify of changes with 48 hours?

Happychappy

I switched from this incompetent company on 16th December after only joining inSept subject to MSE recommendation on the cheap energy club.

I have compared with ESB energy, and found them £150 cheaper after the OFTM January hike.

I still keep getting emails from OFTM, I have 5 different web chat recordings of me trying to get a bill based upon the meter readings I gave to them, and ESB

Each buffoon on the webchat couldn't give me a bill or understand what I was trying to achieve, I just wanted to ensure they gave me a bill based on the readings so I could pay it off immediately and cancel the Direct debit, then they could take as long as they wanted to draw up a final bill as clearly it would be 00.00p

I tried to explain if they didn't provide a bill on my readings they would continue to take £128 for each of their inflated winter months, but these characters on the webchat are either in {Edited by Forum Team}I finally got through on the phone helpline after waiting from 25th in the queue and spoke to {Edited by Forum Team}, who within 5 minutes worked out a bill based on my readings ? something all the hours of trying on the web chat failed to achieve

I have now paid off that amount, cancelled the DD which OFTM have confirmed by email, spoken to my bank and asked them to ensure no further DD are set up and hopefully they will all go away, but somehow I fell this disaster will roll on ?

Scatty

Harryo wrote: »

£110.99 has been taken out of my bank account by Outfox the Market today. I went with a new provider earlier this month.
Just been on webchat with an advisor. Told they do not cancel DD's until the final bill is raised. ""[FONT=&quot]we don't cancel the direct debit mandate until then as we are unable to estimate what your balance will be until the final bill so to avoid going into the debt we can keep the direct debit active until the final bill generated"".

I got advised on chat by them yesterday to cancel the DD AT MY END and then once the final invoice was raised, they would cancel theirs (I switched yesterday). However, this will not stop me checking my bank account regularly to check DDs as I wouldn't put it past them to sneak one in!

Valarian

I've just ditched them on behalf of someone I help, for whom the hike in monthly direct debit was a nonsense. I'm waiting to see how well the Outfox process works.


Just after we ditched Outfox, the customer had an email from them apologising for not realising the (blindingly obvious) fact that most people prefer consistent direct debits throughout the year. Not sure whether that was just coincidence, but too late now.


Another advantage of switching is that we get rid of their awful website - my friend uses the internet, but found their website confusing and gimmicky, Entering meter readings and accessing bills needs to be really simple and accessible, whether on a PC or tablet, and theirs isn't. It would be great if MSE Energy Club could access/comment on this aspect as part of their commentary on a supplier, as by the time you realise you've picked a site that has been poorly designed from the usability viewpoint, you've already switched.

psdie

As with most other respondents, my experience has been appalling - just raised a formal complaint. Not a single reply to multiple e-mails sent to refunds@, dd@ and kapow@ requesting refund of credit balance since mid November. Got through to them by phone (which they've now removed from Contact page, LOL!) on 29th Nov and was promised refund within 5-7 working days - still nothing.

Utter cowboys, will be out of business in short order I'm quite sure. Now how do we avoid this mess in future? Faster reflection of feedback by CEC? Along with actually keeping tariff info up-to-date - as per other complaints here, rates for my tariff were hopelessly outdated.

jono1975

Ok, so I've had the email about the switch back to the DD back to even monthly split.

The first thing I noticed was that this is not until February, so they collect another month at over inflated rates.

With their 70/30 split they would then be going to the cheaper period in April.

Not any more, they'll be getting 50% instead of 30%. So they have their cake and eat it at the customer's expense.

Crafty and dishonest. And what's to stop then pulling the same trick next winter.

I'm confirmed to Avro now, thankfully. Just know they'll hold on to my credit for the full eight weeks though.

john-306

psdie wrote: »

As with most other respondents, my experience has been appalling - just raised a formal complaint. Not a single reply to multiple e-mails sent to refunds@, dd@ and kapow@ requesting refund of credit balance since mid November. Got through to them by phone (which they've now removed from Contact page, LOL!) on 29th Nov and was promised refund within 5-7 working days - still nothing.

Utter cowboys, will be out of business in short order I'm quite sure. Now how do we avoid this mess in future? Faster reflection of feedback by CEC? Along with actually keeping tariff info up-to-date - as per other complaints here, rates for my tariff were hopelessly outdated.

I should be leaving them in the next week or so.
Now I've read that if they go bust when you are with them, any money you have built up with them is safe and moved to the new supplier.

What I've yet to read is what happens if you have money owing to you and you've already (like yourself, and me to be soon) left, but haven't been refunded if/when they go bust.

Jonny247

I switched to OFTM in September 2018 as they offered a much cheaper deal than British Gas; saving me over £200 a year...
I went on the Zapp Tariff for both Gas and Electric as this suited my very low consumption level.
Initially I was happy, the switch went through without a hitch and communication was clear and efficient.
Then they decided to introduce the increased charges for the winter season, I could see the logic in their thinking but the amounts were badly calculated, charging me over three times the amount that I actually use.
Still not a totally bad idea, I actually defended them on this forum when people seemed to be accusing them of criminal activity.
The price increases were actually in line with the increases in the wholesale prices and not in excess of the other suppliers.
The choice to then introduce "standing charge" fees instead of the membership fee, going from £5.99 a month to around £17 a month was the breaking point for me.
As a very low user I don`t appreciate having standing fees that can exceed the amount that I pay for gas.
This, along with the chaotic series of Emails, each contradicting the previous one and instilling an uneasy sense of mistrust and dismay at an unprofessional and unreliable business practice, was the reason that I decide to look elsewhere.
I have switched to People`s Energy, hopefully saving around £150.
The prices are very similar with electric being slightly more expensive, but their standing charges are much lower so this is where I save.
Hopefully things will switch over smoothly and I will be able to claim my credit that I have with OFTM easily.
It looks like we need to be switching several times a year now, which is why I chose an option with no exit fees.