Outfox the Market reviews: add your feedback

jono1975

Just logged on to see if there was any sign of a final bill, noticed my Credit has gone down loads.

These incompetents have only gone and issued me a bill (not a final bill, which should be practically zero as I left the day after my last bill).

What a joke, I'm fuming. First thing in the morning I'm complaining. When will this ordeal end!

Consumerist

jono1975 wrote: »

Just logged on to see if there was any sign of a final bill, noticed my Credit has gone down loads.
These incompetents have only gone and issued me a bill (not a final bill, which should be practically zero as I left the day after my last bill).

Your credit may have gone down as a result of the latest meter readings which you submitted. That would be normal.

The final bill will not be issued until your new supplier has notified Outfox of your validated closing readings. This can take up to 6 weeks from your switch date. Refunds of any credit balance should be no more than 2 weeks after your final bill.

Consumerist

TransmitThis wrote: »

. . . I switched to Peoples Energy on 25 December, with start readings off
Gas 12682
Electric 31521

OUTFox want me to pay them up to these readings
Gas 12722
Electric 32926
And 31 days of standing charges

Or as they put it £163.87 LOL . .

(Present Electric read 31767 as of this post)

I understand your frustration but the only readings that count when you are switching are the validated hand-over readings which your new supplier should send to your old supplier. As long as the closing readings from Outfox are the same as the opening readings with Peoples Energy then you are not being charged twice for the same consumption.

If Outfox's prices are cheaper than those of Peoples Energy then the more consumption you pay for at Outfox's prices the more you will save in the long run.

Have you confirmed the validated hand-over readings with Peoples Energy? When you receive Outfox's final bill, you should check that they are the same as People Energy's opening readings.

Consumerist

TransmitThis wrote: »

. . . The new supplier does not send readings to the old supplier. . .

Are you sure about that? A number of posts seem to report that the new supplier has sent the validated readings to the old supplier.

jono1975

The bill is estimated, in fast they mailed me for meter readings that I ignored as not being a customer anymore.

The bill is a full month, including their new standing charge. In fact I chatted to them a few days ago to see if they had the validated readings. The operator at first said no, but then said not to worry as another department probably had them.

Also, the day after I switched they took a full month DD. I questioned it and they said sorry about that, wait six to eight weeks to get it back.

Feel for their customer service staff, on chat they are nice but their hands seen to be tied

Incidentally, my Dad had a bill a month after leaving also from them. He had it redacted in the end and claimed his DD back from the bank, which I will do also if I get no joy from them tomorrow.

He hasn't had his final bill and left mid December.

Consumerist

TransmitThis wrote: »

I'm not sure where I last put down my cup of tea, but by all accounts it seems to be what happens. . .

Frankly, it has always seemed more logical for the validation companies to send validated readings directly to both suppliers. I've read the various articles about the journey of meter readings during a switch but they all seem a bit ambiguous on that point.

jono1975

Interesting article about the meter validators, not sure why it can take so long as surely once the formulas are in place, they just take the meter readings you send, and query the past usage database to get an acceptable variance and apply estimates. You'd think that'd take seconds in this day and age.

When I switched from Bulb to The Fox (the horror!) the gas opening reading was mine, the leccy was estimated.

It still seems unclear, but I agree with Consumerist, it seems logical for the validators to feed back to both suppliers. I think Outfox sometimes delay things by accusing new suppliers of not sending the readings to the validators.

Interestingly, my new supplier Avro are no longer showing the opening Electricity reading I took on my page (Avro's website is pretty amateur like OFTM, and really bad shade of green!), I know it was there so I hope that's not a screw up. More hassle to come.

Who said switching was quick and painless. I think some of these small outfits aren't prepared enough for this, Ofgem need to really check them out more before granting licences. Be very interesting to be a fly on the foxy wall.

dprice8893

How difficult can a final meter reading be? You provide your new provider with a meter reading, which is the point at which they charge you from, and those readings are surely the final readings for your old supplier to raise the final bill from.

How or why would estimates come into the equation?

jk0

dprice8893 wrote: »

How or why would estimates come into the equation?

One company or other does not believe your meter reading, so disputes it. Of course that could have nothing at all to do with them having already over-estimated your usage.

techno12

My switch away seems to have gone reasonably smoothly.

Switched to Utility Point on 5th Jan.

Outfox took another monthly payment on the 8th. I contacted my bank and instigated a DD Indemnity to get the money back, and informed Outfox by email.

Received email reply the next day thanking me and saying Final Bill would be a few weeks. It arrived (no notification, I just logged on each day to check) on 29th.

Received email today saying my £20 refund (as that was the final bill credit they owed me) had been approved and would be paid within 7 days. That's better than Npower back in the summer who insisted that because I'd cancelled the DD I had to be paid by cheque, which took weeks.

Assuming that happens I'm reasonably happy...a bit naughty to take a DD after I'd left however!