Feedback on Utility Point

merchcon55

I am with Utility Point for Electricity only. I received a £2 per month increase to my Direct Debit.

My account was well in credit, as I had received several £25 referral fees for friends signing up.

I called U.P. - the call was answered within 2 minutes. Lovely woman, who reduced my monthly direct debit payment, and at same time has arranged for £100 of my credit balance on my account to be refunded to me.

Total time on phone, 6 minutes.

So far, so good with this company - I supply a meter reading once a month, and they supply an invoice once a month, about 10 days after I give the reading.

James_Watt

I too have had my electricity DD upped £4 a month by Utility Point. I have a separate supplier for gas, which I use for space and water heating, and am a very economical electricity user, at around 2.5 kWh a day. Thus the £4 constitutes an increase of about a third of my electricity spend.
There's a few things I'd note over the few months I've been with Utility Point....

1. The changeover was very smooth. However, they do take your direct debits in advance, so you're forward paying all the time, though Utility Point is not alone in this.
2. I submit readings once a month religiously - usually more than once a month. However, UP always produces an estimated reading on its statements, which is significantly above my actual reading, and charges me according to its estimate. This month I made a point of submitting a reading the day before my statement was due to be issued and UP's estimate was 13.5 kWh higher than my reading - some five and a half times what I would expect to use in a normal 24 hour period.
3. My account, too, was in credit when the DD was hiked. For a day each month, when my statement is issued, my account appears to be in debit, due to (2) above, and then my DD is taken. So for the bulk of each month, even by their reckoning, they owe me money.

I complained to UP about the £4 hike.They said:

"Having viewed your application you had provided us with your usage being approximately 900 kWh. Now you have been with Utility Point for a few months we have used your meter readings provided, along with the industry national database historic information of your readings and consumption which has shown your usage to be 2617.0 kWh which is the reason we have increased your payments to cover the usage of your expected consumption."

Fortunately I can still access my accounts with my last two suppliers on the web. My statement last May from my last supplier, Scottish Power, states definitively that my actual consumption over the previous 12 months was 850 kWh and that I use 2.3 kWh a day. Where this "industry national database historic information" comes from, how old it is, what period it covers and whether it relates to me or the house I live in at present, I know not. What I do know is that UP accepted my annual consumption figure when we first did business together and that the contract was agreed on that basis.

I note that I can no longer find UP electricity tariffs on the Cheap Energy Club site. Whether this is due to the bewildering array of tarrifs that appear on UP's website or something more sinister I do not know but it does not seem to me to bode well.

PennineAcute

My electricity went live on 25 Jan, this year. On the 24 of each month, I give a reading. This reading is always used for calculating my bill.

My gas went live on 20 April, this year. On the 19 of each month, I always give a reading. This reading is always used for calculating my bill.

[Deleted User]

@James Watt
The MSE CEC not listing Utility Point is pretty much par for the course. When I joined UP 3 months ago, neither the tariff or the company were listed on CEC but they were on the Citizens Advice Bureau. It was also the second cheapest tariff at that time for me and the cheapest was a variable one unlike the UP one.
If you need a full market list, only the CAB site is trust worthy these days.

poppellerant

I still favour Energy Helpline when comparing energy prices.

The CAB's comparison page also does not show my current tariff with Utility Point, which is "Utility Point Just Up 18 Wk04 Direct".

wavelets

James_Watt wrote: »

I too have had my electricity DD upped £4 a month by Utility Point. I have a separate supplier for gas, which I use for space and water heating, and am a very economical electricity user, at around 2.5 kWh a day. Thus the £4 constitutes an increase of about a third of my electricity spend.
There's a few things I'd note over the few months I've been with Utility Point....

1. The changeover was very smooth. However, they do take your direct debits in advance, so you're forward paying all the time, though Utility Point is not alone in this.
2. I submit readings once a month religiously - usually more than once a month. However, UP always produces an estimated reading on its statements, which is significantly above my actual reading, and charges me according to its estimate. This month I made a point of submitting a reading the day before my statement was due to be issued and UP's estimate was 13.5 kWh higher than my reading - some five and a half times what I would expect to use in a normal 24 hour period.
3. My account, too, was in credit when the DD was hiked. For a day each month, when my statement is issued, my account appears to be in debit, due to (2) above, and then my DD is taken. So for the bulk of each month, even by their reckoning, they owe me money.

I complained to UP about the £4 hike.They said:

"Having viewed your application you had provided us with your usage being approximately 900 kWh. Now you have been with Utility Point for a few months we have used your meter readings provided, along with the industry national database historic information of your readings and consumption which has shown your usage to be 2617.0 kWh which is the reason we have increased your payments to cover the usage of your expected consumption."

Fortunately I can still access my accounts with my last two suppliers on the web. My statement last May from my last supplier, Scottish Power, states definitively that my actual consumption over the previous 12 months was 850 kWh and that I use 2.3 kWh a day. Where this "industry national database historic information" comes from, how old it is, what period it covers and whether it relates to me or the house I live in at present, I know not. What I do know is that UP accepted my annual consumption figure when we first did business together and that the contract was agreed on that basis.

I note that I can no longer find UP electricity tariffs on the Cheap Energy Club site. Whether this is due to the bewildering array of tarrifs that appear on UP's website or something more sinister I do not know but it does not seem to me to bode well.

Welcome to the MSE forum. Thank you for taking the time and effort to join this wonderful forum and post your feedback.

May I enquire as to what your next actions will be in regards to the most peculiar response you appaer to have received from Utility Point? Peculiar not just because it seems inconsistent with replies others have been provided with, but peculiar also due to the explanation itself.

As others have said, it's not unusual for Utility Point not to be found on the MSE Cheap Energy Club.
I saw an earlier thread here stating they were not included for some inexplicable reason.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5825841/mse-cheap-energy-club-the-suppliers-tariffs-they-dont-want-you-to-know-about

I always advocate using more than one comparison site to find youself the best deal, and to ensure the deal you are offered is correct.
I posted the full list of Ofgem accredited comparison sites previously here:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=74326453&postcount=3690

WillJumps

I get both gas and electricity from utility point following recommendation from MSE. My Direct Debit has gone up by 80%. What is going on? Is this really a saving?

James_Watt

Thank you, Wavelets. I have replied to UP's email attaching my Scottish Power statement and pointing out where these key figures on my consumption are on it. Should explain here that, being in Wales, the major suppliers send us all our bills in Welsh, which we have to plough through reams of to get to the English translation.
I have again asked UP to reduce my DD back to the appropriate level. Will report response, if any. Happy to hear any constructive suggestions.

wavelets

James_Watt wrote: »

Thank you, Wavelets. I have replied to UP's email attaching my Scottish Power statement and pointing out where these key figures on my consumption are on it. Should explain here that, being in Wales, the major suppliers send us all our bills in Welsh, which we have to plough through reams of to get to the English translation.
I have again asked UP to reduce my DD back to the appropriate level. Will report response, if any. Happy to hear any constructive suggestions.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2015/10/energy-direct-debit-hiked-challenge-it/

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/lower-energy-direct-debits/

HTH

James_Watt

My latest monthly statement - my fourth - shows that after five months I've accumulated a debt of twenty-five pence, so am awaiting the arrival of the bailiffs.

Some success to report. UP have seen my Scottish Power bill and consequently my DD is due to rise by £1.25 a month (18%) instead of £4 (32%). And thank you PennineAcute - I've discovered I can avoid the annoying UP overestimates by submitting a meter reading bang on the 4th of each month, other days won't do.

As they already have the first extra £4, I reckon I'll be in credit by £17.75 when my contact ends next September. Oh, sans the 25p. And give or take 50p.