Add your feedback on energy supplier Usio Energy

beefturnmail

First Utility have 'responded' to my complaint (raised Jan 28) about a late final bill but all it says is that they have directed the complaint to their billing team, with no indication of when a real response might be received. I've escalated (through Resolver)

Posiden

So Ive had a bill from FU so I logged onto their website and have submitted regular monthly readings since November when they took over the account.
So according to their website:-
I owed and paid them £155.19 on the 22nd Oct 2018
I also owed and paid them £8.11 on the 14th Feb 2019.

On the 15th Feb the paid me back £155.19 !
On the 18th Feb they paid me back £8.11!

I thought this was strange but I was having some issues with their estimated and my actual readings.

My actual meter reading are as follows:-
15th Nov 097512
26th Nov 098173
3rd Dec 098568
3rd Jan 100441
4th Feb 102686
I am regarded as a 'heavy user' as I heat the house using a ground source heat pump and this is my only utility bill (no gas)
A few days ago I decided to leave FU and move to BULB so I kicked off the process from the MSE website.

Today I get a bill from FU for..............£906.69 !!!!!!!!!!!!

Im don't know how / why and Im looking into it now but Im struggling to understand this whole mess since I left SSE in October.
How the hell can they bill me and then return my payments and then hit me with a huge bill because Im leaving them ?
Is it worthwhile launching a formal complain on resolver?
:mad:

Posiden

Ive just got an e mail off FU asking for a meter reading?
Should they not have asked for that before sending me a £900 bill ?

Posiden

Ive just received a new bill from FIRST UTILITY now asking for

Your new First Utility bill is now available to view online.

£1,109.04 is due on19-Mar-19.

This is since November 2018!
I have sent them a complaint letter via Resolver but had no reply what so ever...............I was paying £220 a month with SSE before I moved to Usio,
First Utility have pretty much increase my monthly bill by 50%.
I ned some advice on this - should I pay so of this bill off?
Should I wait until FU respond to my letter ?

beefturnmail

Sent a reply to First Utility asking for a 'deadlock letter' so that I can go to OFGEM re my complaint about no final bill. A couple of hours later received the following (probably coincidental) e-mail. I await their 'estimate' with interest to see how it compares re my photograph of the actual reading!

"Thanks for your patience while we work with Usio’s administrators to set up your First Utility account.
We’re sorry that it’s taken longer than expected to bill you since you joined First Utility. Because of this delay, we’ve decided to go ahead and bill you for your energy usage using estimated readings from your supply start date.
We expect to be able to send your bill within the next few weeks."

northwest1965

beefturnmail wrote: »

Sent a reply to First Utility asking for a 'deadlock letter' so that I can go to OFGEM re my complaint about no final bill. A couple of hours later received the following (probably coincidental) e-mail. I await their 'estimate' with interest to see how it compares re my photograph of the actual reading!

"Thanks for your patience while we work with Usio’s administrators to set up your First Utility account.
We’re sorry that it’s taken longer than expected to bill you since you joined First Utility. Because of this delay, we’ve decided to go ahead and bill you for your energy usage using estimated readings from your supply start date.
We expect to be able to send your bill within the next few weeks."

Coincidental as we had the same

Thanks for your patience while we work with Usio’s administrators to set up your First Utility account.
We’re sorry that it’s taken longer than expected to bill you since you joined First Utility. Because of this delay, we’ve decided to go ahead and bill you for your energy usage using estimated readings from your supply start date.
We expect to be able to send your bill within the next few weeks.

beefturnmail

Now received the following response following my threat this morning to take my complaint to OFGEM:

Dear xxxx,

Thank you for your email sent today in regards to your account xxxx

I can now advise the account has billed and puts the account xxxx in credit.

Please use the following link to help log online to view the bill:

And like magic there is my final bill (not yet checked for accuracy)

Maybe not such a coincidence after all...

DocFrog

Good work, Beef. I hope all turns out satisfactorily for you.
Any chance you could post a copy of the letter you sent FU threatening them with OFGEM please?

beefturnmail

Complained through Resolver. The final e-mail I sent this morning is below (after several back and forth e-mails since the end of January, where FU basically kept delaying)

The Standard Licence Conditions are clear that First Direct must supply a final bill to me within 6 weeks of First Direct ceasing to be my supplier. I left First Direct on 1 December 2018, 14 weeks ago, Your most recent response provides no clarity on when I will receive this final bill which is now severely overdue. Please escalate this, or issue a deadlock letter so that I can refer the matter to OFGEM.

Realise now I referred to them as First Direct, not that it mattered!
I've checked the final bill that First Utility sent and reckon it is about £70 in my favour compared to what I was expecting, so a very satisfactory outcome to the whole Usio debacle (presuming FU refund me without fuss)

DocFrog

Thanks, Beef, much appreciated. I have received the same letter as you but, as yet, no final bill. I left FU on November 25th.

I remain bewildered by several issues...

1) How can any supplier that cannot produce even a preliminary bill within nearly five months believe itself suitable to "bid" for the accounts of former Usio customers?
2) How can the consumer be expected to trust in the individual(s) paid to sort out a suitable replacement supplier for former Usio customers given their contemptible lack of efficacy in this matter.
3) Why were former Usio customers told not to initiate a switch to another supplier until the switch to FU was complete as this would only "slow matters down". An utterly risible statement that has proved to be completely untrue, extremely expensive to customers, and wasted an inordinate amount of our time in trying to communicate with FU to resolve (unsuccessfully) even the most basic of questions.

In summary I personally consider FU to be a bunch of usurious snake-oil traders and whoever recommended this circus of charlatans is culpable for the upset, financial losses and betrayal of trust of (probably) all former Usio customers. This has been an unconditionally shambolic debacle and, quite frankly, should not be allowed to be quietly ignored by TPTB.

If anyone knows how to get Martin involved I would be grateful for any info. We deserve compensation, not extortion,