Good news! Your energy switch is now in progress!

rytenuff

erm....No, it isn't.
I made the switch through the Energy Saving Club to Green Network Energy, completed the online switch form and received the "Good News" email.
After a fortnight of no news, good or otherwise, I 'phoned GNE. They had no record of any of this.
I then 'phoned my current supplier EDF who likewise had no record of this.
Looking online I see that the tariff I was attempting to switch to was no longer available from GNE.
I couldn't use the Energy Saving Club (ESC) to switch to the next best supplier as it said "Switch in progress"
Unfortunately, there is no reference number given when the attempted switch is made through the ESC, so neither supplier knows what you are talking about when you contact them.
I have no proof that the request switch was either sent or received.
Frustrating experience!

MandM90

Hi, we move threads if we think they’ll get more help elsewhere (please read the forum rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board. If you have any questions about this policy please email forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com.

pooch

There's a useful FAQs page here that addresses all your issues and much, much more.
https://clubs.moneysavingexpert.com/cheapenergyclub/faq

If you have received the notification you state in the thread title, that is the proof the request was sent and received

rytenuff

"If you have received the notification you state in the thread title, that is the proof the request was sent and received "

No, that only proves that I was sent notification that it was sent. It does not prove that it was sent to the supplier or that the supplier received it.
Both suppliers are adamant that they have not received any communication with regards to this.
I am in no position to insist that they have, and I cannot quote them a reference number.
I feel that as the switch was undertaken through the Energy Club by a reciprocal profit arrangement that there should be a reference number and an acknowledgement of the requested switch from the supplier, otherwise it is a case of he said/she said.
It can and does take some considerable time to hear from the supplier whether or not you have been accepted and it is particularly galling to find that they have no record of your request, the tariff you had requested is no longer available anyway, and in the interim, the best tariffs from other suppliers are no longer available either.

Raxiel

pooch wrote: »

There's a useful FAQs page here that addresses all your issues and much, much more.
https://clubs.moneysavingexpert.com/cheapenergyclub/faq

If you have received the notification you state in the thread title, that is the proof the request was sent and received

You'd think that, but I started a switch on the 12th and just had an email from the CEC saying there was a 'glitch' and a 'delay' in my switch being passed to my supplier, and a warning it might take an extra week.

Now, that's fine. I wouldn't mind a delay as its higher rates, although as its an internal switch, it'll get backdated anyway. My big concern is that the tariff I switched to (only a couple of hours after it launched) has since been withdrawn. I will not be happy if I miss out on it as a result.

The odd thing is, I spoke to E.ON a couple of days ago and they told me they DID know about the switch, but it wouldn't be until the 28th it would show. That should be enough but I can't help feel a little anxious about it.


Edit: E.ON confirmation came yesterday.

macman

Remember that the gaining supplier can do nothing for 14 days until your cooling-off period has expired.

rytenuff

The gaining supplier can (and should) acknowledge receipt of your request to switch, so not exactly nothing.

Smodlet

Switches to different suppliers (as opposed to merely different tariffs with the same supplier) can and usually do take a heck of a lot more than two weeks which is, as already pointed out, the statutory cooling off period. I think you need to be considerably more patient. If your switch was accepted, it should not matter if the tariff was withdrawn five minutes later; the supplier should still honour it. I think two weeks is far too soon to react as you have.

They are energy companies; in my experience you need to approach them as you would a challenged 13 year old... Obviously give them the chance to behave like an adult first; occasionally you encounter someone who does. The Eon reps on here are two shining examples of excellent customer service. No, I'm not with Eon so not advertising; they are too expensive for me.

I know it is easy to fire the gun before you know where you should aim but give the gaining provider a chance. They have hundreds of thousands of customers unless they are one of these Johnny-come-lately-go-bust-in-a-year outfits.

Whatever you do, please ensure you take meter readings once a month and photograph them when you are asked for a final reading by your current supplier; I am sure you do not need to be reminded of this. HTH.

rytenuff

If you had read my post thoroughly you would have read that I contacted both suppliers. Neither were aware of a request to switch. EDF actually checked the database and it did not appear. To acknowledge receipt of a request ( if it was received) is not the mammoth task you infer. Sent by computer to a computer which is programmed to send an acknowledgement of the request only. That's it, a simple acknowledgement, no more no less.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Raxiel wrote: »

You'd think that, but I started a switch on the 12th and just had an email from the CEC saying there was a 'glitch' and a 'delay' in my switch being passed to my supplier, and a warning it might take an extra week.

Now, that's fine. I wouldn't mind a delay as its higher rates, although as its an internal switch, it'll get backdated anyway. My big concern is that the tariff I switched to (only a couple of hours after it launched) has since been withdrawn. I will not be happy if I miss out on it as a result.

The odd thing is, I spoke to E.ON a couple of days ago and they told me they DID know about the switch, but it wouldn't be until the 28th it would show. That should be enough but I can't help feel a little anxious about it.


Edit: E.ON confirmation came yesterday.

Morning Raxiel and glad you've received the confirmation you were looking for.

Totally appreciate the concern of waiting for this confirmation in the knowledge the tariff you want has been withdrawn from sale. This is something we've raised here. At the moment, switches via Price Comparison sites are handled manually by a ring-fenced team. I do know they were working all weekend to make a dent in the backlogs. This isn't ideal and we're pushing for more automation in the future.

Malc

System

macman wrote: »

Remember that the gaining supplier can do nothing for 14 days until your cooling-off period has expired.

Sorry to split hairs but the gaining supplier can start the transfer process during the cooling off period. When I switched to Octopus earlier this year, I received notification from my losing supplier that they had been notified of a transfer on Day 4 after the switch application. On Day 5, Octopus confirmed that there had been no objection to my transfer. (for electricity, I understand the losing supplier has 5 days and for dual fuel 14 days in which to block a transfer).

If Ofgem gets its way and introduces one day switching, the bulk of the cooling off period will come after the transfer has gone through. Contract cancellation will result in a reverse transfer.

All that said, there are indeed some suppliers that take no action during the cooling off period. In my experience, these are usually the suppliers that are not signed up to 17 day switching.