Spark Energy Nightmare

Katrinyom

Avoid Spark Energy as your provider at all costs!

I was automatically signed up to Spark Energy when I moved into a flat in May 2017. They claim to give you a ‘move in saver’ tarrif and lower rates at certain times of the day but all they’ve done is left me in hundreds of pounds worth of debt.

My flat was on the second floor in a block, one bedroom and I work full time and spent most weekends at my partner’s house so not really a lot of use in the flat. They quoted me just under £50 per month for my direct debit which was fine but since Jan 2018 I stopped the direct debit and paid my monthly bill when it was issued each month. The amount fluctuated as my usage varied and I had some more expensive months when it was colder ranging betwen £50-£70 but an average month was still less than £50. I moved out of this flat on 24th August 2018, paid a final bill and gave Spark my new address to forward any correspondence. In October I just so happened to log into the Spark Energy app to make sure it was all clear before deleting the app since they’re no longer my provider and there I see my account is in debt for £831.53. I received no correspondence to say I owed any money at all but not only that, they passed my account straight to a debt collection agency without me having any knowledge of this at all! After an hour on hold trying to get through to Spark I was left talking to a very rude customer service agent who was extremely unhelpful and couldn’t have cared less about my situation. They had put my moving out date as the 5th Sept 2018 when it was actually 24th August 2018 so I asked if I could be sent a new bill with the corrected dates and his exact response was “yes but it won’t really make much difference to what you owe”. I made this phone call on the 15th of October and I’m still waiting for my revised bill. I get harassed with phone calls and text messages from Spark every single day. They’re very quick to hassle me to pay this money but aren’t acting quickly to help me. I have explained the situation to the debt collectors and they have put my account on hold for 30 days while I wait for the new bill from Spark. I’m completely baffled as to how I have a bill this high when I was paying for my usage as I went on a monthly basis. This has and still is causing so much stress and anxiety. Absolutely disgusting company and customer service.

[Deleted User]

Quite a few important questions to answer.
Did you get your Eco 7 readings on the day you moved in. That means only the day and night readings, not the total readings which are shown on most digital meters and submit both these readings to your supplier
Did you make sure that the two day and night readings were not transposed if you sent them into Spark Energy ?
Did you submit regular quarterly correct day/night readings in the time that you were an occupier so Spark Energy could adjust the ( low under £50 a month ) direct debits to reflect the much colder winter months last year. £50 a month for heating and normal usage is pretty low for most properties given the extra cost s of electric heating.
Did you submit an accurate outgoing day/night reading when you moved out.
I expect your meter would be in a meter cupboard along with several others so its always a good idea to double check that you are using the correct meter.
If you have nt done all these things then its possible Spark Energy are using readings from the last tenant and even from a new tenant after you moved out because a new occupier may not have registered their readings.
I work as a meter reader for Spark Energy who cover quite a few different blocks of flats in my area where I find many occupants not too interested in making accurate meter readings and just rely on an estimated direct debit. Many I meet dont even know where the meters are or do not possess a key to the cupboard.. It does nt help at all that landlords keep the cupboards locked all the time

Former Spark Representative

Hi Katrinyom

Sorry to hear about this.

Some great advice from Houbara - thanks for that.

Katrinyom, if you drop me an email to the address given in my profile, then I can help you with this and I can stop any payment reminders.

Please confirm your full name, your MSE name, your supply address and any other information that might be helpful.

Kind regards

Jenny
Customer Relations Team

Katrinyom

This block of flats was newly converted from a previous office block and I was the first occupant in the building. I had full access to the meter cupboard and all meters were clearly labelled with flat numbers so I knew which one was mine. Every time I took a meter reading I took a photo on my mobile of each reading before submitting it so that I could refer back to the photos and have the correct reading.

Katrinyom

Hi Jenny,

Thanks for the quick reply. When I have previously spoke to Spark Energy on the phone I was told there was no way they could stop payment reminders so feeling like I’m being lied to as well as harassed! I’d very much appreciate it if you could stop them though as it’s very overbearing. I’ll send you a message with the details.

Thanks

[Deleted User]

Katrinyom wrote: »

Hi Jenny,

Thanks for the quick reply. When I have previously spoke to Spark Energy on the phone I was told there was no way they could stop payment reminders so feeling like I’m being lied to as well as harassed! I’d very much appreciate it if you could stop them though as it’s very overbearing. I’ll send you a message with the details.

Thanks

Very important Katrinyom that if you take meter readings on Eco 7 meters ( and most all electric flats are Eco 7 ) there will be 2 or 3 readings scrolling round on the meter or available on a push button .Identifying the day and night readings are crucial.. The total of the two readings is never needed with Eco 7 meter readings whenever submitting online.When these readings get mixed up the supplier can either bill you excessively or under bill you.
Spark Energy have now gone bust so you will be transferred to another supplier who will take over the billing