Solarplicity Light Bulb & Billing Fiasco

Jakubk

As if being suspended from taking on new customers was not enough, Solarplicity has got even worse.

Now when you call you get told that the person taking the call is from the CALL BACK team, I spoke to this same person a few weeks ago chasing a billing problem, they said that someone in UK Billing Dept would contact me, they never did. However, now it seems that they have put in a team for a call back from another person in South Africa and you can be assured they will not call me back either, as they have not since November (I call them every two weeks or so since then).

I also wanted to sort out the lightbulbs they have sent me which is an order for a completely different customer, apparently they had a database issue in exporting the data to LED hut, so if you have not received your bulbs it is because they sent them to a totally different customer in your name but at their address. I just had Yodel say they had a parcel for me, I signed for it and then realised it was not for me.

Can this company do ANYTHING right, I have been through so much grief that I am thinking of taking them to Court for my costs of managing their incompetence. I did put the CEO on notice that I would do this.

I do not want to change supplier and I do not want them to go bust, I just want them to be able to take my readings before they issue bills and I want the fake inflated false bills that they have generated (which now become part of SHARED DATA with other energy companies) to be credited and proper bills issued.

This is a basic accounting function yet it seems beyond their capability and to add insult to injury the South African call centre now just take messages for people that take messages.

I have asked them to assign me a single point of contact in the UK who can pick up my issues and take responsibility for dealing with them to my complete satisfaction. They did have this so called "customer champion" thing going but that was abandoned.

OFGEM have given them 3 months to get their act together, I have given them a week to assign me a single point of contact as none of the promised of someone to contact me from billing has ever happened.

After that I will be contacting OFGEM again to explain the things that I think need to be done to make this energy company fit for purpose.

Jakubk wrote: »

I could write a tome but will try to keep it brief.

• Signed up early Dec 2017
• Was told they could do quarterly billing but only Monthly available, in end decided to pre-pay quarterly
• Things did not happen in switch so I called them to make them happen
• Account active January 8th
• Portal would not accept readings until end of April despite plethora of calls, emails etc.
• Billing only Electricity, Gas not on system, so called them to rectify
• Billing out of sync between Gas and Electricity
• Chased support every week till July
• Every month bill issued before could put in readings (on rare occasion portal worked)
• Bills had to be credited and re-issued every month
• Bills Issued a week before anniversary date
• IT Portal breached Auditing requirements, show estimated bills as Actual
• IT Portal breached Auditing requirements, Does not properlly show credits and debits
• Customer services unable to change anniversary date
• Wrote to Chief Exec, got "read receipt" nothing done
• Wrote to Mia Patience, got "read receipt" nothing done
• Bills do not have Bank Giro Credit slip unlike all other energy companies, no bank details on bill.
• Got a letter from Chief Exec promising 72 hour response from allocated "customer champions"
• Emailed Customer champion, did not respond within 72 hours
• Chased Customer champion, he apologised for not responding and said would fix issues.
• Issues remain unfixed so emailed Customer Champion and got automated email saying "customer champion initiative had been cancelled and your issue transferred to "theTeam" who did NOTHING.
• BACKDATED Letter from Solarplicity reneging on core principle of company of NO STANDING CHARGES told I would be moved to a new Tariff. I rejected the notification as it did not comply with OFGEM rules of 30 days notice.
• Staff confirmed receipt of my rejection but moved my to new Tariff anyway
• Continued to complain with billing/IT Portal issue every few weeks till November
• In November numerous attempts to load readings failed on portal
• In November called to give readings and SA call centre could not add my readings, said would get "billing to email me" BILLING DID NOTHING
• Called every two weeks since November, SA call centre, same thing, can't accept readings, will get billing to call me.
• Estimated bills about 100% over what I use, bills generated at wrong rates and refuse to credit and correct. Every time I call SA call centre says can't fix but will get "Billing" to email me, BILLING DO NOTHING.
• After 1 year I was promised a £21 dual fuel credit, NO CREDIT RECEIVED.
• On signing I was promised LED light bulbs to reduce my energy usage, BUT once signed up it told me that if I left they would charge me £30 if I left before 1 year, so I waited till 1 year and ordered the LED light bulbs only to be told "YOU ARE NOT ELIGIBLE BECAUSE YOU ARE ON WRONG TARIFF the tariff THEY MOVED ME TOO!
• Then they said even if you WERE eligible we do not have any bulbs at the moment and can't give you any idea of when we might be able to provide them. I asked this issue to be escalated, THEY DID NOTHING.
• This weekend they sent me someone else's LED light bulbs (ordered in December), they are not compatible with my fittings. LED HUT told me Solarplicity had screwed up customer database and mixed customer names, addresses and what was ordered.
• I called again today only to be told that the SA call centre are now too busy and so I was routed to the overflow queue who will get someone to call me, NOT HOLDING MY BREATH!

Whilst it is good they employed the SA call centre it is POINTLESS if they do not ENABLE them to carry out the tasks that the UK Customer Service team do.

It is INSULTING to have them promise over and over again that someone will email me and NOBODY DOES.

I had a look at Trustpilot and the complaints are still coming in thick and fast, but Solarplicity has a NEW DIRTY TRICK to reduce complaints, they report negative reviews to TrustPilot for being Defamatory, ARE THEY KIDDING, of course they are defamatory, if Solarplicity RUIN THEIR REPUTATION by not providing service then people will share their experience.

Solarplicity are NOT responding to negative complaints on Trustpilot but write copious thank you messages for every positive review.

How do you think that makes customers with issues feel Solarplicity??

Like you do not give a damn!!

From what I can see their main problems are

• IT Portal failures no access
• IT Portal Billing too early
• IT Portal will not change anniversary date.
• IT Portal will not credit and re-invoice (a basic accounting procedure)
• Billing Dept Unresponsive
• Call Centre staff not enabled to fix so just a message taker to people that never contact
• Screw up Sign ups
• Screw up Leavers
• Fail to return credit
• Screw up Smart Meters - Install but do not work (probably because only installed to get cash in or because of obligations.

I really want Solarplicity to get their act together, it does nothing for the industry for them to go bust, I am not convinced the current CEO has it within him to sort this. I definitely think the IT Director and those responsible for developing the Portal should be fired immediately.

These problems are not insurmountable but the now hostile attitude to complaining customers is extraordinary!