Energy Switching - The Process

mac.d

GunJack wrote: »

And giving both old & new supplier the same readings would get over this....if they both get the same, then they can argue over it in the background and leave the customer out of it...but then how could they argue if they've both got the same (especially if backed up with photos of the meters when you take the reading)??

The whole intermediary thing is just so unnecessary .... and why oh why do they say to allow 6 WEEKS!!!!!! to generate a final bill?? Normally they do it within a couple of days.....

If your switch date is today, what is to stop you submitting a photo from two weeks ago to take advantage of a lower reading than the actual usage today to try and pay slightly less for your electric & gas?

Also, the old and new supplier are two businesses competing for your money, so while the new supplier would be happy to take your false reading, the old supplier would obviously not as they'd lose out.

So to be fair to all parties, to stop suppliers arguing over readings, and to stop people trying to play the system to save some pennies, they use an independent company to validate the readings. It's not perfect, and it'd be great if the process was quicker, but its to try and make it fair.

That's why it isn't unnecessary.

Talldave

mac.d wrote: »

If your switch date is today, what is to stop you submitting a photo from two weeks ago to take advantage of a lower reading than the actual usage today to try and pay slightly less for your electric & gas?

Also, the old and new supplier are two businesses competing for your money, so while the new supplier would be happy to take your false reading, the old supplier would obviously not as they'd lose out.

So to be fair to all parties, to stop suppliers arguing over readings, and to stop people trying to play the system to save some pennies, they use an independent company to validate the readings. It's not perfect, and it'd be great if the process was quicker, but its to try and make it fair.

That's why it isn't unnecessary.

The "independent company" changed my readings from the true readings to completey fictitious and wrong ones. That's not validating, it's falsification and damned annoying. I don't need that kind of aggro in life.

victor2

Similarly, this "independent company" changed my gas reading to what it was almost 3 months before I switched. Both the gaining and losing suppliers have disputed it. The new supplier says they will go with the actual reading I gave and will notify the losing supplier. Meanwhile my final bill from the losing supplier, which will have a credit balance, is held up.
In the absence of smart meters that let you switch suppliers, they should resort to the old tried and tested method of sending somebody out to read your meters, especially when you change supplier.

We don't need an independent body to assume we're all lying and change readings to completely unrealistic values.