In credit £850 with ‘Spark energy’

KelsieJade

When we moved into our property 2 and a half years ago the energy supplier had been changed to spark energy. I’d never heard of them before and after reading reviews wasn’t feeling good about it, but I’ve never been able to access my account until now (stupid I know). I’ve logged into my account finally and see that we’re £850 in credit! We pay monthly direct debit.

What do I do in this situation? I’m thinking switch providers and get this money back! But then I’ve also heard about Spark charging extortionate fees when you want to leave them.. Anybody any experience with them? Or advice for me?!

Former Spark Representative

Hi KelsieJade

The only fees you'd pay are the exit fees you agreed to if you signed up to a fixed tariff, if you're signed up to a variable tariff you won't have exit fees to pay. Also, if you're coming to the end of your fixed tariff, you would be able to leave penalty free.

In order for us to make sure your credit balance is correct, we'll need up to date meter readings, we're not able to process a refund without confirming the credit balance is based on actual readings.

I recommend giving us a call or using the live chat service on our website, and if you're struggling to get the help you need, you can email me using the address given in my profile.

Kind regards

Jenny
Customer Relations Team

bsms1147

If you’ve been giving them accurate readings regularly, then that £850 credit is an accurate amount.

If you haven’t been, then you should do so that your bill can be correctly calculated. It could mean you’re owed more, or less, or you could actually be in debit to them.

Once that’s sorted and assuming you’ve got a credit balance still, contact them and ask for it to be refunded. You could switch away from them and you’ll get the balance back, but that can take up to ~7 weeks after you leave.

Regarding being ‘charged’ to leave, this I’m sure refers to people who have a debt with them, which may need to be paid before they will allow a switch to take place, or any exit fees applicable to your tariff.

Redboot

KelsieJade wrote: »

When we moved into our property 2 and a half years ago the energy supplier had been changed to spark energy. I’d never heard of them before and after reading reviews wasn’t feeling good about it, but I’ve never been able to access my account until now (stupid I know). I’ve logged into my account finally and see that we’re £850 in credit! We pay monthly direct debit.

What do I do in this situation? I’m thinking switch providers and get this money back! But then I’ve also heard about Spark charging extortionate fees when you want to leave them.. Anybody any experience with them? Or advice for me?!

You may not have been able to access your account, but surely you been receiving statements on your account over the last 30 months.
What about submitting meter readings over that time???

I suggest you take up the offer of Jenny, contact the supplier, provide an up to date meter reading, and if your account is still then in subtantial credit, ask for some or all of it back

Where have you read about extortionate fees to leave any energy supplier, let alone Spark???
No supplier charges extortionate fees to leave them, only agreed early exit fees if you are in a contract you agreed. So when did you contact the supplier, what tariff did you agree, and what are the exit fees (if any) specified according to that tariff. That's the things you should be reading