Beware when switching away from So Energy!

paulcass67

I’ve been with So Energy since March and am switching to Green as it’s cheaper for me to pay So’s early exit fees.

When I got my final bill from So Energy I noticed the closing meter read for electricity was correct but for some reason they had used an estimated reading for the gas?

After a bit of back & forth between my new supplier and So Energy to try and get this corrected and, if I’m honest, a growing feeling I was being fobbed off by So having been given various different explanations/excuses for their use of an estimate (even though my new supplier tell me they’ve sent the correct reading to them twice) today I’ve been told they won’t correct the reading as the difference is not big enough!

I admit we’re not talking a lot here – it’s about a fiver in real terms, BUT it’s not the point really – So’s customer communications say “... you're never charged twice for the same energy”. I am!!!

The estimation is in their favour, naturally, and because I had a very small gas bill they’ve actually inflated what they’re charging me for gas use in my final bill by almost 17%.

What’s more, So Energy have today told me they will only dispute a gas reading if it’s greater than 125 cubic meters. When you do the maths on 125m3 (convert to kwh etc.) it in theory means they can overcharge you by over £42 - they won’t dispute it or correct it and you’ll pay your new supplier too for the same gas!

For a fiver I’m sure So are banking on me not being bothered raising a complaint via Ofgem or whoever it is I need to escalate this to.

So Energy have been great up until the switch but I feel ripped off so it’s a real shame.

Beware.

Streaky_Bacon

You won't be charged twice for the same energy. Your readings have gone through the "validation process" that is used when you switch suppliers, and which is carried out by a third party, see here:

https://help.so.energy/support/solutions/articles/7000046241-opening-reading-validation-process
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5659314/validated-meter-reading-discrepancy

You will find that your new supplier uses the same validated readings for their opening bill, so you won't get charged twice, you'll just get charged for those extra gas units on the old So Energy tariff, rather than the new supplier's tariff.

It is likely that the difference will be very small.

The readings can be disputed if they are out by more than 250kWh for electric or 1200kWh for gas, which as you correctly say is about 125m3.

paulcass67

New supplier has today confirmed they'll adopt the same reading as the losing supplier - so you're right, I won't be overcharged.

badmemory

paulcass67 wrote: »

New supplier has today confirmed they'll adopt the same reading as the losing supplier - so you're right, I won't be overcharged.

That of course depends on whether your new supplier charges more or less for those units. If the old supplier is charging for extra units & the price is higher then you will be overcharged! If they both charge the same well absolutely no problem.

paulcass67

In my case the difference between the estimate and actual was only a few hundred kWh and a few days' worth of standing charge. Because we're talking pence (or tenths of pence) it's not worth bothering about.

Having been through around 10 switches over the last few years (I shop around regularly for the best price and use MSE's Cheap Energy Club to get price alerts) it's the first time I've had a problem. I really don't think it's clear to the consumer how the switch meter reads are exchanged or the role of this mythical "independent 3rd party verification company" various suppliers have mentioned. I also don't understand why, when I supply gas and electric readings at exactly the same point in time, and these readings are exchanged between the two suppliers simultaneously, one supplier has decided arbitrarily to bump up my gas use for an estimated couple of days.

The disappointing thing though is that I raised with both my losing supplier and my gaining supplier this issue about them having different reads (I could in my online accounts the readings they had) and my concern about paying twice for the same energy. I did this on at least 3 occasions for each supplier, and it was only on my 7th interaction with them that a CS representative confirmed both firms were using the same estimated read and I wouldn't pay twice (notwithstanding I'm paying slightly "more" than I ought to). I've wasted loads of my time in queues and chatting to CS agents to finally get to the bottom of it.

Biscuit_Tin

paulcass67 wrote: »

I’ve been with So Energy since March and am switching to Green as it’s cheaper for me to pay So’s early exit fees.

When I got my final bill from So Energy I noticed the closing meter read for electricity was correct but for some reason they had used an estimated reading for the gas?

After a bit of back & forth between my new supplier and So Energy to try and get this corrected and, if I’m honest, a growing feeling I was being fobbed off by So having been given various different explanations/excuses for their use of an estimate (even though my new supplier tell me they’ve sent the correct reading to them twice) today I’ve been told they won’t correct the reading as the difference is not big enough!

I admit we’re not talking a lot here – it’s about a fiver in real terms, BUT it’s not the point really – So’s customer communications say “... you're never charged twice for the same energy”. I am!!!

The estimation is in their favour, naturally, and because I had a very small gas bill they’ve actually inflated what they’re charging me for gas use in my final bill by almost 17%.

What’s more, So Energy have today told me they will only dispute a gas reading if it’s greater than 125 cubic meters. When you do the maths on 125m3 (convert to kwh etc.) it in theory means they can overcharge you by over £42 - they won’t dispute it or correct it and you’ll pay your new supplier too for the same gas!

For a fiver I’m sure So are banking on me not being bothered raising a complaint via Ofgem or whoever it is I need to escalate this to.

So Energy have been great up until the switch but I feel ripped off so it’s a real shame.

Beware.

paulcass67 wrote: »

In my case the difference between the estimate and actual was only a few hundred kWh and a few days' worth of standing charge. Because we're talking pence (or tenths of pence) it's not worth bothering about.

Having been through around 10 switches over the last few years (I shop around regularly for the best price and use MSE's Cheap Energy Club to get price alerts) it's the first time I've had a problem. I really don't think it's clear to the consumer how the switch meter reads are exchanged or the role of this mythical "independent 3rd party verification company" various suppliers have mentioned. I also don't understand why, when I supply gas and electric readings at exactly the same point in time, and these readings are exchanged between the two suppliers simultaneously, one supplier has decided arbitrarily to bump up my gas use for an estimated couple of days.

The disappointing thing though is that I raised with both my losing supplier and my gaining supplier this issue about them having different reads (I could in my online accounts the readings they had) and my concern about paying twice for the same energy. I did this on at least 3 occasions for each supplier, and it was only on my 7th interaction with them that a CS representative confirmed both firms were using the same estimated read and I wouldn't pay twice (notwithstanding I'm paying slightly "more" than I ought to). I've wasted loads of my time in queues and chatting to CS agents to finally get to the bottom of it.

I see you have already received some really good advice already on this, but I wanted to explain further.

When switching supplier, it is the responsibility of your new supplier to manage the entire switching process, so you appear to be blaming the wrong supplier.

You mention that "So Energy have been great up until the switch but I feel ripped off so it’s a real shame", and it seems to me they have been great after the switch, despite them not being at fault.

The information they provided you was correct in regards to limits used before a challenge to any meter reading is permitted on a change of supplier.

The other thing that is important is that the start reading used by the new supplier is the same as the final reading used by the old supplier. If it is not, that is challengeable without any limit.

That will mean any difference in cost will not be anything like £42 as that is the approximate total cost of 125m3 of gas. The effect will be much less as it is only the difference in the price of up to 125m3 of gas, and that depends on the specific tariffs of the old and new supplier. In most cases, it would be only about £4-£5 difference at worst, often much less. I say difference, because again it depends on the tariffs, so it could be either way; sometimes you may win, sometimes you may lose.
Usually, in a time of ever increasing prices, your new tariff would cost more than your old tariff, so the more you get charged on your old tariff generally means a gain yor you. :money:

In your situation, it appears that your new supplier eventually admitted they were wrong, and changed their opening meter read as a result to match that used by So Energy as a final read.

jbuchanangb

I switched away from So Energy a month ago and everything went very smoothly. So Energy produced an accurate final bill. Not much later the credit balance was refunded into my bank account, and then they notified my bank to cancel the direct debit authorisation.

I hope the rest of your transfer goes smoothly too.

So_Energy

jbuchanangb wrote: »

I switched away from So Energy a month ago and everything went very smoothly. So Energy produced an accurate final bill. Not much later the credit balance was refunded into my bank account, and then they notified my bank to cancel the direct debit authorisation.

I hope the rest of your transfer goes smoothly too.

Hey jbuchanangb

Thanks for the feedback! We're glad things went smoothly for you!

The previous messages in this thread have been addressed on https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5362225/add-your-feedback-on-energy-supplier-so-energy&page=8#topofpage

Thanks

Jas