Shell energy mis-selling

garywilliams

In Oct 2018 Lyn was sold a contract coming out of asda moving from bulb to shell.
Same direct debit £101, same ish annual estimate  £1200 fixed for 3 years. Then 4 months later £350 in debt and shell wanting to double the DD to £212. Paid the bill but kept the £101 DD.
In sept 2019 found we were £759 in debt and started a complaint.
Shell sold us a rate 50% more than bulb but reduced the annual consumption estimate which reduced the annual price estemate to the same as bulb to sell the contract.
In short the price was 50% more, they halved their estimates and doubled our Bill's from £1200 to £2200 pa.
Shell say they are just estemates and she should have checked the rates.
I got the deadlock letter this week offering £70 in good will.

Gerry1

You expected to save money by paying a rate that was 50% higher??

Take the money and run.

And learn how DDs work before switching again !

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/lower-energy-direct-debits/#whatyoupay

Talldave

Learn how to ask the price of something and compare it to what you currently pay!
I always find that pushy energy salespeople either cannot answer, or don't want to answer, the simple question of "what are you standing charge and unit rates?". That's the time to walk away.

ElephantBoy57

garywilliams said:

In Oct 2018 Lyn was sold a contract coming out of asda moving from bulb to shell.
Same direct debit £101,
Shell sold us a rate 50% more than bulb

I would be very surprised if even the most expensive tariff in the UK was 50% more than the cheapest. I am moving to Shell next week, because it was one of the cheapest on a comparison site.

Nebulous2

Shell wouldn’t have known what your usage was. An estimate would have been based on information you gave them. The most accurate estimates comes from giving them accurate usage figures in units. Giving them a direct debit amount is less accurate. 

Talldave

ElephantBoy57 said:

garywilliams said:

In Oct 2018 Lyn was sold a contract coming out of asda moving from bulb to shell.
Same direct debit £101,
Shell sold us a rate 50% more than bulb

I would be very surprised if even the most expensive tariff in the UK was 50% more than the cheapest. I am moving to Shell next week, because it was one of the cheapest on a comparison site.

Be surprised then! uSwitch offers me tariffs as high as 125% more than I'm paying. 
For me, Shell is 16th in the dual fuel list (all 16 more expensive than current tariffs) and 36th in the electricity only list (30 more expensive than current tariff). If you're looking at dual fuel it's almost a certainty that separate suppliers would be cheaper .

sallyannescarbrow

I have just been stung my the Shell Energy offer.  I have never botherted to switch ever , out of laziness , but now I know why . 
Basically they lure you in with a deal of £37.00 a month ( I only have elctricity ) as oppose to my £136.00 from Npower.  I joined in september 2019 and since then they have asked for meter readings left right and centre.  They have had 5 readings since .  Now they have said that I am not paying them enough to cover the bill -  they want £180.00 a month instead .   Well there you go I suppose ,  how was £37.00 a month ever going to cut it.  Yes I am the fool for accepting the deal , but arnt these suppliers all takling the !!!!!! by luring people in with these deals in the first place ?  
I was told £180.00 bill would be the last then £30.00 exit fee.    
I received an email yesterday saing " you havent given us a meter reading for 6 months !!!"    
So I rang them today ( after on hold for 150 hrs it seems )  Oh that was a mistake and yes your account will finish on the 21st Feb and there will be another final final FINAL bill of £355.39  -   I beg your pardon ????
Oh you were still outstanding 227.59 from the last bill   ( £180.00 was obviously not the last as i was told)   plus £30.00 to leave , plus £97.80 in energy you've used since 22nd Jan -  Grand total  =  £ 355.39    !!!!!! ??? 
Basically they have allowed me to go into debt with them and their stupid deal -   but they must be chasing up every new customer that signed up for this deal - BECAUSE £ 37.00 aint enough - there is no deal , it total BS.
I have put in a complaint and they said " oh yeah , we'll look into sales team misselling   but its not The salesmans fault its the underhand deal that Shell and all the rest of the energy companies are peddling .   
I have gone back to my old provider paying the same per month as before -  no deals, no cheap tariffs , just pay what is required 
They did suggest a tariff that you only pay for what you have used "  WELL SHOULDNT IT BE THAT ALL THE TIME FOR EVERYONE ???    Shell shouldnt be estimating it - I have given these sods a reading every month so far . 
:Lesson learnt - dont ever switch over to anything AGAIN. 
A complaint has been put in which takes 2 weeks to resolve -  I wont hold my breath.  I am going to have to bend over and take it up the chutney with this one. 
Can I complain to Watchdog or Offgem oh what the hell can I do ?  I think its out of order - plus I will struggle to pay the huge bill.


  

Talldave

What exactly are you going to complain about? That the apparent offer of £37 a month instead of £137 a month was anything other than ludicrous and unrealistic?  Did you ever ask the price of energy and compare it to what you were paying?  If not, I don't think you have anything to complain about .

ElephantBoy57

sallyannescarbrow said:

Basically they lure you in with a deal of £37.00 a month ( I only have elctricity ) as oppose to my £136.00 from Npower. Yes I am the fool for accepting the deal. "you havent given us a meter reading for 6 months".
I have gone back to my old provider paying the same per month as before -  no deals, no cheap tariffs , just pay what is required.  Lesson learnt - dont ever switch over to anything AGAIN.

You need to take regular meter readings and when you compare providers, put the correct details in.

garywilliams

They did the same to my wife by reducing the yearly estemate then selling a rate 50% higher.
Customer service blamed wife for not checking the numbers.
Emailed the CEO that the figures were unrealistic and reduced just to sell the contract.
Got apology and his senior team to investigate.
 Time will tell

staggered

It sounds like a clear case of mis-selling to me - salesmen assuming estimated usage would be a lot lower, so that the monthly cost would be the same, despite the tariff being a lot more expensive.  However, I think it'd be a hard case to prove, because you won't have a record of exactly what was said.

In my experience, a huge number of people - my elderly dad, for a start - would be completely unable to work out what they would pay annually for their electricity, based on unit cost and how many units they use.  I know that it's a fairly straightforward calculation but a lot of people wouldn't know where to start and would have to rely on estimated monthly costs.

That's why comparison sites are useful and why these salesmen should be avoided at all costs.

If I were in the OP's situation, I'd probably accept the goodwill offer and then use a comparison site to find a cheaper supplier and switch to them.  It's unlikely the Ombudsman would offer you a better outcome.