TONIK ENERGY UNETHICAL PRACTICES

DKM2015

I changed to Tonik via MSE. they were ok until  2019. I changed in Febuary2020. Gave them notice in January and said I wanted my credit balance within 2 weeks of end of contract. They suck you in with one monthly price and increase it after 1 month, therefore you are always at least a month or two in credit. When I phone them, they ignore emails now, they constantly give me excuses and lies. Accounts have not been adjusted since 30/12/2019. They say there is a technical fault and are unable to access accounts. They keep saying they have not received my final readings from my new supplier,which is a lie because the new supplier said they have had them since 28/02/2020. Yet even today they said they could not process my refund as they did not have them. Only after  a second call when challenged did they admit they had received them. When I asked when my money would be refunded, they said they did not know because of a technical fault., What since 30/12/2020.
I checked Companies house and their filing history which stated that they did not know if they would be able to continue trading. 2018 they had a loss of over 18 million and last year the loss was 24 million. Signed off in Feb2020.
Where do I stand if they go bust will I have a chance of getting my money or is it lost. I cant complain to the ombudsman yet as I only filed a complaint with them today due to their lies and stalling tactics. Asked to speak to the MD but even when I gave them his name they daid they did not know if he was their md . When I demanded a final bill they said due to technical problems it would generate a bill for several thousand pound that I would owe them. Sharp practice to say the least.
IF YOU ARE THINKING OF SWITCHING TO TONIK DON'T IF YOU DO MAKE SURE YOU ALWAYS OWE THEM MONEY.

 

 

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dogshome

I'm afraid that  " Hanging onto the money" is a common syndrome shared with the umpteen suppliers who have fallen off the tree in the last 2 years.

You know the meter reading that their Final Bill should end at, so work out what the bill should be and what balance is owed to you, if it exceeds your monthly D/Debit payment, try to get your bank to re-call the last D/Debit payment made.   

SuzannahK

I have had exactly the same problem as DKM2015.  Keep saying the system is down, which is clearly a lie. I understand that I can't complain to the Energy Ombudsman until 12 weeks after the problem occurred, so I guess they think they have free reign to hold on to my money for three to four months before any kind of investigation happens.  Really disgusting behaviour. 

tempus_fugit

Not had any problems with Tonik, apart from the fact that their website seemed to be down for an “upgrade” for what seemed like weeks and I couldn’t get a statement from them during that time, but it all came back up last week and it’s been fine since then. Of course it remains to be seen what happens when I try to move elsewhere, but I take that risk when switching to any new energy firm.

Belinda1

I am having the same problem with Tonik too, I switched to them January 2019 and all seemed fine until December when I could not log into my Account apparently their website was down, I could not access statements, I continued to submit meter readings but when I eventually managed to get back into my account, the last two statements were based on estimates and not the reads provided, I emailed several times, never got replies, In January I switched to Octopus but have still not received my final bill, I am in credit and despite several requests I am getting no where, I cannot get a refund, I have now resorted to calling Tonik because I get no joy with emails, they lie to me every time and have excuses, they say the website has been updated or the website is currently down, and that they are waiting for final meter readings but these were supplied 3 months ago, over and over again, I am getting no where.  My mum and dad are having the exact same problem, they also switched in January to Octopus Energy, and despite their account having a credit balance Tonik have continued to take a direct debit for 2 more months, taking the account further into credit, we have now cancelled the direct debit so that Tonik cannot take any more money.  Last week my mum actually got her final bill which was in credit but they are asking for a further payment of £156.00 which they say they will take in 14 days ????,  I am getting more and more worried.  I do not know what else I can do.

andy,s_quest

Sadly this is the same thing im going through. I switched from Tonik in January, had to wait until April for a final statement and still the in credit balance has not been returned. Having just spend another 40 minutes trying to get them to answer the phone I have decided to write to them saying in the money isn't returned in 14 days  then im off to the small claims court

tempus_fugit

How have Tonik been regarding continuing to take direct debit payments after the switch? My switch goes through today and I will have to pay the new supplier. The direct debit to Tonik is due on the 26th. Is it likely they will take a payment or will they stop debits automatically, because they haven’t given me any indication whatsoever? Even Avro confirmed that payments would cease once my switch from them went through last year. the above posts have certainly got me a little worried, but we’ll see how it goes.

Hoof_Hearted

I would stop the payments, particularly if you are in credit.

inspectorperez

tempus_fugit said:

How have Tonik been regarding continuing to take direct debit payments after the switch? My switch goes through today and I will have to pay the new supplier. The direct debit to Tonik is due on the 26th. Is it likely they will take a payment or will they stop debits automatically, because they haven’t given me any indication whatsoever? Even Avro confirmed that payments would cease once my switch from them went through last year. the above posts have certainly got me a little worried, but we’ll see how it goes.

If you do not stop your direct debit, it will almost certainly be processed on 26th. Make sure your new supplier acknowledges that you are now their customer before you cancel your direct debit if you decide to do so as well as being totally confident your final balance will be in credit. I am assuming you have not had your final Tonik bill yet and if you are on one of their products which requires direct debit payments they will almost certainly  move you on to a variable tariff for final billing purposes if the DD cancellation occurs while you are still their customer. You are going to have to act quickly though because Tonik DD request for a payment due on 26th will be imminent. You will need to be patient if you expect any refund to be paid according to industry guidelines! There are plenty of comments on other threads and Trustpilot about Tonik in this respect.

tempus_fugit

Thasnks folks, I’ve come to this conclusion already from reading the other threads on Tonik. I fear I may have left it too late though because the payment is due on Tuesday and we have a bank holiday weekend too. My own stupid fault, I should have cancelled it earler.

BTW, I have had confirmation from the new supplier that I am now with them, and they have taken the first D/D payment. I am confident that I am in credit with Tonik (not that I can tell from their “live status” thingy as it has been stuck at the same figure for over a month) as I keep my own records based on meter readings.

DazzlerB

I'm also waiting for a refund from Tonik.
I left in mid January, I had a bill in early April confirming the amount owed, but I've still not had the money.