Pure Planet Switch.....

De8ra

I recently decided to switch to Pure Planet, following the recommendation/offer posted on MSE.  I started the switch on 10/06/2020 and received a confirmation from MSE saying my switch had started.  Fast forward to 05/07/2020 and.....nothing.  It’s a nightmare trying to get in touch with Pure Planet as it is all on line, there’s no phone number and the only way to get in touch is via the complaints email on their website........when it’s working.  More often than not, the link doesn’t work and there is no direct email address.  I’m really surprised that a company recommended by with a special offer, would be so poor.  Anyone else had a problem taking up this offer?
I’m going to start looking for another supplier

tk47

Have you replied to Pure Planet confirming the switch and that you have access to their app?

dunroving

Must say I have been pretty unimpressed so far. I saw your thread on the PP Community Forum.
I do think their systems work (eventually), but as a new customer, the processes are a bit opaque. For example, the whole "Message the Team" thing in Wattbott. You're blithely told to "just" type message the team in Wattbot. Then what? I *think* the idea is that if you want to send a message (like an in-house "email"), you type Message The Team, and then type your message. 

I found (like you) that a switch I thought was going ahead had actually been cancelled, so I had to restart (request a new quote) to get the switch going again. I know PP says "We told you", but their language is very ambiguous (what does "reset your account" mean, for example?).

I'm due to switch tomorrow and have my fingers tightly crossed. I've just found out they have the wrong gas meter number on record, and NO electric meter number! Argh.

dunroving

I'm also a bit suspicious about the Customer Satisfaction rating in the MSE Energy Club list of available tariffs. I think a lot of legitimate "complaints" are being brushed under the carpet. If you say you want to file a complaint, they deal with it "in-house" and it never escapes to any sort of external customer satisfaction rating. (I don't just mean Pure Planet; same thing with Ovo, from my experience).

sharon1953

We switched PP on recommendation of MSE, what a nightmare it's been. They made a mistake and only switched the Electricity, even though they have been supplied with both readings when requested and we had selected dual fuel. Only discovered this when we got a bill for gas supply from Ovo. Can't get hold of  Pure Planet other than through their Facebook page. The AI bot is useless unless your issue falls into about 3 categories. Now we have paid a DD to both Pure Planet and Ovo. Ovo say that the national data base they all use to confirm details shows that Pure Planet never requested a transfer of Gas and I believe them because when I log into my Pure Planet account (that doesn't have any account number by the way) there is only electricity showing.

Pure Planet are doing nothing so far other than to send a generic hdoling message saying they are looking into it. The annoying thing is, I actually paid an exit fee to leave Ovo!  Disappointed that MSE would recommend a company that deliberately goes out of its way to avoid being contacted. Now using Resolver. Just to add, I left a 1 star review on Trust Pilot, Pure Planet contacted them to say it was a bogus review as I am not a customer. Had to send details to Trust Pilot to prove I am a customer! So that's how they get negative reviews removed!

Gerry1

No point in trusting TrustPilot, many of the reviews are so obviously fake, and people often report that unfavourable reviews are taken down.  With poor companies TP reviews often fall into two groups, the recent 1-star genuine ones that haven't yet been deleted, and the gushing 5-star fake ones which say everything is wonderful and that a named member of staff was incredibly helpful.

In the meantime, find out who is really your gas supplier, cancel the DD for the other company and ask the bank to do a chargeback on any DDs that should not have been taken.  Then start the switch again.

1Oldbaker

Have had a nightmare time in attempting to switch to Pure Planet, electricity only; started the process late July 2020, gave all the appropriate details and received an email supposedly giving a link to sign on, and give meter reading - link completely missing, with the added irritation that the email text was + 1/3rd larger than my screen size on the PC. Signing on by alternative method just set me into a 'loop' where Pure Planet didn't set up an Account, and additionally wanted communication by Smartphone, which is not what I wanted. Eventually abandoned the switch 6th August, but the Company took a DDM for £54.78 on 10th August. Resolver took up my case, and I asked Pure Planet for a refund; they did not respond, neither have they responded by subsequent emails addressed to: info@purplan.net , except to advise I need to set up a new DDM!  Now, at 22nd September 2020 I still have not received a refund, and have NO telephone number, so will probably have to resort to the Financial Ombudsman.  I could not reccomend the Company as a legitimate Electricity Supplier. 

MikefromSouthend

Not a happy bunny. Used the MSE switching service to change supplier to Pure Planet and their prices go up on the day the switch happens.

MikefromSouthend

I signed up for a 12month fixed deal. I am assuming that the price change will not affect that deal. Just a bit concerned about the prices changing just as I am switching.

Talldave

MikefromSouthend said:

I signed up for a 12month fixed deal. I am assuming that the price change will not affect that deal. Just a bit concerned about the prices changing just as I am switching.

Why? As long as you got the deal you signed up for?

How long do Pure Planet have to keep their prices the same before making a change that doesn't affect you such that you wouldn't go on an internet forum to criticise them?

Bells_and_whistles_56274

I recently switched to Pure Planet (PP) due to their attractive prices. I feel the need to share my experience because, although I have switched provider almost every year for the past 15 years, it is the first time that I face this kind of service:

Whoever reads this, should take into account that I might be the exception, but from what I have read here, I am afraid this is not the case.

Something that I did not know is that there is practically no way to speak to someone on the phone from PP. They have an online chat bot, which, as you realise, can only handle simple requests. If you want correspondence with a real person you can only do it online (via the bot) and a person might respond to you within 3 days. Bear in mind this time limit is every single time you ask a question or you provide information. That means that a conversation for a problem that you have can easily take a month or more.

The site also has a “community blog” which is essentially run by a lot of people who are supposed to be helpful fellow customers. I am very careful here to say “supposed” because some of them average 20-25 posts a day for years. Anyway, what practically happens when you ask a question in the blog, if you are not happy with the answer you receive and you ask follow-up questions, your follow-up question gets removed, the topic gets closed, and somebody else marks the question as answered! So, in the eyes of a visitor, it shows like you have been satisfied with the answer.

It looks like a common theme is that the opening readings that you sent (always attaching a picture) can be rejected. The reason that PP provides is that the previous supplier has not updated the national database when a meter exchange happened. However, there are so many people having the same problem if you look around. The result of this is that (although they have a picture of my meter) they will send an “estimation” (estimation based on what?) for the opening reading to my previous supplier and this process could take several months (according to them). As a result, this would mean that in the meantime I will always get estimated readings (which are usually severely overshot) and my old supplier will not be able to send me the final bill.

All in all, I wish I hadn’t made the switch and I am seriously thinking of biting the bullet and paying the early exit fee and switching to a different supplier. As I said I might be the exception here, but I am posting my honest experience for whomever needs to be informed.