Energy Switching Companies

lindylootoo

When you sign up to an Energy Switching Company and tell them which Energy Company you're currently using and which tariff you're on - will they know that the tariff is a fixed term and carries an exit fee? 
Also.............when they promise to save you £££ and get "the BEST" and "most competitive" energy deal possible - yet they actually sign you up - without advance warning - to a MUCH higher priced tariff AND ignore your instant contact to switch to a far better and cheaper deal with a different energy company - which they then refuse on the basis they "don't deal with them"!!! Anyone else had problems with Look After My Bills? 

Neil_Jones

lindylootoo said:

When you sign up to an Energy Switching Company and tell them which Energy Company you're currently using and which tariff you're on - will they know that the tariff is a fixed term and carries an exit fee? 
Also.............when they promise to save you £££ and get "the BEST" and "most competitive" energy deal possible - yet they actually sign you up - without advance warning - to a MUCH higher priced tariff AND ignore your instant contact to switch to a far better and cheaper deal with a different energy company - which they then refuse on the basis they "don't deal with them"!!! Anyone else had problems with Look After My Bills? 

Depends on the tariff.  Some are fixed until a specific date, others 12/18/24 months from when you joined.  So if you have one of the latter you need to find out when it ends.  Should be printed on your bill.

The likes of LAMB do nothing you can't do yourself.  LAMB is just basically the lazy man's energy switching service. which will sign you up to tariffs that are in their best interest and not necessarily yours.  Cancel it and do your own energy research/comparisons/switching.

Gerry1

Big mistake to have signed up to LAMB, Autoswitch, Bill Buddy etc.  They don't do anything you can't do yourself, and they'll be interested only in switching you to a supplier that pays commission.  YOU foot the bill for that because the cheapest companies seldom pay commission.

Leave LAMB (if there are no exit fees) then start comparing with Citizens Advice and 'Which? Switch', entering your annual kWh usage derived from actual meter readings a year apart.  Just compare annual costs, always ignore all projections and savings claims because they're often unrealistic.Remember that separate suppliers are often cheaper than dual fuel, so do the sums for both.  Also have a look at the customer service ratings on Citizens Advice and the 'Add your feedback on energy supplier xxxx...' threads here on the forum: Symbio are cheap but might not necessarily be the best choice for an easy life !

Always send monthly readings, keep your own records and check that your DD payments are keeping up with your usage, it's not All You Can Eat: if you use more than expected, your DD will be increased twice, firstly to reflect your higher usage and secondly to reclaim your arrears.

lindylootoo

Thanks for your replies. I have now unsubscribed. But their recent switch was to a very high tariff and I told them I didn't that as it was too high and there was a much better tariff. They refused to switch me to the one I want..........so I unsubscribed from them. I also set in place for my preferred energy provider to take over my account.............now the one to which LAMB switched me are demanding exit fees despite the fact that my notifications to LAMB and switch to a different provider were within the 14 day cooling off period. 

lindylootoo

And.................going back through my emails I see that their first switch for me was from a two year tariff which exit fees. They put the switch through and I was charged the exit fees!! They are not fit for purpose and I intend to complain loudly! Any help appreciated. 

Gerry1

Unfortunately you'll probably find that it's allowed by the Ts &Cs to which you signed up so you may just have to move on.

niktheguru

Yet another poor result from look after my bills. Where's @yelias when you need him/her.

Please leave these people, do the comparisons yourself and dont leave your utility choices to a third party.
Its worth noting that once LAMB have switched you to a provider, if you do not like that provider you should not only contact LAMB (who probably wont help you) but actually the provider they are switching you to and telling them in the cooling off period that you do NOT want to switch to them. It sounds like you didn't do the latter, and once you were switched they then refused to let you leave unless you paid exit fees (which from their point of view they are entitled to do, if you didn't contact them directly before hand to stop the switch.

slimbuck

lindylootoo said:

When you sign up to an Energy Switching Company and tell them which Energy Company you're currently using and which tariff you're on - will they know that the tariff is a fixed term and carries an exit fee? 
Also.............when they promise to save you £££ and get "the BEST" and "most competitive" energy deal possible - yet they actually sign you up - without advance warning - to a MUCH higher priced tariff AND ignore your instant contact to switch to a far better and cheaper deal with a different energy company - which they then refuse on the basis they "don't deal with them"!!! Anyone else had problems with Look After My Bills? 

Yes, LAMB do know which tariff they have switched you to, so presumably do know wether or not exit fees apply to that tariff.
But as they only switch you again when your tariff is coming to an end, it's a mute point.

Where exactly do LAMB promise to "get "the BEST" and "most competitive" energy deal possible" ???
According to their home page they state very clearly:
"Our aim is to keep you on a fair deal forever.That may not mean the very cheapest, ...
When your first deal comes to an end we keep checking the market. If we can save you £50 or more or £15 if you have a prepayment meter then we’ll switch you again. ...
We aren’t a comparison site – we do auto-switching! ...
If you don’t like the supplier we switch you to then you will have a 14 day cooling off period with them to cancel the switch...."

Whatever made you think you could contact LAMB and instruct them to switch you to a supplier & tariff of your choosing???

If you have decided yourself which supplier and tariff you want, you need to ask yourself what value an auto-switching site can provide you. You will need to contact the supplier of your choice yourself and arrange yourself the switch to the tariff you want. Doing this may suspend or terminate your agreement with LAMB.

slimbuck

lindylootoo said:

And.................going back through my emails I see that their first switch for me was from a two year tariff which exit fees. They put the switch through and I was charged the exit fees!! They are not fit for purpose and I intend to complain loudly! Any help appreciated. 

When you initially subscribe to LAMB, they do not take into account possible exit fees of your current deal. They probably assume that people wouldn't sign up with an auto switching service when in the middle of a 2 year fix that you had already arranged yourself.

So when you sign up, they immediately look to see if they could save you money by switching you to a  tariff they have an agreement with the supplier to switch you to. They will only switch you if they can save you at least £50 that should cover the vast majority of any early exit fee that may apply.
If they could save you £50, then you need to ask yourself if staying on the expensive 2 year deal you had arranged is in your best interests.
How much did they actually save you by switching you (excluding the early exit fees you incurred)???
You would have been advised by LAMB that a switch was going to take place.
If you didn't want it to go ahead, possibly because of the early exit fees you presumably knew you would incur as you arranged the tariff you were on at the time, then you could always have cancelled the switch with the supplier LAMB chose for you during the 14 day cooling off period.

lindylootoo

How much did they actually save you by switching you (excluding the early exit fees you incurred)???
You would have been advised by LAMB that a switch was going to take place.
If you didn't want it to go ahead, possibly because of the early exit fees you presumably knew you would incur as you arranged the tariff you were on at the time, then you could always have cancelled the switch with the supplier LAMB chose for you during the 14 day cooling off period.

They quote a figure they can "save" you but that's based on what you would pay if you didn't switch.......so your current tarrif would rollover to the "standard" tarriff - which is pretty much useless. 

On this recent switch - I informed both them AND the company to which they wanted to switch that I didn't want to switch! I've now sent a copy of this notification to the supplier and except them to abide by the 14 day cooling off period..........but that company Green and I have reason to believe they are as bad as LAMB. 

lindylootoo

Where exactly do LAMB promise to "get "the BEST" and "most competitive" energy deal possible" ???
According to their home page they state very clearly:
"Our aim is to keep you on a fair deal forever.That may not mean the very cheapest, ...
When your first deal comes to an end we keep checking the market. If we can save you £50 or more or £15 if you have a prepayment meter then we’ll switch you again. ...
We aren’t a comparison site – we do auto-switching! ...
If you don’t like the supplier we switch you to then you will have a 14 day cooling off period with them to cancel the switch...."

21st July - Email from LAMB - "

We've found you another great new deal with our trusted supplier, Green. We know switching suppliers can sometimes be a pain so we've secured you another brilliant deal with the same supplier - it's completely hassle-free! The deal we’re switching you to will lock in some fantastically cheap rates for the next 12 months. This means you'll be protected from any potential prices rises until we switch you again next year.

Green are a new and innovative supplier taking the industry by storm. With great deals and excellent customer service." 1st July - Email from LAMB  - " Once your deal ends you'll be rolled on to your current supplier's default tariff - which is often the most expensive tariff. But not to worry - on 21/07/2021 we'll scan the energy market to find you a new deal worth switching you to. The best bit is that you don't even have to lift a finger!" 1st July - Email from LAMB - "Please note that we aren’t a comparison site and we offer something fresher that can guarantee to keep you on a fair deal FOREVER! We do auto-switching! This means we don’t give you a choice of deals, we simply give you the best deal we can find and switch you to them! With a comparison site, you have to keep track of when your deal ends and remember to switch again when it does otherwise you get rolled on to a terribly expensive deal. With Look After My Bills we do it automatically for you so you’re always saving and never worrying. Even better, we select the best deal amongst our panel of suppliers who we vet; and ensure they will be able to provide the service we promise to our customers." 12th July - Email from LAMB "We are an automatic switching service and so once we find you a deal, we do begin switching you. However, we do immediately notify you of the full details of your new deal and provide you with a 14-day cooling-off period for you to cancel any switch we have found for you without your current supply being affected. The information pertinent to the tariff and supplier we have sourced for you will be made available to you as soon as we have run a comparison for you soon. ​ When we run a comparison plus switch, we look for a competitive tariff with a reputable supplier to ensure you do not overpay for your energy. We currently average saving of £259 for our customers and we only work with suppliers that we have personally checked to ensure that not only do they provide competitive rates, but also quality customer service.   So we are confident that we can find you a deal you'll be happy with. Not only that, but we'll also be searching for the best deals for you year on year so that you do not overpay for your energy." ........................................................................................................................ I have sent an email to Green this morning : I've taken a closer look at this and you will see that I emailed Green on 26th July at 8.26 am -which is 13 minutes after receipt of your email informing me of my new tarrff. I believe this is within the 14 day cooling off period.  Please confirm that your exit fees will be withdrawn asap."