Shell Energy Fiasco for Green Energy Customers

PascalG

I have been trying to sort out my Green Energy credit transfer and submit readings to Green.

I think the way this is being handled is diabolical so I thought I would share my experiences to see if they are unique.

Like most people I was worried when Green went bust and OFGEM dumped me with Shell, but I figured the market is shot right now so roll with it.

I first heard from Shell on evening of 27th September saying "your in safe hands", you can see from message below that they discouraged Green Customers from calling them and they said they were "currently" setting up our accounts.

So I waited, then I read some things online and I check their terms which did not seem at all friendly.  My concern was whether my credit would be transferred and what rates I would pay.

So I called them first attempt I made the mistake of choosing the option for Green customers, this was mostly recordings and a massive queue to a call centre in India who hung up on me after less than a minute, I called back and after waiting for an hour got put to a call centre in South Africa, this one was better but had no information.

Then I got another message 8th October giving me the Tariff and telling me I was on what their website calls their ONLY variable rate tariff, i.e. the default Tariff for variable rate customers. 

One thing that annoyed me was when they said:

If you choose not to set up a Direct Debit with us, we’ll move you onto the non-Direct Debit version of our Flexible tariff. You’ll also incur an extra charge to cover the costs of supporting your payment choice.

It was my understanding that if you take on a Fixed Rate Tariff they can give you a discount but I have never known an energy company think they can charge me for NOT using Direct Debit, so I called them and was told that if I did not like it I was free to leave but I they would be charging me.

Well I pointed out that I have never agreed to their terms and conditions because I never agreed to join them, I am assured that under UK Contract law you can't be deemed to have agreed if you have not actually contracted in the first place.

At this point I decided I would be leaving Shell Energy, their call centres are rubbish, overloaded while staff are rude and entitled.

I tried to call again a week later to see if my account had been created so I could get the hell out of Shell.

I got through to a chap in an EU  foreign call centre, he was useless because Shell had not given him any information, so I had no choice but to wait.

Two weeks later I tried calling again, this time I got through to Poland Call Centre, still all this time later she had no information other than wait and see.

She did however tell me some things, she said that it is manic because the accounts have not been transferred properly, they do not have accounts for most customers, they do not have balances for the few they do have accounts for and the staff tell each other it is hell trying to deal with all the complaining customers.

So I asked her how do I give you my reads, she said "well all we can do for now is take your details in a message area and update the account if and when they create it.

I suppose i should not care but I do not like owing people money and I am concerned about my balance being transferred over.

I cancelled my Direct Debit as soon as I heard Green had gone bust so I am OK but here we are on the 15th November 2021, in 12 days it will be two months since the first email and I have had nothing since.

My question is can I transfer now before they get the account transferred fully with my credit?

Will my credit pass from Shell Energy to whoever I choose?

I am not keen on the big six, does anyone have any other energy companies they think are really great, do not try to force or harass you to take a smart meter and do not do credit checks. .

Also what do I do if they have not sorted this out in 90 days, how long is reasonable to wait for this shower to get their act together?


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Message 1  
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Following the closure of Green (Green Supplier Limited), Ofgem, the industry regulator, has appointed us to manage your energy supply from Monday 27 September.

We look forward to welcoming you on board, and are working closely with Ofgem to make the switch as smooth as possible for you.

There won’t be any break in your energy supply and any credit balance you have will be safe and protected. It may take a while to move over, but we’ll keep you posted.

We’re currently setting up your account, so there’s no need to call or email us.

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Message 2
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We recently got in touch to let you know we’d be taking over your energy supply. Since then, we’ve been working hard to make your account setup as smooth as possible.

We promised we’d be in touch with more details about your energy tariff, so here’s everything you need to know.

About your tariff

You’ve been moved onto our Flexible 6 tariff, which is a standard variable tariff and the cheapest we have available, given today’s wholesale costs. It’s protected by Ofgem’s price cap, regardless of how you pay. The rates for this tariff are fixed until 1 April 2022, which is when the price cap will be revised. This tariff has no exit fees.

Here at Shell Energy, we’re proud to offer 100% renewable electricity as standard on all our tariffs.

What’s the Ofgem price cap?

The energy price cap limits how much an energy supplier can charge for their standard variable tariff. It’s based on how much Ofgem, the energy regulator, thinks suppliers need to spend to get energy into your home. It also gives you reassurance that, if costs rise, those price rises are justified.

We adjust our prices for the flexible tariff in line with Ofgem’s price cap and to reflect wholesale energy-price changes. To find out more about these changes, visit our blog.

Ofgem reviewed the price cap in August and the latest price cap came into effect on Friday 1 October.

Your initial rates, from Monday 27 September to Friday 1 October, are below:

Electricity Gas

Standing charge (per day) 24.02p 26.60p

Unit rate (per kWh) 19.001p 3.327p

As of Friday 1 October, your rates are as follows:

Electricity Gas

Standing charge (per day) 24.01p 26.11p

Unit rate (per kWh) 20.871p 4.055p

Your new prices on our Flexible 6

These figures are based on the assumption that you’ll be paying by Direct Debit.

You can read the Terms and Conditions for your new flexible tariff. You can also find our energy Terms and Conditions, as well as finding answers to some frequently asked questions.

Important information about paying by Direct Debit

Please don’t cancel your Direct Debit. We’ll transfer it over to us, so you don’t have to do a thing.

If you’ve already cancelled your Direct Debit, don’t worry. We’ll be in touch soon to let you know how to set up a new one.

If you didn’t pay by Direct Debit with Green, you have 90 days to set one up with us. If you choose not to set up a Direct Debit with us, we’ll move you onto the non-Direct Debit version of our Flexible tariff. You’ll also incur an extra charge to cover the costs of supporting your payment choice.

Gerry1

The Ofgem cap is significantly higher if you don't pay via Direct Debit, so it's hardly surprising that this is reflected in Shell's rates.
(Edit: Typo)

PascalG

I thought we were all on the Ofgem cap?

Verdigris

PascalG said:

I thought we were all on the Ofgem cap?

We are. But what you pay depends on how you pay, as clearly set out in Gerry's chart.

gt94sss2

PascalG said:

Well I pointed out that I have never agreed to their terms and conditions because I never agreed to join them, I am assured that under UK Contract law you can't be deemed to have agreed if you have not actually contracted in the first place.

My question is can I transfer now before they get the account transferred fully with my credit?

Will my credit pass from Shell Energy to whoever I choose?

I am not keen on the big six, does anyone have any other energy companies they think are really great, do not try to force or harass you to take a smart meter and do not do credit checks. .

Also what do I do if they have not sorted this out in 90 days, how long is reasonable to wait for this shower to get their act together?

1. You are incorrect and can be placed on a deemed energy contract without needing to agree the terms and conditions.

It happens all the time - for instance when someone moves property, they automatically enter into a deemed contract with the existing energy supplier, until they choose their own preferred supplier/tariff.

2. You can transfer your energy account now to another supplier. 

Any existing credit from Green (minus any charges from Shell) will eventually be refunded by Shell - it will not move with you to another supplier.

Expect the process of getting a refund to take several more months - especially if you leave Shell - as they will concentrate on resolving issues of Green customers who have not transferred away first.

3. Paying more for not using direct debit is normal and you won't find any supplier at the moment who is cheaper than the capped tariff Shell have placed you on.

PascalG

Gerry1 said:

The Ofgem cap is significantly higher if you don't pay via Direct Debit, do it's hardly surprising that this is reflected in Shell's rates.

Thanks for that, I am so Totally Disgusted with Ofgem, they are obviously in the pockets of the energy companies,

Those differences do not reflect the differences if I just pay by bank tranfer or by paypoint. card as I do my water.

It is totally obscene, they even charge more to the most vulnerable on pre-payment meters, yet those that are on smart meters pay as they go, they get cut off regularly if they do not have tech and they had the worst standing charges, all at the flick of a software switch.

The truly ironic thing is we paid £15bn for them to screw us like this for the smart meter programme that allowed them save a fortune by cutting thousands of staff and move the country from quarterly billing to monthly or prepaid, so saving cash flow.

They have featured on BBC You and Yours for having huge amounts of customers money despite only needing enough to cover winter and they get 28 days to return it.

Perhaps the biggest con is that they actually get some people to accept this and some will even stick up for them.

They make money from gambling on the wholesale market but now it is bad they expect us to bail them out, just like the banking crisis.

Oh and before you blame market forces, in France they froze Gas increases and Electricity until the end of 2022.

Ofgem really needs to be broken up.

Gerry1

PascalG said:

Gerry1 said:

The Ofgem cap is significantly higher if you don't pay via Direct Debit, so it's hardly surprising that this is reflected in Shell's rates.

It is totally obscene, they even charge more to the most vulnerable on pre-payment meters, yet those that are on smart meters pay as they go, they get cut off regularly if they do not have tech and they had the worst standing charges, all at the flick of a software switch.

Agreed, if we had a proper regulator the most vulnerable in society wouldn't be penalised this way.  Everyone pays the same rate for a postage stamp regardless of whether the item is sent from Mayfair to Maida Vale or from Scilly to Shetland, so the case can be made that energy prices should not depend on the method of payment.  It's hard to see the justification for prepayment costing £32 more annually: suppliers undoubtedly incurred increased costs way back in the 'shilling for the meter' days but this can't still be the case with cashless smart meters that can be remotely switched.  Ditto for Standard Credit, obviously there's some risk of people paying late or not at all, but DDs can also be cancelled.  In any case, problem cases can be transferred to pre-payment so the premium of £93 seems a rip-off.

Unfortunately you'll probably find that many (or most) suppliers are equally slow as Shell at the moment.  They're losing money for every SoLR customer that joins them, so they certainly won't want the additional expense of hiring more staff to deal with the backlog.  I started a switch from Symbio to British Gas on 30 Sep, the order was accepted on 5 Oct but after many broken promises the app is still telling me that my estimated start date is 25 Oct and that my first meter readings (already given several times) will soon be due.  Worst of all, I signed up to BG's Zero Fixed Oct 22 tariff but I'm still stuck on their SVT waiting for them to honour their promise to backdate it to the start date.  Even The Mysterious Third Party is moving at glacial speed: they still haven't verified my closing meter readings.

It seems that we'll all just have to be patient for quite some time...