Student Bills Package Quantum NRG

pochase

I had a read through the T&C and they are talking a lot about fair use policy for energy, but nowhere it is defined what the fair use is and what they can charge additionally if they decide you are "abusing" it.

Sounds a bit like as long as you are paying for more than you use it is "fair".

ariarnia

pochase said:

I had a read through the T&C and they are talking a lot about fair use policy for energy, but nowhere it is defined what the fair use is and what they can charge additionally if they decide you are "abusing" it.

Sounds a bit like as long as you are paying for more than you use it is "fair".

do you have a link? i've been googling but can't find anything and the quote from the op is only part of the terms. 

pochase

Not surprised, they are extremely hard to find.

https://general-energy.co.uk/about-us/

macman

That site is a joke. No address, no phone number, just an email contact form.

pochase

Interesting is that the main page is in chinese.

QrizB

pochase said:

Interesting is that the main page is in chinese.

To be fair, some of the people running the business also seem to be Chinese. Perhaps they're aiming at Chinese students studying in the UK?

ariarnia

we were away for a couple of days so i've only just looked at this again. thank you for the link. 

i would think this would be the important bit from right at the start: 

“Bills 支付通” or “Bills Easypay” is a yearly subscription service. The package price is fixed and contracted for period starting from 6 months tne then the customer is contacted and given the oppurtunity to renew for another fixed period of time at a requoted price.

they are notifying you they are increasing the price. i would think you could refuse to accept the increase as the contract is for a fixed price service. that would then make me expect they would agree to terminate the contract with no fee...? otherwise wouldn't it be an unfair term and i would think maybe some advice from citizens advice maybe?

https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/there-s-an-unfair-term-in-my-contract-how-can-i-complain-and-get-my-money-back-aeHsV7t85zl5#your-right-to-challenge-unfair-terms

QuestionsQuestions

Thanks all - the whole situation is becoming incredibly stressful. The company seems to change its goalposts through each subsequent email.
Today they stated
" blah blah Road is a Student Rental Property, it is not a typical residential household. Therefore, the tariff is calculated at commercial rate and also based on projections for students' property." This seems so unfair - and certainly had we known this amongst other things e.g. it was a broker we would not have signed any agreement!

For cancellation:

Cancelling the contract 

For Early Termination, you need to pay any outstanding bills: gas, electric, water whole year upfront + internet whole year upfront plus a £150.00 each person for the early cancellation fee. Before the contract can be cancelled, we need to have a finalized Gas and Electric bills statement. However. please note that suppliers take 2-3 months to finalize the Gas and Electric bills. 
This seems mental!!
This is not mentioned anywhere in the contract.
This is what I can find in the contract:
Early Termination Charge: 
Any charges that a utility provider levies relating to the early termination of the contract for the provision of a utility to the House and also our early cancellation fee which is £150.00 per person

When asked how they calculated the annual usage they stated

Annual Usage Calculation

The projection is based on a typical student household usage in the last 10 years. 
However they have only been trading for 2 years.
I have contacted the energy and financial ombudsman - however because the are not registered with the FCA the ombudsman cannot look into it.

I am now not sure what to do - the letting agent is denying any responsibility, the broker changing and adding terms and conditions with each email, not belonging to any regulatory body or scheme.
What action can i take next? Housing ombudsman relating to the letting agent?

QrizB

Honestly, I think you need to speak with Citizens Advice. This is beyond the usual energy contract dispute.

QuestionsQuestions

I have spoken to citizens advice who referred me to the energy ombudsman who referred me to the financial ombudsman because brokers are not covered. The financial ombudsman could not take the the case as the company was not FCA registered so they referred me back to CAB so I spoke to the consumer helpline who said I could raise a case based on being bound by a possible breach of the terms of the contract - but without a legal background I am finding it difficult to ascertain what the binding parts of the contract are (or what they mean) especially as what the company have communicated to me varies - but is in more everyday language. They have now referred me to local CAB for possible help with understanding the contractual obligations (at this point I just want out!) or to contact the law society for advice on how to claim breach of contract. considering each organisation and phone call takes over 40 minutes to get through to and I work full time - i'm pretty much losing the will