Automatically contracted to an energy provider I've never even heard of or signed up to.

MSE_ForumTeam5

We've merged both threads into this one. Our rules ask users to only post messages once, on one board only.

BooJewels

[Deleted User] said:

No cancellation fee. It’s completely normal.

With threads like this appearing every day (even with people refusing to pay their bill and making formal complaints that they are not with the supplier they want) I’m starting to wonder if nobody actually does any research before moving house!

You don't even need to do that much research, it's handed to you on a plate - the seller has to include who their supplier is in the property particulars that the buyer gets a copy of.  From there you can at least find out the SVR tariff in advance. So if the OP hasn't heard of their supplier, they presumably didn't read the property particulars.

ariarnia

MattMattMattUK said:

Deleted_User said:

No cancellation fee. It’s completely normal.

With threads like this appearing every day (even with people refusing to pay their bill and making formal complaints that they are not with the supplier they want) I’m starting to wonder if nobody actually does any research before moving house!

It is the extreme and irrational nature of their response as well. They are not just asking if what they think is correct actually is, but that what is happening "surely is not right", "is morally wrong", or the more hysterical "I deserve compensation" and "This must be illegal" type reactions. I do not understand how people's first reaction to a situation is not "I will attempt to understand this", but "This is the end of the world/fraud/a scam/illegal/something that deserves compensation".

lets be fair to the op. their post is not hysterical and is asking for answers to some things they didn't know. its okay to not know things and to ask others. theres a lot going on when buying a house and thinking about the utilitys might not have been high on the list. 

hi op. you have the answer to your question. if you want to move i think edf and octopus are still accepting new customers if you phone them. lots of people have bad experiences with UW but i think thats because of there multi level marketing selling method and the things they try to bundle with your energy are normally overpriced. 

octopus is i think the most positively talked about i think they also do a small discount on the standing charge (could be wrong) which would make them just a little cheaper than the cap. 

EssexHebridean

BooJewels said:

[Deleted User] said:

No cancellation fee. It’s completely normal.

With threads like this appearing every day (even with people refusing to pay their bill and making formal complaints that they are not with the supplier they want) I’m starting to wonder if nobody actually does any research before moving house!

You don't even need to do that much research, it's handed to you on a plate - the seller has to include who their supplier is in the property particulars that the buyer gets a copy of.  From there you can at least find out the SVR tariff in advance. So if the OP hasn't heard of their supplier, they presumably didn't read the property particulars.

It’s not made clear on that form what the process is though, and I’m not aware of any solicitors who would make a point of explaining even to a FTB what they need to do on moving in. Who the former owner chose to use for their electricity and gas is stated - but not that the new owner is also obliged to use them in the first instance - so no, it’s not “handed to you on a plate”. 

OP - my personal advice would be to do a lot of research before you make the decision to stay with UW - you’ll find a lot of threads about them on these boards, and very few are complimentary! As a general rule the only people you find singing their praises are those that make money by doing so. They will only be cheaper for G&E if you take other services from them as well, and the chances are that you will end up paying more that you save on the energy for those other services. 

BooJewels

EssexHebridean said:

BooJewels said:

[Deleted User] said:

No cancellation fee. It’s completely normal.

With threads like this appearing every day (even with people refusing to pay their bill and making formal complaints that they are not with the supplier they want) I’m starting to wonder if nobody actually does any research before moving house!

You don't even need to do that much research, it's handed to you on a plate - the seller has to include who their supplier is in the property particulars that the buyer gets a copy of.  From there you can at least find out the SVR tariff in advance. So if the OP hasn't heard of their supplier, they presumably didn't read the property particulars.

It’s not made clear on that form what the process is though, and I’m not aware of any solicitors who would make a point of explaining even to a FTB what they need to do on moving in. Who the former owner chose to use for their electricity and gas is stated - but not that the new owner is also obliged to use them in the first instance - so no, it’s not “handed to you on a plate”. [snip]

Fair comment, I had meant to say that they might not understand the deemed contract arrangement upon moving. And solicitors don't even explain the legal process let alone anything else!  But to say that they hadn't even heard of the supplier means they haven't paid attention to an important document they were given.  I've just sold a property and got questions back about the tiniest detail - like asking if I was actually leaving a hob that I'd ticked as 'built in' - which was rather moot as the wall it was attached to wasn't even going to be staying, according to the buyers plans.

RobM99

I'm with UW, not had any problems. 

EssexHebridean

BooJewels said:

EssexHebridean said:

BooJewels said:

[Deleted User] said:

No cancellation fee. It’s completely normal.

With threads like this appearing every day (even with people refusing to pay their bill and making formal complaints that they are not with the supplier they want) I’m starting to wonder if nobody actually does any research before moving house!

You don't even need to do that much research, it's handed to you on a plate - the seller has to include who their supplier is in the property particulars that the buyer gets a copy of.  From there you can at least find out the SVR tariff in advance. So if the OP hasn't heard of their supplier, they presumably didn't read the property particulars.

It’s not made clear on that form what the process is though, and I’m not aware of any solicitors who would make a point of explaining even to a FTB what they need to do on moving in. Who the former owner chose to use for their electricity and gas is stated - but not that the new owner is also obliged to use them in the first instance - so no, it’s not “handed to you on a plate”. [snip]

Fair comment, I had meant to say that they might not understand the deemed contract arrangement upon moving. And solicitors don't even explain the legal process let alone anything else!  But to say that they hadn't even heard of the supplier means they haven't paid attention to an important document they were given.  I've just sold a property and got questions back about the tiniest detail - like asking if I was actually leaving a hob that I'd ticked as 'built in' - which was rather moot as the wall it was attached to wasn't even going to be staying, according to the buyers plans.

A good solicitor certainly will explain the legal process! 

In a lot of cases with the info on the TA6 people see the providers given and dismiss them as not relevant to note as they plan to go with their own chosen supplier in any case I suspect. 

Space_Cat

Hi, thank you for all the replies. I do remember reading who the existing energy provider was, but to be honest I didn't give it a lot of thought. Once the searches came back my solicitor emailed a large zip folder of different documents including plans, title deeds, enviro, withdrawn covenant, etc. I did read through everything but concentrated more on the legal stuff, plans, etc than who was the existing energy supplier. I thought it was a mere formality that the seller has to mention it, I didn't realise I would be taking it over. I'm not complaining, the title of my post was more sensational than it warranted, I worded it in that way to attract attention. 

Anyhow I spoke to UW this morning and they've signed me up to their interim account standard variable rate tariff. But they said I'm free to move to another provider, I just have to sign up to the new provider and they do the rest.

I genuinely appreciate all your replies, it was good of you guys to reply so quickly and give me your advice.

I've noted the majority of the replies opinions about UW and recommendation of Octopus Energy, I will look into OE.

Moving home when you've not done it for donkey's years is quite a steep learning curve regarding all the conveyancing stuff, and survey. 

QrizB

Glad to hear that you've got everything under control.

Tariffs are almost all the same at the moment so, if you do choose to switch, it shouldn't matter if it takes you a few weeks to sort it out.

BooJewels

Delighted that you've taken things in the spirit in which they were intended - at least you have functioning utilities from the outset, which is the important thing.  Relying on your camping stove wouldn't have been much fun.

I'm happy to recommend Octopus personally. I like their billing system - you submit a monthly meter reading and get a bill for your actual usage an hour or two later and any time I've had a query it has been dealt with accurately and promptly.

Good luck in your new home.