Student bill splitting company

Ozro

Hi, my son and his housemates signed with Glide who in turn fixed their energy tariff in June 2022 with TruEnergy. I feel they were not informed enough about the tariff and the circumstances at that time. they have been fixed at a rate of 74.73 standing 52.30 for electricity and 21.29 and 57.75 standing for gas.  This has meant that they are now in a position where they cannot afford to turn on the heating. I have been having emails with Glide and asked why they fixed them when there were no good fixes around at that time. That they should have been offered a variable rate or at least this explained to them. They have just said if they are not satisfied then then need to pay £100 to come out of the contract. Any help would be appreciated. Unfortunately if they come out of this contract they have to rely on each of the housemates being able to pay and I am not sure this is the case, that some of them may well default on paying, hence the reason for the bill splitting company. However I feel that they are not advised properly and actually have been completely ripped off by this company. Their rates are double what the variable rate is at the current time.

[Deleted User]

Welcome to the forum.

Bill splitting companies are about the most expensive way of doing any bills, as you have now discovered.

TruEnergy is a business supply company so it sounds like they are not on a domestic contract - hence the rates not being under the domestic price cap.

It's not an advised sale subject to regulation so there's nothing legally wrong with them offering a fix.  In reality, most of these sort of companies only offer fixes because that usually serves their customers best.  Students in a shared house would normally prefer an all-in type arrangement than varying prices for each contract.

armistice

While you, I (and most reading this forum) think these rates are extortionate the following paragraph of your original post is the reason why charges are high:

Ozro said:

.....
Unfortunately if they come out of this contract they have to rely on each of the housemates being able to pay and I am not sure this is the case, that some of them may well default on paying, hence the reason for the bill splitting company. 

macman

Void the contract: the £100 fee for doing so will be much less than the inflated rates that they will otherwise pay for the remainder of the tenancy. Those prices are way above the EPG, the gas alone is double.

EssexHebridean

macman said:

Void the contract: the £100 fee for doing so will be much less than the inflated rates that they will otherwise pay for the remainder of the tenancy. Those prices are way above the EPG, the gas alone is double.

But the OP will also need to come up with a way of ensuring that all housemates pay their share - otherwise they could end up being stitched with the entire bill - or at last a sizeable part of it. 

Ozro

Thank you for all your comments. We knew it was expensive to do it this way, they used them last year but we were not in this situation and for peace of mind were happy to pay that extra.
It would definitely be best for them to come out of the contract and so much cheaper in the long run. This is a discussion we will have to have. I think the thing that gets me the most is that they fixed them when all advice from everyone was that there were no good fixes about at that time. It feels like they used their lack of knowledge and once one housemate signs you get constant emails advising that this deal won't be there long and you now need to sign.  
It would also have been helpful if they could have agreed for them to pay the £100 to come out of this contract and then go onto variable rates but they have said they won't do that, its that or leave.
I wish these companies had some regulator where they had to be more open and before signing people up explained how much more they were paying for gas and electric, especially in this market.
We are potentially a bit stuck now and just feel frustrated and anxious over the cost of it all (as have my own to worry about at the same time, as does everyone!).

Gerry1

They should realise that their first lesson in the University of Life has delivered a hard knock, take the £100 hit and move on, switch to a conventional company and pay by Monthly Variable Direct Debit.

Every month they should read the meter, do the sums, have a whip round and pay it into the relevant bank account.  The account holder could consider opening a basic bank account for this purpose (they usually allow direct debits but have no overdraft).  Unfortunately they're seldom publicised and may be difficult to open if the account holder has or qualifies for a conventional account.

https://www.which.co.uk/money/banking/bank-accounts/best-bank-accounts/best-basic-bank-accounts-axdj05l1236r

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/basic-bank-accounts/

Alternatively they could pay by Cash/Cheque.  This will be more expensive, but will still be far cheaper than any Split Your Bills outfit.

If they really don't trust each other then they should get a prepayment meter and have a whip round every time the lights go out.

They might suggest to their uni or college that their info / welcome pack should include a warning against using any Split Your Bills company.

[Deleted User]

Ozro said:

I wish these companies had some regulator where they had to be more open and before signing people up explained how much more they were paying for gas and electric, especially in this market.

Are you suggesting that they didn't make the unit rates available before signing the contract?

Or is it actually that the students just didn't bother to actually do the comparison because, as you say, "they used them last year but we were not in this situation and for peace of mind were happy to pay that extra"?

Signing a contract is an adult decision.  If all the information is there then you can't expect someone to hold their hand as they decide (unless you wish to pay someone to provide that function, like a broker or IFA).

chris_n

Ozro said:

Thank you for all your comments. We knew it was expensive to do it this way, they used them last year but we were not in this situation and for peace of mind were happy to pay that extra.
It would definitely be best for them to come out of the contract and so much cheaper in the long run. This is a discussion we will have to have. I think the thing that gets me the most is that they fixed them when all advice from everyone was that there were no good fixes about at that time. It feels like they used their lack of knowledge and once one housemate signs you get constant emails advising that this deal won't be there long and you now need to sign.  
It would also have been helpful if they could have agreed for them to pay the £100 to come out of this contract and then go onto variable rates but they have said they won't do that, its that or leave.
I wish these companies had some regulator where they had to be more open and before signing people up explained how much more they were paying for gas and electric, especially in this market.
We are potentially a bit stuck now and just feel frustrated and anxious over the cost of it all (as have my own to worry about at the same time, as does everyone!).

Is the supply to the property a domestic supply though? I believe it was established this was a commercial supplier so there is no way you would be able to have capped rates anyway.

ariarnia

you really need to get out of that contract or you could be paying more as a split bill than what your share of the bill would be even with some defaulting.

you need to get everyone together to agree whats going to happen. then get it in writing to everyone (email is fine) in case you need to chase anyone after via small claims.

if it was me i'd use the time since they moved in to now to estemate normal use (then add a bit for winter heating). then right before the student loans get paid (still sept jan and april?) ask everyone for the next terms share.

at the end of term work out what the bill was and what everyone owed and recon it from there (give people a choice of a refund or putting it towards next term if you 'accidentally' over estemated by a bit). then if you under estemate then your not completely out of pocket and if you over estemate then everyone has a bit of unexpected cash at the end of term. win win

chris_n

ariarnia said:

you really need to get out of that contract or you could be paying more as a split bill than what your share of the bill would be even with some defaulting.

you need to get everyone together to agree whats going to happen. then get it in writing to everyone (email is fine) in case you need to chase anyone after via small claims.

if it was me i'd use the time since they moved in to now to estemate normal use (then add a bit for winter heating). then right before the student loans get paid (still sept jan and april?) ask everyone for the next terms share.

at the end of term work out what the bill was and what everyone owed and recon it from there (give people a choice of a refund or putting it towards next term if you 'accidentally' over estemated by a bit). then if you under estemate then your not completely out of pocket and if you over estemate then everyone has a bit of unexpected cash at the end of term. win win

Who are they going to get a supply from and what are the rates going to be is the first thing to establish. I think they are over a barrel!