Tomato Energy (Electric Only Supplier) - Too Good To Be True ?

TroubledTarts

Doc_N said:

Given the serious legal issues around trading whilst insolvent, one has to assume that they are at least still solvent.

How would one determine this?

Do Ofgem have that power to open up the books/accounts immediately to check? 

It may just be the company saying "yes"

Doc_N

The TroubledTarts said:

Doc_N said:

Given the serious legal issues around trading whilst insolvent, one has to assume that they are at least still solvent.

How would one determine this?

Do Ofgem have that power to open up the books/accounts immediately to check? 

It may just be the company saying "yes"

“A company is insolvent when it can’t pay its debts. This could mean either:

• it can’t pay bills when they become due
• it has more liabilities than assets on its balance sheet”

I imagine, but don’t know, that Ofgem would have that power, but ordinarily it’s down to the directors of the company, as advised by the auditors. There are serious potential consequences for the directors if a company continues trading whilst insolvent, including personal liability, and very few would want to take that risk.

lohr500

TroubledTarts said:

Doc_N said:

Given the serious legal issues around trading whilst insolvent, one has to assume that they are at least still solvent.

How would one determine this?

Do Ofgem have that power to open up the books/accounts immediately to check? 

It may just be the company saying "yes"

I believe that is what part of the recent Ofgem document requires.

An independent report into their liquidity by 1st May and adequate and demonstrable finances to be in place by 8th May.

masonic

If you have a look into the requirements of the new provisional order, Tomato is required to commission an independent report at its own expense into its liquidity.

lohr500

grandadgolfer said:

I sometimes get the impression people would love them to go under…..strange

I have no desire to see TE go bust. We need viable competition in the market to bring prices down.
But based on their business naivety back in Autumn last year (when I was a customer) I decided TE's business wasn't sustainable so I left.

I keep watching their progress (or lack of it) closely and nothing I have seen since Autumn last year has led me to conclude I had made the wrong decision to leave.

The prime reason for leaving was the worry about being stuck with a SOLR for weeks until the back billing was sorted by either the SOLR or the administrators.

As a high off-peak user ( 98% of my annual 18,000kWh usage) I could not risk having to pay a standard variable capped price for more than a few days. The EDF capped price in my region is 26p, so 21p more than the TE 5p off-peak. £0.21 * 17640 = £3704 p.a. on cost, or £10 a day.

My Nov 25 fixed off-peak bog standard Economy 7 rate with UW is £0.049, so it was a no brainer for me to leave the greenhouse.(Had to take out an expensive SIM only plan to lock in the 12 M Fix, but the maths made sense to do so).

SJMALBA

From the TE Users' Facebook Group:

Farouk Alhassan - 

'So its finally out and I am sure very few people in this group and many in other groups are having a field day with doomsday scenarios but if you ignore the noise, all this order says is we should provide financial information and until then, we are not allowed to take on new customers. We are working with Ofgem to ensure customers who have already switched but registration has  not gone through will be allowed to complete their switch.

The timing of this order couldn't be any worse as we were just about to re-launch but its fine. We will delay it while we confirm our financial and capital position with the regulator.

The worst part of the winter is over. It hasn't been an easy one and although we missed a few invoices, we always pay it so everything will be fine. Wholesale price of electricity has come down significantly.  There is no reason to worry as we are working fully to provide the financial information requested.

We are absolutely not going anywhere. For all the doomsday scenario experts,'

TroubledTarts

Well that's ok then, I mean his promise as CEO to take on new customers and sort out the failed switched customers by errrm now.....is now ermmmmm May if all goes well.....

Ermmmmm

GingerTim

SJMALBA said:

From the TE Users' Facebook Group:

Farouk Alhassan - 

'

The timing of this order couldn't be any worse as we were just about to re-launch but its fine.  

I mean, it's not really fine, is it?

Doc_N

GingerTim said:

SJMALBA said:

From the TE Users' Facebook Group:

Farouk Alhassan - 

'

The timing of this order couldn't be any worse as we were just about to re-launch but its fine.  

I mean, it's not really fine, is it?

Who knows? But whatever the situation you have to keep telling everyone it’s fine, or everything collapses around your ears immediately. 

MWT

GingerTim said:

SJMALBA said:

From the TE Users' Facebook Group:

Farouk Alhassan - 

'

The timing of this order couldn't be any worse as we were just about to re-launch but its fine.  

I mean, it's not really fine, is it?

Exactly, the statements made are what a CEO would have to make, rather than perhaps what he would wish to make.

I'd also still love to know why there was a £5m loan to Northern Gas Heating Limited and why the Auditors considered it to be 'safe' as the accounts for that company don't look as you might expect for a company capable of repaying, or obtaining a loan of that size...

You have to depend upon the Auditors views though, until proven otherwise...