Fuse energy- Horrendous

Tripitaka100

I signed up with fuse with a tempting saving, monthly amount quoted and reviews seemed reasonable. 

Ive had a horrible experience from start 6 months ago and will be leaving, penalty or not.  NO customer service, no human response and no phone number for us that struggle with apos.  bills change constantly, more taken from bank than expected, I stopped DD as affected my budget and no other way to pay without linking bank account. No statement. I have app, try to log into webpage, sends link that opens app.  So very frustrating. Many more issues but the small savings on energy cost not worth the time it takes to try to simply pay a bill and know its right. 

mlz1413

I joined Fuse about 3 months ago but am happy using the app.
They don't do a set monthly DD they just take the value of the bill.
I must admit this surprised me as I don't remember reading that in the T&Cs.
But the highest bill so far was the same as my previous Octopus DD so I haven't had any budgeting issues.

Also the highest bill with Fuse was when I had been home all day and night due to an injury and I had the heating on all of November.  So I was delighted this was the same cost as my previous DD.
Octopus had been overcharging quite a bit as I got money back when I left them after 1 year.

tlcgrantham

@Tripitaka   I can sympathise with struggling with an app based supplier as I found it difficult as well. A suggestion would be to get a young person you can trust or family member to help.

   1.     “Bills change constantly”.    Because they only do Monthly Variable Direct Debit. I.e. They bill you for what you used in the month and take the whole amount.

    2.     “ No phone”.    You have to contact them through the app. Customer service is quick and responsive through the app. Statement’s are through the app too. When you open the app tap top right on the 3 lines symbol, then Balance and you will see bills listed with opening and closing readings for you to check. Tap Export statement then Export PDF and put in your Email. Very complicated that’s why you need someone to help you. 

   3.      “I stopped DD”.  Big Mistake, you will find yourself in debt to them.

la531983

The issue here is the OP has misunderstood their payment terms, as far as I remember they make it perfectly clear they take the bill each month based on what you use, they dont average it out over 12 months.

Again no issues here, app is great, breaks usage down, and my one experience of live chat I had no issues with. 

Netexporter

I noticed that Fuse are charging about 16p for their EV tariff, which is about double the Octopus rates. Do Fuse supply a home charger "free" and then get the cost back on the drip?

WiserMiser

mlz1413 said:
Octopus had been overcharging quite a bit as I got money back when I left them after 1 year.

Octopus would have set up Monthly Variable Direct Debit if you'd asked them.

QrizB

Sadly, it does seem as though the OP signed up with a supplier that requires use of their app and payment by monthly variable direct debit, without really appreciating what those requirements would mean on practice.

Netexporter

I blame Rory Stewart. Everybody else does!

gpman

Tripitaka100 said:

I signed up with fuse with a tempting saving, monthly amount quoted and reviews seemed reasonable. 

Ive had a horrible experience from start 6 months ago and will be leaving, penalty or not.  NO customer service, no human response and no phone number for us that struggle with apos.  bills change constantly, more taken from bank than expected, I stopped DD as affected my budget and no other way to pay without linking bank account. No statement. I have app, try to log into webpage, sends link that opens app.  So very frustrating. Many more issues but the small savings on energy cost not worth the time it takes to try to simply pay a bill and know its right. 

Welcome to the forum, ... but you seem to have been a member longer than me!

So first of all, whilst  Fuse Energy do not quote monthly payment amounts; they do give an indication of average monthly cost (being 1/12th of estimated annual cost), but Fuse Energy only accept payment via VMDD (Variable Monthly Direct Debit) i.e. payment in full on receipt of each bill

Secondly, Fuse Energy do have customer service. In fact it's available 24/7/365 unlike most other suppliers.
There is no telephone number, as they are an app only supplier (but you can access their app via an online account). It is provided via chat. It is always a human that responds to chat, but you may have to wait sometimes, just as you often have to wait in a holding queue on the phone with most other suppliers.

Billing - your direct debits are fully protected by the terms of the direct debit guarantee. You are emailed, on or just after 2nd of the month, that both informs you that your full bill is available in the app, and informs you of the amount to be collected, and when. (usually 3 working days thereafter)

You agreed when joining to pay by VMDD when you applied. If payment via DD is not for you, you should ensure you choose a supplier & tariff that supports your intended payment method. Most suppliers charge significantly more for paying other than by DD, but you are correct, low cost energy supplier Fuse Energy is not interested in your custom if you are not only unwilling to pay by DD, but not willing to pay by VMDD.

Statements - Fuse Energy issue statements/bills every month on or just after 2nd of the month. They are available for download via the app.

Access to the App. - I cannot assist you directly here as I access their app via their website only. But it sounds like you have already decided Fuse Energy is not for you.
Access is different to most other suppliers online account. You either need to provide your linked mobile number so they send you a OTP by SMS, or you provide your linked email address where they provide you a 'magic link' to click on to access your account. Whilst it is different to other suppliers access to online accounts, I have rarely experienced any difficulty. The dual method of access is good in the rare cases of access difficulty e.g. no mobile access, a very slow email server, etc.

Small savings? - I'd be interested in your supply region and EAC value(s), and what non-direct supplier & tariff you decide upon so that we can all see what you define as small.

For others, I suggest they simply consult a comparison site you see just how "small" those potential savings actually are. 

Paying the bill - what issues are you having? You agreed to pay by VMDD. Once you have agreed to the DD mandate in favour of Fuse Energy, there should be nothing more for you to do to pay each bill (save for ensuring you have enough funds in your bank account to cover the bill you were informed of.)

gpman

tlcgrantham said:

...

   3.      “I stopped DD”.  Big Mistake, you will find yourself in debt to them.

And probably breach of contract too!

So probably the end of the low cost fixed tariff, application of early exit fees, and on to the suppliers expensive default / variable tariff which is at the full rate of the what Martin refers to as the "Pants Cap"

gpman

Netexporter said:

I noticed that Fuse are charging about 16p for their EV tariff, which is about double the Octopus rates. ,,,

But their day rate affective for the other 19/24 of the day is only charged at about 24p compared to about 32p charged by Octopus.

You need to look at the whole picture!