FUSE energy prepayment £400 required to switch

energydoibs

I've just tried to switch energy supplier for my OAP mom and also myself to FUSE and BOTH applications are demanding £400 up front payment for a credit check flag. There is no issue from the credit or banking side or previous suppliers - are they trying to get some positive cash in the bank up front or what???

Any one else getting this - I saw the £100 prepayment thread earlier, but now £400??

so I'm left trying to see what my status is and my OAP moms status is now so I can switch elsewhere….

oldernonethewiser

I switched to FUSE recently and wasn't asked for any money up front.

I half expected to be asked.

Woodstok2000

Their Ts&Cs talk about both a security deposit and an upfront prepayment which may be asked for. All seems to depend on your credit rating and prior history, so not sure there's any way to know if it will be needed until you've applied.

Swipe

If Fuse can save you £200 or half the deposit amount over the next cheapest supplier's quote it may be worth considering, otherwise personally, I'd find an alternative supplier that does not request such a deposit upfront.

TroubledTarts

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6679459/fuse-energy-prepayment-400-required-to-switch

It's not unusual to come out of summer in credit when paying by direct debit as you head into autumn and winter.

I am not saying it's acceptable but it is just Fuse protecting themselves.

How much credit has you built up with your current supplier for winter?

Swipe

According to Fuse, the £400 pre-payment credit is used to pay for the first bunch of bills until the credit runs out, so you'll have no monthly bills to pay until it is used up. This doesn't make much sense to me and kind of defeats the object of taking on a bad credit history customer. However, with that in mind, once I'd got that in writing, I'd probably still go with them based on that. I stand by my comment earlier if that is not the case and it is held as a sandboxed security deposit which is then refunded in full when you switch away.

Prepayment
We may ask you for a prepayment in certain circumstances, including (but not limited to) where a credit reference agency has flagged your credit history to us. In line with our credit policy, we may ask for a prepayment before we can open your account. This prepayment is not an additional cost, instead the prepayment will be credited to your account and used to pay your future Energy bills.

Security deposit
We may ask you to pay a reasonable amount upfront (a security deposit) before we begin supplying Energy to you or at any time during your Contract if it is reasonable for us to do so. This deposit serves as protection against unpaid Energy charges or other amounts due under this Contract (for example, following missed payments or suspicion of fraud or theft). The amount of your security deposit will depend on your individual circumstances, including factors such as your estimated monthly billing. We will give you a reasonable period to pay the deposit, and it must be paid by the date we specify.

The security deposit is held separately from your Energy account. It does not count toward your Energy charges and it does not earn interest. However, if your payment to us is late, we may use all or part of the security deposit to cover any outstanding amounts.

If you do not owe us any money when your Contract ends, your security deposit will be returned after we issue your final bill.

If we request a security deposit and you don’t pay it:

We may refuse to begin supplying Energy to your premises; or
We may suspend or stop supplying Energy in accordance with Section 9 “Ending your Contract”.
Alternatively, we may offer a prepayment meter as a substitute. If you accept, you may be required to switch to a different tariff or plan, and charges for installing or operating the prepayment meter may apply.

If you are switching to us from another supplier and we request a security deposit, we cannot complete your switch until the deposit is paid. Failure to pay within the timeframe we specify may result in cancellation of your switch request.

Limara

I didn't have that when I recently switched but I have seen a few posts about it where people are asked for the deposit.

I switched from Octopus who for me were the worst company I have ever dealt with, they say they are one of the cheapest but calculated on my use out of 8 suppliers quotes In June they were actually more expensive than 6 of them in both units and s/c and other two one in electric and one in gas SC.

I am not a high user but my savings are £184 a year compaired to Octopus fixed deal at the time of the switch.

That also does not include the £50 referral bonus which is paid when you have paid the first bill.

If you can afford to pay the £400 it's worth doing, at this time of year you should have credit to come back from current supplier.

Qyburn

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6679459/fuse-energy-prepayment-400-required-to-switch

How much credit do you have with your existing supplier?

energydoibs

i do have about £300 credit at present but I feel it's very odd to ask me for the £400 upfront when I have no credit issues or late payment history with any utilities, or the bank. It will also take me a while to get the credit back so I can't just transfer it . Depends if I have a spare £400 for cashflow purposes if I were to proceed with them

mac.d

I've just recently switched to Fuse and didn't have any cash taken upfront, they did take a payment of £2.74 for my first direct debit with them for 2 days usage. I'm thinking of just leaving it as a variable direct debit, have always payed a fixed amount in the past,