Opus erroneous transfer
dexterlivi
Posts: 63 Forumite
in Energy
For the second time in around 12 months OPUS energy have hijacked my father in laws electricity account without his authority or request. Opus blame a 3rd sector brokerage.
On behalf of my father in law I arranged a change of supplier from First Utility to EON on a new fixed tariff.
After a few days I was informed by EON that the previous supplier had blocked the transfer of the electricity account. I contacted the previous supplier who said they had not blocked the transfer, and as far as they were concerned they had closed the account. as of the 2nd Nov 2018.
After further checks I was was informed that Opus energy had taken over the electricity account. I have complained to them who have as I said above blamed a third party brokerage and apologised. As Opus deal with business tariffs only not sure why they took on a domestic supply.
To bring this up to date Opus have advised that I apply to another supplier to take the electricity supply over. I contact EON and ask them to now take on the electricity account.They advise it will all be done in a few days. After a couple of weeks of no updates I have contacted EON again. They tell me that Opus have objected to the transfer. I now have to contact Opus again to lift the objection despite them telling me to go ahead and change supplier.
In the meantime Opus have as a recognition of the disruption caused credited my father in laws account with £75.00 and put him on a fixed domestic tariff equivalent. Today I get informed by them that after applying the £75:00 credit the outstanding bill for energy used from 02 Nov 2018 is around £126. So just over 2 months of electricity for just over 200 quid. They have put him on a standing charge of 34 pence per day and a unit rate of 0.2263 pence. This is significantly higher than the fixed rate tariff we would be paying EON for the fixed rate tariff we were due to transfer to.
After the long intro, my questions is:
As my father in law has not entered into a contract with Opus can they expect him to pay for the energy they have supplied. Despite the gesture of crediting his account (which he did not apply for) with 75 quid, there charges are way beyond the fixed tariff rate he would pay EON.
Any advice would be helpful as to where he stands.
On behalf of my father in law I arranged a change of supplier from First Utility to EON on a new fixed tariff.
After a few days I was informed by EON that the previous supplier had blocked the transfer of the electricity account. I contacted the previous supplier who said they had not blocked the transfer, and as far as they were concerned they had closed the account. as of the 2nd Nov 2018.
After further checks I was was informed that Opus energy had taken over the electricity account. I have complained to them who have as I said above blamed a third party brokerage and apologised. As Opus deal with business tariffs only not sure why they took on a domestic supply.
To bring this up to date Opus have advised that I apply to another supplier to take the electricity supply over. I contact EON and ask them to now take on the electricity account.They advise it will all be done in a few days. After a couple of weeks of no updates I have contacted EON again. They tell me that Opus have objected to the transfer. I now have to contact Opus again to lift the objection despite them telling me to go ahead and change supplier.
In the meantime Opus have as a recognition of the disruption caused credited my father in laws account with £75.00 and put him on a fixed domestic tariff equivalent. Today I get informed by them that after applying the £75:00 credit the outstanding bill for energy used from 02 Nov 2018 is around £126. So just over 2 months of electricity for just over 200 quid. They have put him on a standing charge of 34 pence per day and a unit rate of 0.2263 pence. This is significantly higher than the fixed rate tariff we would be paying EON for the fixed rate tariff we were due to transfer to.
After the long intro, my questions is:
As my father in law has not entered into a contract with Opus can they expect him to pay for the energy they have supplied. Despite the gesture of crediting his account (which he did not apply for) with 75 quid, there charges are way beyond the fixed tariff rate he would pay EON.
Any advice would be helpful as to where he stands.
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Comments
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dexterlivi wrote: »For the second time in around 12 months OPUS energy have hijacked my father in laws electricity account without his authority or request. Opus blame a 3rd sector brokerage.
On behalf of my father in law I arranged a change of supplier from First Utility to EON on a new fixed tariff.
After a few days I was informed by EON that the previous supplier had blocked the transfer of the electricity account. I contacted the previous supplier who said they had not blocked the transfer, and as far as they were concerned they had closed the account. as of the 2nd Nov 2018.
After further checks I was was informed that Opus energy had taken over the electricity account. I have complained to them who have as I said above blamed a third party brokerage and apologised. As Opus deal with business tariffs only not sure why they took on a domestic supply.
To bring this up to date Opus have advised that I apply to another supplier to take the electricity supply over. I contact EON and ask them to now take on the electricity account.They advise it will all be done in a few days. After a couple of weeks of no updates I have contacted EON again. They tell me that Opus have objected to the transfer. I now have to contact Opus again to lift the objection despite them telling me to go ahead and change supplier.
In the meantime Opus have as a recognition of the disruption caused credited my father in laws account with £75.00 and put him on a fixed domestic tariff equivalent. Today I get informed by them that after applying the £75:00 credit the outstanding bill for energy used from 02 Nov 2018 is around £126. So just over 2 months of electricity for just over 200 quid. They have put him on a standing charge of 34 pence per day and a unit rate of 0.2263 pence. This is significantly higher than the fixed rate tariff we would be paying EON for the fixed rate tariff we were due to transfer to.
After the long intro, my questions is:
As my father in law has not entered into a contract with Opus can they expect him to pay for the energy they have supplied. Despite the gesture of crediting his account (which he did not apply for) with 75 quid, there charges are way beyond the fixed tariff rate he would pay EON.
Any advice would be helpful as to where he stands.
Where an erroneous transfer has occurred (and the complaint upheld accordingly) the customer will be reverted to their former supplier and treated as though no transfer ever occurred.
More guidance here:
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/energy/energy-supply/problems-with-your-energy-supply/youve-been-switched-to-a-new-energy-supplier-without-your-agreement/
I would always recommend complaining to the original, losing supplier rather than the new gaining supplier, as the losing supplier will have something to gain by reversal of the switch whereas the gaining supplier will lose out. But the choice is yours.0 -
Hello,
Conor here from Opus Energy. My colleague Kate, who has been in touch with you regarding this matter, has asked me to get in touch with you regarding this forum post.
Our latest objection to your moving away was prior to this post. You are no longer in contract with us and you are free to leave; we will not object again. You are free to approach other suppliers, and we will not object to this.
Additionally, Kate has applied a further £50 credit and has emailed you an explanation.
Best wishes,
Conor“Official Company Representative
I am the official company representative of Opus Energy. MSE has given permission for me to post in response to queries about the company, so that I can help solve issues. You can see my name on the companies with permission to post list. I am not allowed to tout for business at all. If you believe I am please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com This does NOT imply any form of approval of my company or its products by MSE"0 -
In light of the above comments by Opus, I would now urge that the OP adopts their approach.
With the total of £125 off the £200 charge for 2 months supply, meaning only £75 left to pay, you would be charged more than that for the same usage by FU
You will still have to pay for ongoing usage until the switch actually occurs, but if you act quickly, even this will still be cheaper than FU would otherwsie charge overall ... and you will get to your new supplier of choice quicker! 0 -
Thanks for the response. Despite your comment though I have not received a further response from Kate as suggested.0
This discussion has been closed.
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