Smart Meter and Economy Energy Issues
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Good Afternoon,
I am in need of some advice as i'm struggling to get help with this.
First off, I have been to the energy Ombudsman.
So the situation is this.
In March 2018 I contacted Economy Energy asking what their best rates were and how I can switch (hoping to negotiate rates). They informed me I needed a smart meter. I agreed and went through the credit check. They did not get back to me.
After waiting two weeks, I chased them up and found out everything was fine. They arranged for a fitting on Friday 4th May. I didn't hear anything, waited in all that day (I was off work, no leave used). No one turned up, wasted my time. I emailed economy energy but received no response so rang them on the following Monday. They said there had been an issue with them handling my data so the installers had not come or arranged an appointment. I said that's fine, when's next. I had to wait another 2-3 weeks.
I waited and did not hear from the installers after two weeks so I rang before the time was up. I was informed that the same issue had occurred and that I would need to wait another two weeks. Economy Energy then assured me they'd sort it out. Struggled to do that on the phone and then put me on with the installers who refused to speak to me as I didn't have the required information. I spoke to EE again and they assured me it would be sorted. I received a text the following week telling me it was all done and to wait another two weeks to be contacted. I was not.
At this point, at the end of June, I emailed in a complaint. On the 19th June (it was meant to take 10 days to resolve the complaint) I had to ring them. They tried to offer me £20 as compensation which I laughed off (considering by this point we'd been undergoing this process since March/April and they'd messed up several times).
They then rang me a day or two later, offering me a fitting on 3rd July and £20 compensation. I said that was outrageous that i would have to wait yet another 10 days, why can't they do it immediately or pay, whatever the cost, to have it completed immediately, even at a weekend considering the fault has been entirely their's and i've had to wait months. They then offered me £75, which I found to be exceedingly insulting. I said i'd have to think about it and that it wasn't enough. They said they'd ring me back the same day to discuss it further (as I informed them I was at work). They did not.
I contacted the Ombudsman, who came back with an initial solution which EE have now challenged.
In addition to this, to add context, my new house (the one where the smart meter needs fitting) was ready to move into about the time this started but it's stuck on a pay-as-you-go smart meter (which costs more) and I can't move to direct debit without signing a new contract with them first (they're not very competitively priced or were not at the time and I wouldn't stay with them now even if they actually paid me to) and I can't move to a new company on direct debit without paying £150.
Is there anyone that could give me some advice on this? Should I seek legal advice because this is ridiculous. I'm in the process of reporting them to the GPO for data mishandling too.
I am in need of some advice as i'm struggling to get help with this.
First off, I have been to the energy Ombudsman.
So the situation is this.
In March 2018 I contacted Economy Energy asking what their best rates were and how I can switch (hoping to negotiate rates). They informed me I needed a smart meter. I agreed and went through the credit check. They did not get back to me.
After waiting two weeks, I chased them up and found out everything was fine. They arranged for a fitting on Friday 4th May. I didn't hear anything, waited in all that day (I was off work, no leave used). No one turned up, wasted my time. I emailed economy energy but received no response so rang them on the following Monday. They said there had been an issue with them handling my data so the installers had not come or arranged an appointment. I said that's fine, when's next. I had to wait another 2-3 weeks.
I waited and did not hear from the installers after two weeks so I rang before the time was up. I was informed that the same issue had occurred and that I would need to wait another two weeks. Economy Energy then assured me they'd sort it out. Struggled to do that on the phone and then put me on with the installers who refused to speak to me as I didn't have the required information. I spoke to EE again and they assured me it would be sorted. I received a text the following week telling me it was all done and to wait another two weeks to be contacted. I was not.
At this point, at the end of June, I emailed in a complaint. On the 19th June (it was meant to take 10 days to resolve the complaint) I had to ring them. They tried to offer me £20 as compensation which I laughed off (considering by this point we'd been undergoing this process since March/April and they'd messed up several times).
They then rang me a day or two later, offering me a fitting on 3rd July and £20 compensation. I said that was outrageous that i would have to wait yet another 10 days, why can't they do it immediately or pay, whatever the cost, to have it completed immediately, even at a weekend considering the fault has been entirely their's and i've had to wait months. They then offered me £75, which I found to be exceedingly insulting. I said i'd have to think about it and that it wasn't enough. They said they'd ring me back the same day to discuss it further (as I informed them I was at work). They did not.
I contacted the Ombudsman, who came back with an initial solution which EE have now challenged.
In addition to this, to add context, my new house (the one where the smart meter needs fitting) was ready to move into about the time this started but it's stuck on a pay-as-you-go smart meter (which costs more) and I can't move to direct debit without signing a new contract with them first (they're not very competitively priced or were not at the time and I wouldn't stay with them now even if they actually paid me to) and I can't move to a new company on direct debit without paying £150.
Is there anyone that could give me some advice on this? Should I seek legal advice because this is ridiculous. I'm in the process of reporting them to the GPO for data mishandling too.
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Comments
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Good Afternoon,
I am in need of some advice as i'm struggling to get help with this.
First off, I have been to the energy Ombudsman.
So the situation is this.
In March 2018 I contacted Economy Energy asking what their best rates were and how I can switch (hoping to negotiate rates). They informed me I needed a smart meter. I agreed and went through the credit check. They did not get back to me.
After waiting two weeks, I chased them up and found out everything was fine. They arranged for a fitting on Friday 4th May. I didn't hear anything, waited in all that day (I was off work, no leave used). No one turned up, wasted my time. I emailed economy energy but received no response so rang them on the following Monday. They said there had been an issue with them handling my data so the installers had not come or arranged an appointment. I said that's fine, when's next. I had to wait another 2-3 weeks.
I waited and did not hear from the installers after two weeks so I rang before the time was up. I was informed that the same issue had occurred and that I would need to wait another two weeks. Economy Energy then assured me they'd sort it out. Struggled to do that on the phone and then put me on with the installers who refused to speak to me as I didn't have the required information. I spoke to EE again and they assured me it would be sorted. I received a text the following week telling me it was all done and to wait another two weeks to be contacted. I was not.
At this point, at the end of June, I emailed in a complaint. On the 19th June (it was meant to take 10 days to resolve the complaint) I had to ring them. They tried to offer me £20 as compensation which I laughed off (considering by this point we'd been undergoing this process since March/April and they'd messed up several times).
They then rang me a day or two later, offering me a fitting on 3rd July and £20 compensation. I said that was outrageous that i would have to wait yet another 10 days, why can't they do it immediately or pay, whatever the cost, to have it completed immediately, even at a weekend considering the fault has been entirely their's and i've had to wait months. They then offered me £75, which I found to be exceedingly insulting. I said i'd have to think about it and that it wasn't enough. They said they'd ring me back the same day to discuss it further (as I informed them I was at work). They did not.
I contacted the Ombudsman, who came back with an initial solution which EE have now challenged.
In addition to this, to add context, my new house (the one where the smart meter needs fitting) was ready to move into about the time this started but it's stuck on a pay-as-you-go smart meter (which costs more) and I can't move to direct debit without signing a new contract with them first (they're not very competitively priced or were not at the time and I wouldn't stay with them now even if they actually paid me to) and I can't move to a new company on direct debit without paying £150.
Is there anyone that could give me some advice on this? Should I seek legal advice because this is ridiculous. I'm in the process of reporting them to the GPO for data mishandling too.
You should wait for the ombudsman to come up with their final resolution. It won't take long. The EO already has a proposed resolution based on the evidence both you and the supplier provided them. The supplier now either has supplied more evidence to challenge the EO's proposal, or has challenged that proposal because the they calim the EO has acted in error in coming to the proposed resolution
The final resolution may not differ from the proposed resolution. Wait and see, and take it from there.
If you have another complaint against the supplier that was not included within the original one, you need to raise that as a separate complaint in line with the supplier's complaint procedure.
Attempting to escalate matters to legal action, when you have not previously exhausted all opportunities to resolve the matter out of court, will not be taken in good spirit by any court.0 -
I am struggling as well - sorry. If you moving home, then you have to sign up with the Deemed Supplier before you can switch. I do not understand the reference to a ‘new house’. The GPO doesn’t deal with data protection issues: these are matters for the Office of The Information Commissioner.
Compensation payments for missed appointments are set by Ofgem and are reflected in suppliers’ terms and conditions. As you decided to go to The Energy Ombudsman, then the Final Decision is binding on the supplier. If you decide not to accept it, then the supplier is firmly off the hook and offers of compensation will be withdrawn. Your only option then is to take the supplier to Court: that said, the Court will take into account The Energy Ombudsman’s Decision.0 -
Well the Ombudsman doesn't appear to be taking into account the fact that EE's incompetence has extended this months past the need for it to occur (the Ombudsman has literally stated that they don't award damages and I would need to pursue legal action for that). This has lead to many hours of my time being wasted and effectively I want some sort of compensation for this because it's no fault of my own that this has happened. There should be no world where a large Company can blatantly waste someone's time through utter incompetence and that be ok. I was willing to accept the Ombudsman's first ruling but I'm looking to understand where I can go next because I don't think any lesser offer is fair. It's taken circa 8 weeks for the Ombudsman to act in the first place and if EE successfully challenge, mitigating what pennies the Ombudsman was offering, then I really will be furious.
I will definitely wait until the Ombudsman's final decision as they may not change.
@Hengus. Sorry for any miscommunication on my part, i'm a little frantic as i'm writing on my breaks and i'm quite annoyed.
Erm, the new house is just to give context, that this situation is marring that experience and costing me more money as the Pay as you go rate is more expensive. They wouldn't transfer me to direct debit without me committing to a contract with them, something which I won't do as it's more expensive than other competitors and I won't pay £150 for someone else to do it because EE are government bound to arrange it for free.
Sorry re GPO, I did mean ICO.
Thank you both for the input.0 -
No problem. We all think that we deserve more compensation than is offered. The problem that you have is that compensation for missed appointments has been agreed by the Government in consultation with the suppliers. For a legal claim, you need to provide a Court with evidence of costs.0
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