Please can MSE help me with the switch you set-up

duncangarfield · 7 February 2018 at 9:34AM

In Nov 2017 I used the MSE website to arrange a switch from nPower as my deal ended at the end of 2017.

if it helps I am allegedly switching to British Gas online 2019.

It still shows on this site as an active switch.

But i am paying a fortune to npower who have moved me to standard rates since 4th Jan 2018, so any saving I might have made is already lost, I would have been better switching to another npower deal on deadline day.

I don't feel like a money saving expert.

Who can help me? Is it this site, should I chase British Gas?

Is there any way I can get all the wasted money back?

Thanks

duncangarfield · 7 February 2018 at 9:57AM

I've just ring British Gas. No application has been made to switch, and a change would only have taken 2-weeks.

So that's 6-weeks on standard tariff for me, thanks MSE. Over £100 wasted.

Good job I spotted that you had done nothing at all.

Thanks very much.

Robin9 · 7 February 2018 at 9:58AM

Have you had acknowledgement from BG?

System · 7 February 2018 at 10:01AM

Hi. Have you received a Welcome Pack/E-Mail from British Gas? If not, then it would appear that there has been an issue. Price Comparison Websites do not manage switches. All they do is pass on your details and they then receive a referral fee from your chosen supplier (if one applies) when your transfer goes through. If I were you, I would speak to British Gas and see whether they have any record of a transfer request. If that draws a blank, then you need to contact MSE CEC for advice:

If you have any queries or concerns, you can email us at energyclub@moneysavingexpert.com. Please include your full name, the email address you joined with and your postcode.

As far as getting money back, I think that you will have to learn from this experience. You would have known within a couple of days that your request to switch had gone through. No acknowledgement from your chosen supplier usually indicates that there has been a glitch.

PS: it doesn't necessarily follow that any blame sits with MSE. The problem could well have been with BG's IT systems. I doubt that you will ever know. Get MSE CEC to re-set the 'switch in progress' banner.

duncangarfield · 7 February 2018 at 10:25AM

Nothing from British Gas, I rang them, no request was ever made by MSE or anyone else..

So I've just done it myself instead.

I only made contact with MSE, this site says it is in progress, so as my only point of contact then the blame sits 100% with them. They may have some onward blame of their own, but regardless its me that suffers.

What is the lesson to learn then? Don't use MSE Cheap Energy Club and do it yourself? Or is it even if someone says they have done something and it is in process, assume that they have not done it and that is not in process?

No skin off MSEs nose if it goes wrong. But I guess the way the site works is you are all super fans, they will take no responsibility and you'll tell me it is all caveat emptor.

Only I could end up losing money by following MSE, story of my life. Try to do it well, still get kicked in the nuts.

Anyway thanks for the email, I'll ask Cheap Energy Club what happened. Maybe now I've done it myself they can still use my name to milk their commission.

System · 7 February 2018 at 11:06AM

duncangarfield wrote: »

Nothing from British Gas, I rang them, no request was ever made by MSE or anyone else..

So I've just done it myself instead.

I only made contact with MSE, this site says it is in progress, so as my only point of contact then the blame sits 100% with them. They may have some onward blame of their own, but regardless its me that suffers.

What is the lesson to learn then? Don't use MSE Cheap Energy Club and do it yourself? Or is it even if someone says they have done something and it is in process, assume that they have not done it and that is not in process?

No skin off MSEs nose if it goes wrong. But I guess the way the site works is you are all super fans, they will take no responsibility and you'll tell me it is all caveat emptor.

Only I could end up losing money by following MSE, story of my life. Try to do it well, still get kicked in the nuts.

Anyway thanks for the email, I'll ask Cheap Energy Club what happened. Maybe now I've done it myself they can still use my name to milk their commission.

No price comparison website (PCW) actively monitors any transfers of supply. This responsibility sits firmly with the gaining supplier. All a PCW does is pass on your request. A supplier saying that it never received a request is not 100% proof that it was not sent. In truth, I now rarely switch via a PCW as there are better/cheaper overall deals available via a supplier's own website. I learned long ago to take nothing on trust. If I have not heard anything from a supplier within 48 hours of a transfer request, I give them a call to check how things are progressing.

MSE_Dan_L · 7 February 2018 at 11:40AM

Hi Duncan

Thanks for your posts. I can see your email has come into the mailbox and one of the team will be picking this up for you.

Frustratingly we're hearing of lots of problems at British Gas processing switches over recent months. We did have a warning about this on the site from December last year, but have strengthened this in recent weeks to cover the really poor service we're hearing about from its agents.

We've been chasing British Gas up to try and understand the progress of switches it hasn't updated us on, plus escalating individual cases where we've heard these haven't gone through. The communication from British Gas hasn't been at the level we'd expect and often is simply hasn't responded to us.

We'll continue to push, but I can assure you that you switch was passed to British Gas. It sounds like your application is likely 'pending' requiring manual review at British Gas (which is where its backlogs seem to lie).

Although we'll escalate, we're reliant on British Gas arranging the switch, so I would suggest raising a formal complaint with British Gas at the same time. If it continues to pass on 'half-truths' about your switch, you'd have the option to go to the Energy Ombudsman for impartial reivew.

I hope this information helps.

duncangarfield · 7 February 2018 at 1:31PM

Well it doesn't help at all does it? Its not your fault it is that of British Gas. But I can complain.

Its worked a treat complaining here, so lets try complaining to someone else, who will surely its not our fault, its that of MSE.

Why do you offer this service if it is not fit for purpose and you take no responsibility for delivering it?

System · 7 February 2018 at 3:58PM

duncangarfield wrote: »

Well it doesn't help at all does it? Its not your fault it is that of British Gas. But I can complain.

Its worked a treat complaining here, so lets try complaining to someone else, who will surely its not our fault, its that of MSE.

Why do you offer this service if it is not fit for purpose and you take no responsibility for delivering it?

I know that you are annoyed, and I would be as well if I thought the way that you do. However, I question your use of the word 'service'. The only service being offered is to refer your switch application to your chosen supplier. There is an argument that PCWs should receive some form of formal acknowledgement that a switch request has been accepted. I don't know if they do or they don't. As far as I am concerned, the Welcome E-Mail is the only confirmation that I need. If I was paying the PCW for a service then I would have an entirely different view.

MSE_Dan_L · 7 February 2018 at 5:28PM

Hengus wrote: »

There is an argument that PCWs should receive some form of formal acknowledgement that a switch request has been accepted. .

Just to confirm, I understand MSM who handle the switches for Cheap Energy Club do request receipt of the files that are sent over to providers. Frustratingly not all providers are particularly good at doing this.

duncangarfield · 9 February 2018 at 11:14AM

To be fair Hengus, MSE do get paid for the service, even if not directly by me, but indirectly I'm sure it will be within my future bills.

Anyway, as an update and final post, British Gas are sounding like they will make some estimation of what the extra cost might have been and add it as a credit to my bill.

I'm not going to be on the tariff MSE were 'recommending' back then, but close enough for now.

I'm still bemused why when it goes wrong on MSE the suggestion is this is not really a service you provide and you basically do nothing in the process and then immediately wash your hands if anything goes wrong. That's not the way you describe it on the main site when you follow the Cheap Energy Club scenarios. Given what happened to me, you should recommend people to do it themselves and not use you. Or at least warn them what your stance will be if it does not work.

Please can MSE help me with the switch you set-up

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