SPARK energy big problem!!

nikipirowicz · 18 December 2010 at 1:04AM

Hi everyone,

I have moved in to rented property in May 2009 when we moved in we were told we had to go with spark as our electricity and gas provider.

On moving in to the property we submitted meter readings and started receiving bills which were quite standard on average about £60 per month, considering this is a very small two bedroom flat on the second floor with double glazing thanks to which we have no need for much central heating as the flat is very warm and with only 3 people living who work all day we really do not use that much of electricity or gas.

Last month I have received a bill for £175 when I called spark I was told that it was only an estimate and when giving my meter reading was told that my new bill will be £982! I have received the bill and apparently the usage in my small flat on gas and electricity from 04/06/2009 to 16/11/2010 is £2.144.29 and I have paid for this period so far £1.161.93 and the rest I have to pay now. After writing a formal letter of complaint spark made immediate offer of £200 off my bill. They are charging me from 19 to 16 pence per unit of electricity their explanation is that because I’m not a direct debit customer they have to buy my electricity and gas on daily basis from their supplier and because of this I’m on what they called Standard Plus Tariff, they are saying that if I’m not on direct debit than my bills are 30% more expensive, surely that can be legal to charge so much if someone opts for cash /cheque option?

They also claim that in my ‘welcome call’ I was made fully aware how much more expensive it will be not to be on direct debit, I do remember being told that it will cost more but definitely not 30%, when I asked spark to provide me with the recording of the ‘welcome call’ was told that they lisinited to it and I was definitely told.

Furthermore on talking to my landlady about the problem she had no idea that there was a clause in the contract about moving to spark energy, she never even heard of them, so we gathered that Ludlow&Thompson (the estate agents that we were dealing with when renting the flat) must have a deal with them, when my landlady contacted the estate agents they immediately offered to swap the energy suppliers, however there still remains the matter of the outstanding bill which I believe is far too large.

[FONT=&quot] I seem to be going around in circles with spark and really do not know what to do, please somebody advice me on what to do next? Is there a regulatory body that can help me with this?

Thank you so much
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davidgmmafan · 18 December 2010 at 3:28PM

I have some good news and some bad news. Erm good news first, you can go to the Ombusmen if you have exhausted thier complaints process or if its eight weeks since you first raised it (and its still not resolved).

Now for the bad news. Do a search for Spark Energy reviews. Pick some at random. They all have low scores. They are the worst supplier I have every come across and I'm with NPower (who are pretty much universally regarded as the worst).

Best of luck, you'll need it.

Premier_2 · 18 December 2010 at 4:24PM

So other than moaning about the cost, what is the big problem???

It's supposedly a competitive market so they can charge whatever they want - as per their tariff.

If you don't like the supplier/tariff, switch

When you took over the property, you would have had to accept the existing supplier ... but if the account is then in your name you can switch to any you want.
If you didn't, then that is your problem.

davidgmmafan · 18 December 2010 at 4:58PM

Erm well based on the reviews I looked at thier bills and even DD payments are... random to say the least.

I concur with Premier on cost, though I wouldn't be quite so direct about it. They can have whatever differential they like between DD and non-dd except for prepayment which is about the same as standard prices now (was more before).

tolroy · 19 September 2011 at 8:42PM

This is what a tenant has just emailed me. I have had issues with Spark in the past so would recommend caution when dealing with them.

I'm writting to see if you could give me some advice. I switch from the Gas&electricity supplier that was originally supplying the flat (Spark Energies), and after changing they sent me a letter saying that I owed then some money for the energy I spent. It seemed very odd to me since they charged quite a lot on the last payment, so I checked the papers, and in fact I've paid in excess. They had the meter reading wrong from the beginning and they have not taken into account the last payments. So I called them and they tell me they will return it to my bank account by debit and that it will take around 20 days. The amount was of 200 pounds approx.

dogshome · 20 September 2011 at 8:09AM

Hi nikipirowicz - Through no fault of your own you have been snared in a scam operated by Spark, who paid the Agent to switch the property to Spark whilst it was untenanted, but I'm afraid it's up to you to dig your way out.

You know what the meter readings were when you moved in, and you can see what they are now.
Sit down with all the bills:
Check that the opening reading on the first bill was the same as the reading you gave, then go thro' them all to check that the Start reading on each bill is the same as the End reading of the one before.
Check each individual calculation on the bills for accuracy
Check that the total Gas & Elec units charged does not exceed what your meters read now.

As you are on the 'Standard' tariff, the only thing that prevents you Switching immediately is the amount of debt on the account, but fortunately Spark on not as sharp with thier billing as they are on Sales Tactics.

If you can find just one single error in the billing, WRITE to Spark with your figures, head the letter Complaint and advise them that if they attempt to block you Switching to another supplier, you will contact Consumer Focus immediately

dogshome · 21 September 2011 at 8:40PM

I'm glad Spark are fine for you, but like many responders on this site I use the accumulated knowledge to monitor the power deals of family & friends.

Having their billing details in my box, I ran four of them thro' "switchwithwhich" to see how Spark compared
No1 Eastern Region Gas 18,678 Elec 2234. EDF Fix till 2014 -
Spark is 12th down the list of ascending prices

No2 Eastern Region Gas 10531 Elec 3750 EDF V10
Spark is 14th down the list of ascending prices

No3 Eastern Region ( Oil Fire heat) Elec only 2638 EDF V12
Spark is 10th down the list of ascending prices

No4 Eastern region Just moved in Gas 21750 Elec 4550 EDF Standard
Spark is 11th down the list of ascending prices

The figures above show that it could well be to your advantage if you put your own annual consumptions thro' a comparision site.

The whole point of the 2002 Utities Act was to create a free market where the regionalised suppliers competed nationwide, whilst the customer controlled prices by switching to a cheaper provider if a lower price was on offer

Sparks ploy of circumventing the market place by paying Landlords/Agents to switch tenants en masse to Spark, thus removing the information that the customer who will pay the bill, needs to judge poor or good value, is certainly very clever and just as certainly, well outside the spirit of the Act.

So what name does society give to this behaviour ? Is it Fiddle?, Scam? Fraud?
Although perhaps as it's bound to cost a lot of unwary people, a lot of money, should it be known as doing a Madoff?

ozzy2008 · 27 September 2011 at 11:50AM

I also am having problems with Spark Energy. Spark took over as my energy supplier without my agreement. After a 45 minutes of being on hold I was told by someone in the customer services team that the account was transferred erroneously would be transferred back to the original supplier within 5 working days. This was in November 2010!! Numerous emails and hours waiting on hold, this still has not been transferred back to the original supplier. Not one person in that company has had the decency to phone back or respond to an email. That said, Spark are effectively losing out as they are supplying energy to the property but are not sending any bills!

Kilty_2 · 1 November 2011 at 11:57PM

I've been trying to find out more about Spark Energy since my letting agent tried to force me to switch to them (but failed) and found this thread - seems I'm not alone. It's actually written into my tenancy agreement that I must use Spark Energy as my supplier and that if I change, I will be required to pay any administration costs involved with the agent changing back. They didn't take into account the fact that the property has a 3 rate meter that Spark don't/can't provide a tariff for...

Also seems that people are starting to try and fight back against this questionable activity - I found this blog whilst searching for some info www.notsobrightspark.co.uk - looks to be recently created however mentions the same issues as this thread does.

I also noticed that there was a story about Spark in the Sunday Post this weekend - a disgruntled customer with a billing complaint, rather than the questionable practice of signing up new tenants via agents. I wonder if they chose Spark as their supplier under their own free will?

dogshome · 2 November 2011 at 10:16AM

Hi Kilty - As you are searching the web for info on Spark, you probably already know that as you are the Utility Account holder and pay the bills, you have the right to sign up with whoever you wish.

So far as the clause in your tenancy agreement is concerned, Ofgem have stated that you can change supplier with permission of the landlord and that this permission must not be unreasonably witheld - The problem with this is, just who does the tenant go to for re-dress if the landlord does unreasonably refuse permission ?

What I find very worrying about your particular circumstances is the Agent's threat of you being liable for 'Charges' they incur in Switching the supplier back to Spark when your tenancy ends.
Just what money changes hands between Spark and the Landlord/Agent is kept very much under wraps, but I've always thought that it would be about the same as the appx £50 - £100 that sometimes offered directly to customers by several of the Utility Co's

However, the threat of charges from your Agent raises the spectre that Sparks payments are not just a one off payment, but could be a 'Trail Commission' contract whereby the Agent is paid a % of every bill that's sent to the customer - Pure conjecture at the moment, but it would certainly explain the level of Sparks prices.

Kilty_2 · 2 November 2011 at 11:47PM

Luckily my flat has a three price meter (ScottishPower Comfort Plus White Meter) so Spark were unable to take over the supply. I have written confirmation from the agent that they are happy to absolve me of responsibility with regards to that clause in my contract.

SPARK energy big problem!!

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