Dear amcmechan
Believe me, you are not alone. Utility Warehouse is in despair to keep customers that are running from the overpriced tarrifs and the bad customers services. They will do anything to harrass you and make it harder for you to switch. Why do you think they need all this distributors writing "good" about them? That indicates they are so bad since they need those kind of people. I also get surprised by which?, but customers are not blind.I have never seen a genuine customer who wrote good about them. You will only see people that will come back several times because they are distributors and it is their job to write good about them.
I left them when they charged me more than £1600 for energy consumptio of 11 months for gas and 10 months for el less than 17000kwh for gas and 3200 kwh for el.
After i have requested transfer from them they provide wrong details of my electricity meter. The funniest part is: I called my new supplier to check if every thing is alright and they confirmed that they have started supplying me both gas and el.
however i was not billed and i called the new supplier several times why I am not billed. My new supplier changed now the history and says that they did not transfer my Elelctricity at all. They want also to run away from the contract I have made with them even though I have writting on it and they have transferred my gas (the contract was duel fuel supply)
So UWH is still harrasing me and i will not pay them as i am not liable to them. The rates of the new contract is much cheaper and I am prepare to pay that rates to the new supplier. But UWH is desperate and they will try any thing to keep you and harras you.
To be honest with you - i dont think consumer focus will do any thing. I have tried and guys there seemed they sympatise with them. They did not help me at all. I dont know about the energy ombudsmand, but my advice to you is take them to court. thats is the only thing they will understand.
If think how they react - they will threaten you with supply disconnection or prepayment meter. They will send you a note - that they intend to get a warrant of entry to enter you premises. Then they will send you a hearing date at your local Court(Magistrate Court).
You have to attend the hearing to defend your self. And provide all the proofs you have, so they are not able to get the permission to enter your premises. If they dont send the hearing date (they hope you not to show up), then request information from the magistrate Court if there is pending application to enter your premises (Under Data protection act). If that is the case, then they must inform you when and where.
I am also quite dissappointed by Npower. They should help you and not to send you back. As far as i understood, there is a license condition obliging the suppliers to solve any problems whilst switching. Npower could choose to collect the debt from you and pay them. Otherwise they should warn you before sending you back. If you find any ways of dealing with this, please advice people .
I am taking my steps and that will be court action. It cannot be true they treat the people this way and it dont give them any consequences.
Best luck to you