utility warehouse

[mounty']

Surfer01, I must be a bit thick. Let's assume you're right about UW merely being an agent for an electricity supplier and not a supplier themselves.

 

WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE?

 

 

indeed very true.

 

effectively their gas+electric comes via npower but without npower awesomeness in the "how to fail at customer service" section of the training manual. never really heard any good things about them .... ever.

[Surfer01]

I would also like to point out that for many years when a customer changes supplier, the new estimate has been based on historic data so nothing new there at all. This done by a data aggregator (DA).

BTW the differnce is that UW can never be the cheapest "supplier" agent or whatever around as they have overheads. Npower buy from the distributor who take a cut, the UW supplier buys from Npower and takes a cut, UW as an agent buy from their supplier and take a cut and thens sell it onto the customer but by this time the cost has increased quite a bit.

[mounty']

strangely not that much tbh, been finding out about it all today and searching all the suppliers rates, realistically i could save about 70-odd quid a year to switch. however ... that would be to companies very well known for their poor service, the 50% or so satisfaction from several different switch sites/independant sources. so, despite my rant about them ... i may end up staying. will check it over more before deciding.

 

think it goes up not so much as the supplier will not buy from npower in this case as npower itself is the parent company. it'd be like buying something from yourself

[Surfer01]

EDF have a fairly good Online deal at present according to the comparison sites. For gas we use Erbico Online which are reasonably priced and an offshoot of Southern.

[shining Light]

Mounty, some honest comments despite your initial "angry moment"...well done. Often (but not always) problems or difficulties arise due to the customer doing or not doing something. Two personal situations come to mind (both UW).

 

1. One year ago my brother complained he was paying way too much for his electricity and he wasn't home much. Turned out he had previously used a hot tub in his garden which used a lot of lecky but now he didn't use it.

Did he notify UW? No.

Did he ever send in meter readings? No. (and they had been unable to gain access to read it either). How were UW supposed to know this?

 

Did both of the above and now paying a lot less.

 

2. This month my mother said her electric had doubled, lives alone in 1 bed flat. When I checked I found she had sent in an incorrect reading the previous month and been given an £18 discount on her total bill.

Following (this) month this came to light when she gave correct reading, deviding the 2 mths = normal usage for both months. No actual problem or increase in bill.

 

My recommendation if you stay with UW is:

1. Pay for what you actually use each month rather than budget plan

and

2. Ring in (auto system) your meter reading on the last day of the month every month and you shouldn't ever have a problem. No credit..no debit.

[shining Light]

"BTW the differnce is that UW can never be the cheapest "supplier" agent or whatever around as they have overheads. Npower buy from the distributor who take a cut, the UW supplier buys from Npower and takes a cut, UW as an agent buy from their supplier and take a cut and thens sell it onto the customer but by this time the cost has increased quite a bit."

Surfer01 we do seem to be covering old ground again here.

 

Like I said before, UW are NOT an energy company but a multi service supplier providing line rental, calls, broadband, 0800 numbers, mobiles.

 

Mounty discovered otherwise. As a multi service provider they have other options as to how they can discount/charge for services + they don't have shops, fleet vehicles or spend millions on advertising.

 

Like I said before you are obviously 100% anti UW and wouldn't use them even if they could save you a fortune every month. (your choice). However Mounty is reconsidering and whether or not he stays or goes he has at least had another look for himself rather than being swayed by ultra negative ramblings. Good for him.

 

You mention EDF, if I am not mistaken I have read LOADS of negative stuff about them on this forum

[loopinlouie]

I find that eon have the best customer service for me and I have been with british gas, n power prior. I am able online to regulary put in readings and alter how much I pay a month. It would only refuse a dd alteration if I was in arrears.

Edited January 31, 2010 by loopinlouie

[loopinlouie]

I also dont forget how I was apparantly erroniously:( changed from my protected price package to npower. It took a year to sort and they tried to blame me for an apparant rogue clipboarder who came door to door. I said no. Its not something you forget. In the meantime my bills doubled.

 

Though maybe should kiss the feet of this npower person who then led me to try eon as it is now known.

 

But as soon as I see npower involved in any company it makes me cringe.

 

ps, Would be interested to know how a lot of these clipboarders have our personal details of who we are with prior to calling, not on electoral roll, yet was able to transfer me, odd and very dodgy if these people can do that what else can they do.

Edited January 31, 2010 by loopinlouie

[spacebeagle]

 

 

edit** just found out actually that npower bought out control of both the companies in 2006. so it effectively comes from npower ... my brain aches

 

Mounty, you're wrong about this.

 

Npower lapses option over Telecom Plus

 

Date: Friday 20 Nov 2009

 

LONDON (ShareCast) - Npower's call option over 29% of multi-utility group Telecom Plus has lapsed. The arrangement was set up in 2006 when npower agreed to supply energy to Telecom Plus.

 

The lapse of the option does not affect the energy supply arrangements and npower will continue to supply all the energy used by Telecom Plus customers under an exclusive supply agreement, the statement added.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The above is an excerpt published by the regulated news service of the London Stock Exchange. I would have a look at my first posting on this topic for further clarification, but TP plc remains an independent company with its own stock exchange quote. I would recommend that you buy the shares!

[loopinlouie]

When uw sell their power, do they say provided by npower

 

Because if that was me I would in not had bad experience prior just gone to npower directly.

 

ps. I know some other companies reps have been naughty regarding rogue transfers also but what happened to me affects my bill and thats all I am intersted in.

[loopinlouie]

Also when I messed up my dds and I needed help I have to say eon were the first to say dont worry. They rescheduled it and as a result I still use them. I wonder how much sympathy uw would give when it is affecting directly the wages of their sales people.

 

A direct company I feel has more clout when problems occur wether the fault of the customer or not.

[shining Light]

"When uw sell their power, do they say provided by npower"

I don't, only because it is not worth mentioning. UW organise the meter reading, billing etc etc and if there were a problem with actual supply, it would go back to Transco to sort out. npower are in no way connected other than UW buy through them.

 

Where do npower get their energy from? What about Eon, EFD etc. Basically it all comes from the same source.

 

 

"Because if that was me I would in not had bad experience prior just gone to npower directly."

Again, your choice, but as has already been established, UW are more often than not, cheaper than npower.

[loopinlouie]

If they are cheaper than the cheapest packages with npower, then what is in it for npower?, seems pointless and therefore raises doubt.

 

How about you post uw cheapest gas and electric prices you sell and it could be compared, remember the cheapest prices per units, that is more likely to give fair comparison with npower.

 

Also if a person rang npower said they were thinking of using uw could you beat their prices, I bet they would;) to gain the longterm custom.

[shining Light]

"If they are cheaper than the cheapest packages with npower, then what is in it for npower?, seems pointless and therefore raises doubt."

 

I didn't say they are always cheaper than npower, I said they are "often" cheaper....prices change. One minute "company A" are cheaper than "company B" and then "company B" are cheaper than "company A"...thats just the way it is.

 

"How about you post uw cheapest gas and electric prices you sell and it could be compared, remember the cheapest prices per units, that is more likely to give fair comparison with npower."

I've got a better idea, why don't you??

 

"Also if a person rang npower said they were thinking of using uw could you beat their prices, I bet they would:wink: to gain the longterm custom."

Quite possible.

 

[loopinlouie]

Surely if you recomend them you would find it quite easy to post their cheapest price per units?

 

after all I dont sell their product, but you do, makes me wonder they are not the cheapest at the moment, you could of course prove otherwise.

 

As to ringing and getting cheaper rate with npower, I wonder why that would not be recomended to potential customers?

 

Sellers wouldnt get commission then.

 

 

 

Its not a matter of well you know prices have risen it was cheaper when I recomended them, after all most of the top 6 tend ot change their prices at the same time and they announce it. Therefore I feel there is more risk personally using a reseller or agent of one of the big 6 in not getting the cheapest price. Better to know where you stand, I never think much of people trying to convince they are selling the cheapest product by door to door, they are only interested in earning their crust. I wouldnt trust them.

[loopinlouie]

Why would you want to buy from a door step caller if they quoted we are 'often' cheaper. You are interested in wether they are or not.

[mounty']

"How about you post uw cheapest gas and electric prices you sell and it could be compared, remember the cheapest prices per units, that is more likely to give fair comparison with npower."

 

From my own bill in front of me : Gas - 3.488 p/kWh

electricity - day rate - 12.458p/kWh

night rate 3.5p/kWh

 

bearing in mind i use 30-35% of my electricity on this night rate it's a big bonus as other places have cheaper day rates (only by 1-2p /kWh over a certain amount of usage) but not found anywhere with cheaper night rate.

 

for comparrison - cheapest npower equivalent i could find :

 

Go Fix Dual Fuel from npower

 

Unit prices

 

Gas

 

£67.200 Annual standing charge

3.331p per kWh

 

Electricity

 

£73.50 Annual standing charge

11.15p per kWh (day)

4.45p per kWh (night)

 

As you can see, incredibly similar. Gas slightly cheaper from npower but by an infintecimal amount. Electricity day rate cheaper by just over a penny, night rate more expensive by just under a penny. so, yes over the year i could save a small amount, but would i want to change to npower with one of the worst customer satisfaction records going? .... no. and the standing charges negate any savings i would've made btw. from UW i get a standing charge total of £6.60 per month (£79.20 per year) for both services, but i think as i'm only an energy customer, if you have others this is far less.

 

And EDF as someone posted, i was with them up until UW and i never had any trouble with them on the phone or sorting out any problems etc ... but the billing ........ OMG how bad / wrong / confusing / random can you get?!?!?! i'm saving a bit by swapping from them, not masses, but the fact i'm not left utterly bewildered each quarter by my bills is a bonus i wouldnt go back on. and pretty much everyone i've known with them have had same or worse, including where i work. we have 2 gas meters, only one is connected to the mains since Jan2007. it took us 2 and a half years to get them to not bill us for a meter that was never used, then last month they tried again to send an estimated bill with sudden usage even after an EDF bloke came out and registered the fact it's not connected and cant be used.

EDF not good. npower from what i've heard, not good. british gas from past experience/what i've heard now, hit and miss. UW far from perfect but seeming better than the others overall.

Edited January 31, 2010 by mounty'

[mounty']

british gas have quite a good deal on atm and probably only ones i'd change to if i do. the bonus you get with the big companies is the discounts you get fordual fuel / direct debit payments etc etc can add up to be a fair bit.

[loopinlouie]

Thanks for the trouble.

 

I think what this thread has shown is all providers have their faults and happy customers. for instance I like eon never had problems. We only tend to remember the bad experiences I suppose. But buying anything from someone making a profit out of it has to be treat with caution, Ive learnt that to my cost.

[shining Light]

Thanks Mountie, I wasn't going to waste time on that simply because I have already explained how things work ie prices change, is the customer a light or heavy user etc.

 

The last time I did a comparison against 4 of the "big 6" based on exact readings, UW came out cheaper than 3 of them and about the same as the other. Today, might be the same, it might not be?

 

Unfortunately there are some others on this forum who still haven't grasped the fact UW are not a utilities company but a multi service company (how many times have I said this now??). If you want just energy and if you are happy with an online acct then UW isn't for you. The majority of our customers have other services which overall leads to greater savings for them.

 

As I said before, I get FREE line rental, Broadband and calls inc 0845/0870 + 10 international destinations (ave £28pm) which far outweighs the few pounds saved with the other companies. It works for me

[loopinlouie]

Glad it works for you:D

 

But how some in good conscience could recomend to friends family and others when there are cheaper out there, maybe if their customer services was improved with the same vigor of expansion, there would be good reason for giving them a go.

[shining Light]

"But how some in good conscience could recomend to friends family and others when there are cheaper out there, maybe if their customer services was improved with the same vigor of expansion, there would be good reason for giving them a go"

Wow, so you are over over £30 pm, great!! Who with, perhaps i'll change myself?

 

My conscience is clear. There have been occasions where I have advised a potential customer to remain with their existing supplier because we cannot save them money, but it doesn't happen often.

 

I have customers who have been with UW for up to 7 years now and are very happy. At times many take additional services eg in the past 4 mths one has taken 2 mobiles on top of energy, phone & B/Band......two have taken B/Band on top of energy & phone and I have two more who this week have said they want our B/Band.

 

On the whole, very happy customers who themselves are happy to recommend UW to their family and friends.

 

My customers also have access to me should they have a query/problem they haven't been able to understand/deal with, and I will try to resolve it for them. How many other companies give you a personal contact?

[Nairyhuts]

Hi shining light,

Sorry I didnt realise you were a UW agent when I logged in.Could you explain something for me (maybe me being a bit thick i dont know) anyway here goes.

When I signed up to UW the agent ,who incidentally i became quite friendly with and who often used to pop in when passing took away my previous suppliers bills to compare with UW tariff I guess?He then came back to me and said he could cut my D/D,s buy 5 and 7 a month for gas and leccy,and recommended a budget plan,for what reason I dont know?

Taking into consideration that with my previous suppliers I was often in credit after 12 months,then how could UW claim in my annual review that I had used far more energy than they had expected and was now in debt to the tune of £1200.Surely after studying my previous invoices they could see my usage and therefore I was wrongly advised by the agent?OK I do admit that maybe I was sending in my meter readings at the wrong time,but I was never advised to send them in last day of the month like you suggest.

I immediately disputed this debt and asked for written details yet the next correspondence I received was from First Credit,a debt recovery agency working on behalf of UW.

I am sure as you said earlier that UW does work for a lot of people,but I just think that I was wrongly advised and am now left quite bitter about the whole episode.

Hope ypu can shed some light on this for me

NAIRYHUTS

[shining Light]

Hi Nairyhuts (sorry I just noticed I mis spelt your name the 1st time, not deliberate I promise).

 

I think you said this happened about 4 yrs ago, I am not sure why he took your bills away because we were advised not to give quotations because they can be misleading (hence the earlier query here about the new Ofgem changes). Prices change, peoples usage change.

 

Obviously I don't know what has gone on with your account but bear in mind that over the past few years prices have gone up a lot with all suppliers. Also, up until about 5 yrs ago (thereabouts) UW were the cheapest supplier...they advertised as such, this was endorsed in various reports (D.Mail etc) and not argued by our competitors. But that was then, now we just guarantee to always be "competitive" with the "big 6" meaning similar prices at all times.

 

Regarding the "Budget plan" that is the same as all the other companies ie pay a fixed amount each month. This suits most customers.

A number of my customers have opted to "pay for what they use" each month and if they continue to send in meter readings on the last day of the month they shouldn't accumulate either a debt or a credit.

 

If you want, you can PM me your name, address & acct number and I will see if I can find out anything about your situation. They won't discuss specifics (Data Protection) but I might be able to find out what went wrong.

[pnuts]

UTILITIES WAREHOUSE --- RIP OFF --- BEWARE

 

I have been a Utilities Warehouse customer since January 2009. I used to pay all of my utility bills by direct debit to UW and not really had any problems - UNTIL - I moved house in september and my gas and Electricity supply in my new property was already on pre payment metres which I am happy to keep.

 

I then asked UW to take over the prepayment metres at my new property and they then said that would send me a key for the electricity and a card for the gas.

 

Utility warehouse have continued to take monthly payments from my NATWEST bank account and by December 29 I had still had no key or card to pay for my bills (just incase you dont know) to get gas or electricity you have to top up the metres with card or key so I had to use those of a friend which means that her metres are as normal but her account is showing as in credit (with MY money)

 

Anyway on december 29 I again spoke to Utilities Warehouse regarding keys and cards they never arrived within the 5 working days stated so I again called and cancelled my Utilities with them, I also made my last payment to them with a ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND account OVER THE PHONE.

 

NOW on the 2nd February United Utilities have taken money from my RBS account without permission from either myself or the bank - NO DIRECT DEBIT SET UP, NO PERMISSION JUST THE FACT THAT LAST MONTH I MADE A 1 OFF PAYMENT AND THEY OBVIOUSLY KEPT MY DETAILS AND HAVE USED MY BANK CARD DETAILS INCLUDING THE 3 DIGIT SECURITY NUMBER TO OBTAIN FUNDS NOT DUE TO THEM...

 

BEWARE ANYONE CONSIDERING BECOMING A UNITED UTILITIES WAREHOUSE CUSTOMER