FIRST UTILITY - TWO year Nightmare - Please Help

[regina-fellangie]

I am really hoping that someone can help me to end over two years of stress and hassle with the utility company FIRST UTILITY.

 

I am sorry that this is such a long post especially for my first but I feel I need to explain all that has happened to show the constant battle I have had.

 

I signed up to them February 2010 and the nightmare began.

 

The first incident was the smart metering; we arranged to have them fitted and no one showed up! Ironically they charge you if no one is in when they turn up so I suggested they recompense us by the same amount; I was ignored!

 

Eventually the chap turned up for the second appointment and told me that we couldn’t have one fitted as we had the wrong type of meters! He said FIRST UTILITY should have asked us which type of meters we had first and he was fed up of having the same conversation with customers. Even though our house is only 10 years old apparently they are old meters so if we can’t get them I doubt if very many of their customers do!

 

No mind; we still decided to stay with them as we can enter our readings online.

 

We did this when we first moved and several times after as requested; however when the first bill was produced it was wrong by a very long way. I asked for a corrected bill which never arrived.

 

In fact in all of the two years I have received just 3 bills (they usually bill monthly) and not one of them has been correct!

 

To get your bills you have to login online and not once has this worked! I have been unable to provide meter readings online either and no one answers the phone unless you wait for a good ten to twenty minutes each time. Even if you gave them the readings the bills are ONLY produced online which I can’t access so I have no idea what they are taking from my account.

 

I contacted FIRST UTILITY and demanded to speak to a manager, when I told him of my problems he laughed and put the phone down on me!

 

I then put a complaint onto Money Saving Expert and I was contacted by a customer services lady immediately. She was great and promised to sort matters out. She said she’d refund me £60 by way of apology which I eventually got some 4 months later after numerous calls and emails to their offices to remind them.

 

Then the next thing I get a call from my mortgage lender to say my mortgage payment has been refused! I was horrified, I’ve never missed a mortgage payment in my life so I hurriedly checked by bank account and FIRST UTILITY had taken nearly £1000 from my account without my permission or any notice!

 

I cannot tell you how angry I was. I cancelled the direct debit and they haven’t been able to take a payment since.

 

I contacted the customer services lady I’d spoken to previously who took several days to come back to me. She openly admitted she had spent that time getting staff to check all of their records to find proof that they had notified me of taking the money from my account but she couldn’t find any proof at all. She admitted liability and arranged for the money to be refunded, a new bill issued and agreed to over my banking charges. Again these took some time to come through but did.

 

Each and every month I have asked FIRST UTILITY for a corrected bill but not received one. I did eventually get a bill showing I now owed over £600. The meter readings made no sense neither did their payment structure so I asked for a broken down bill and better clarification of what I was being charged – I never got it.

 

Next thing the red letter arrived. Not good enough for FIRST UTILITY to put a letter in the post to you; no this company writes in big bold red letters on the OUTSIDE of the envelope that you are in arrears with your bill and face being disconnected. I am so angry at this disgraceful approach.

 

I called my contact and was told that she had left; why am I not surprised!

 

I was passed to a new contact. He apologised and said that he would notify billing that there had been an error on my account that was still being resolved and to leave me alone.

 

Not two days later do I get a knock at the door; it’s a man who says I’ve come to collect £600 from you IN CASH NOW.

 

Truly astonishing behaviour – how can this company get away with this?

 

Luckily I had the email from their staff confirming the account was on hold so I gave him a copy to take with him which he did.

 

I contacted FIRST UTILITY again who continued to ignore my letters, emails and calls.

 

At a complete loss as to what to do I decided to switch suppliers. I thought this will force them to send me a final bill and I can at least get out from them.

 

I opted to switch back to NPower, my previous supplier. I had to chuckle when I get a call from FIRST UTILITY customer services at 5pm on a Friday night saying is there a problem – why do you want to leave?

 

Then I get a letter from NPower saying that FIRST UTILITY are refusing to allow me to switch. Obviously because I owe them money but I have done everything to try to rectify this issue and they do not respond to me. It seems their approach is that I simply pay up even though the bill they are sending me is wrong. This cannot be right? So I went back to MSE and was advised to complain to the Energy Ombudsman, I was also directed to the legislation that states a utility company can’t stop you moving if the errors over billing are theirs – this was clearly the case.

 

So I sought redress from the Ombudsman as FIRST UTILITY simply ignored all of my complaints.

 

The Ombudsman found in my favour on every count. They told FIRST UTILITY to:-

 

• Offer me compensation (I was paid £150 which I received into my account to be fair)

• To correct the opening reading; FIRST UTILITY actually had the correct reading on their files according to the Ombudsman but had failed to ever issue a bill with it on!

• To issue a correct bill (I’ll come back to this)

• To issue an apology; I got a half hearted letter laying blame at my door and telling me to pay up basically.

• To not prevent my move to another supplier

 

I was not actually sent a corrected bill, a member of staff sent me a SPREADSHEET! I could not believe how primitive their accounting was!

 

The sheet detailed various readings and the corresponding standing charges and fuel costs.

 

The first thing I noticed was that the days for the standing charges were incorrect on many counts. It doesn’t take much to deduct one date from another in excel to get the number of days but it appeared as if they had done this manually and it was wholly incorrect, in their favour of course!

 

In addition I noticed that there was an increase in fuel costs every few months which I had never received notification of.

 

I emailed FIRST UTILITY and told them to correct the number of days and reissue the spreadsheet and issue a proper bill – I have never received either.

 

I also told them that I was unwilling to accept the increased fuel charges as I had never been notified of them and would happily pay them what I owed based upon the charges I signed up to. I offered them a full and final cash settlement.

 

They refused to accept this and insisted I pay what showed on the spreadsheet some £2800 even though I had proven that their calculations were wrong!

 

They also said that I had been sent emails to notify me of the increased charges in tariffs. This was incorrect, you get an email telling you to login to the system for your latest bill. As I had already highlighted to them repeatedly I was unable to login to their system without a complete reset by a member of the call centre staff EVERY TIME.

 

They emailed me back and confirmed that their system did indeed show that NONE of these emails had been opened or the bills read. Despite admitting this they still refused to acknowledge that I could not access their system nor that I had not received the increased tariff notifications or any bills.

 

Fed up I just started my move to British Gas this time and thought I’ll just resolve the FIRST UTILITY stuff once I move as at least I will be able to get proper bills and pay those. And after all they had been told by the Ombudsman not to prevent my move next time.

 

This week I get a letter from British Gas saying that FIRST UTILITY had again stopped my move.

 

I also got an email form FIRST UTILITY stating that they had removed my complaint from their unresolved system and they would now be pursuing me for the debt. This was followed by a letter telling me they would not allow me to move and that I now owed over £4000! An increase in £1200 in just a few months. I have STILL not had any bill that shows how this figure has come about.

 

I contacted the Ombudsman with a ‘failure to resolve’ letter that they send you. They said that they had closed my complaint and that I would need to start over again with FIRST UTILITY via their normal complaints procedure. – the same procedure they ignored last time!

 

The Ombudsman have allowed FIRST UTILITY to completely ride roughshod over me and them.

 

I feel completely alone and extremely anxious as (incorrect) bills I don’t even have access to continue to mount up.

 

I emailed FIRST UTILITY this week and told them to just get me into court asap as I am at the stage where I think only by getting an independent person to review this and see how I have been treated and with all my evidence to back up what I’m saying will I get a resolution.

 

PLEASE HELP! I just want to get away from these parasites.

[Worstutility]

Hi there!

 

Unfortunately, I cannot advise you on this but I just wanted to let you know that I am going through a very similar thing with First Utility so my sympathy is with you if that helps?

 

I am in the process of going through the Energy Ombudsman about them and the Energy Ombudsman have asked them to supply me with proof of my meter readings because of what they were asking for in a back dated bill. They tried to take over £800.00 from my bank account in one go without advising me but luckily I had had the foresight to cancel the direct debit before they did. Pure luck!

 

Anyway, the ombudsman asked them to provide me with proof back in October 2011 and I am still waiting for it! Until they do my account is on hold.

 

Hope this is some consolation that you aren't on your own with them.

 

Sarah

[kenjaja]

Hi,

I have no experience with First Utility but am having trouble with two other energy suppliers. The detail differs from your problem but is pretty similar in that these people all seem to live on planet Zog.

 

I have written to senior directors at my energy company. A minion replies - but does not answer anything. Nothing is resolved and nothing progresses. My energy company has, like yours, learned to play the game with the Ombudsman who has limited power, is overloaded with work and therefore cannot be as effective as we would like.

 

 

I will suggest three possible strategies for you to consider. But before taking any of them get your ammunition ready. Make sure you have a copy of every bill, email, letter and note of telephone conversation in date order in a file. Include everything to do with the Ombudsman complaint.

 

When the file is organised, produce a log which lists the contents by date with a one-liner with date and a one-line description of each item or event.

 

date Event

 

12/03/2010 Appointment to have smart meters installed - Enineer failed to turn up. No call from First Utility.

 

etc etc etc

 

The other thing to have in your file is a list of what you want from First Utility e.g.

1) Compliance with the Ombudsmans directive to release you from the contract.

2) .....

 

Include a requirement for First Utility to pay all costs associated with their saga of balls ups.

 

If you do not have this file and the summary log (or something like it) you will have a problem in making a convincing case to others. Hopefully you already have it but, if not, you need to take the time and effort to get it together.

 

Once you are armed with the file you can go on the offensive with First Utility and here are some strategies to consider:

 

Three possible strategies - none will yield an immediate solution but just keep your mind focused on the end result you want to achieve. Given the name of 'First Utility', an acronym with their initials would serve me as a mantra to help keep me in the right direction!

 

Strategy A) A Solicitor

If you have legal cover on your household insurance now is the time to use it! Claim for legal help under the policy. They will probably try and tell you to use the Ombudsman again (because it is free) but stand your ground, tell them you have already done that and won but the Ombudsman's directives have been ignored, tell them it has gone on for two years and give them the statistics on how many letters, emails and telephone calls there have been and that you are at the end of your tether and exhausted by it all. Do not take no for an answer.

 

If you do not have legal cover there may be a possibility of legal aid. This an area I know nothing about so try your local Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB). They were always busy places but things have become worse since funding cuts of recent years. Best approach is to go to your local CAB and ask for an appointment with one of their lawyers. Again - do not be fobbed off.

 

You may also get one of the 'No Win, No Fee' solicitors to take the case.

 

In the worst case you can get a small amount of legal advice for free from any solicitor. They all have to give you a free initial meeting but you will have to keep it short.

 

What you want is for a lawyer to write and threaten court action. This will result in the paperwork going to their legal department and it will be read by a lawyer. Lawyers are very quick to grasp the nub of a dispute and are also pragmatic. This should get things moving in the right direction pretty quickly. Make it clear to your lawyer what you want

Do not use an online lawyer.

 

Strategy B) - The Ombudsman Again

The low-cost option is to send the matter back to the ombudsman. First, write to First Utility to tell them they have demonstrated a determination not to resolve the matter. List the outstanding points to resolve. At the end of the letter give them 28 days to resolve all the outstanding items in full (Give them the date as a deadline)l. If anything is outstanding at the end of that time the matter will go directly to the Ombudsman. One item to consider adding to your list of 'unresolved issues' is that you refuse to pay the bill to them since the date when the Ombudsman ordered them to release you. They are bound by the Ombudsman decision and they have ignored it. You are therefore not legally bound as you have no contract with them. This is a risky strategy as you will probably end up having to pay them but you would stand a chance with this in a court. If your main aim is simply to get away from them or you do not have nerves of steel then avoid this strategy; If you are angry enough to want their blood then go for it - but carefully!

 

Strategy C) Small Claims Court

The basis of this strategy is that these people have messed you about for such a long time and wasted so much of your time and made no serious effort to get things right that you are now charging them for everything in your dealings with them. Write to them with a list of outstanding issues listed as one liners (similar to the final letter in strategy B). Tell them they have 28 days (& give the expiry date) to resolve all of the issues and that you will answer questions to do with those issues within that 28 day period. End the letter with two stings in the tail. The first is that, since the Ombudsman's ordered them to release you from the contract then you are no longer under any contractual obligation to them to pay any bills whatsoever. Point out that, for the moment at least, you will however pay for energy you consume. Warn them that if anything remains outstanding when your stated date is reached you will invoice them for your time and effort in resolving the matter. Every communication will cost them say £50 or £100 minimum plus costs. You decide the amount and put it in the letter. Tell them your charges are not negotiable.

 

They are unlikely to resolve the matter as a result of the threat. However at the end of the time period you write to them with a list of the outstanding items and enclose an invoice for the amount you told them. Add the cost of postage (recorded delivery) and any other costs incurred. This time your letter with the outstanding issues will give them 14 days for full resolution; when it is still not sorted you send one final letter with the issues, a further invoice and a warning to pay within 14 days.

 

When it is still not resolved you can (at last!) take action in the small claims court for the money they owe you plus the costs of the court case. Your local court officials will probably be very helpful and give you the advice you need for the paperwork.

 

You will need your file for the court action.

 

The point of this strategy is not to get money for writing letters but to get First United to face the situation. The first thing that will happen is that the court papers will go to their legal department. (as with the solicitor option above) Lawyers have a remarkable ability to get to the heart of the matter amazingly quickly. Your previous letters will tell them what you want and the balls up the company has made over such a long time. Lawyers are also pragmatic and will almost certainly be looking for the cheapest and easy way out. At this point they will probably start making offers and once you enter negotiating mode you can refer them to the list of outstanding issues (including the 'Release Me' requirement.)

 

If the negotiations do not happen or do not work out then you will find they will probably give the papers to a lawyer to deal with in court. In court you simply point out that they have got things wrong again and again over two years, that you have written x letters y emails had z telephone conversations, gone to the Ombudsman, won your case and that they have not followed the Ombudsman directives. You therefore started charging them for your time and effort and inconvenience. Once the judge realises they have been playing silly beggars for 2 years and not making serious attempts to resolve the matter and getting the accounts wrong he may or may not award you the money you are claiming but costs will be awarded but, most importantly, he will also direct them to sort out the muddle they have created.

 

The strategy for a court case is to win the heart and mind of the judge in the shortest possible time. This is done by presenting the summary log as evidence (not the whole file) but make it clear the whole file is available if the court would like to see it. The initial presentation of your case should be as short as possible so do not get bogged down in the detail. Emphasise the effort and lengths you have gone to to resolve the issue and the lack of effort by First Utility. The non-compliance with an Ombudsman Ruling will be a killer blow as they have a legal obligation to comply.

 

If the opposition try to argue let them ramble - and listen out for anything which attacks or criticises you. Note the criticism but do not interrupt. When you get the chance to respond you can corner the opposition lawyer with a NIGYSOB move. which would go something like this.

 

"Since I am unhappy with First Utility and clearly First Utility is unhappy with me (quote the criticism 'they have said that .........') and since the Ombudsman has already ordered them to release me from the contract perhaps I could suggest a possible solution to this case. I will be happy to consider dropping my claim for £x, if council for First Utility agrees to release me from the contract as directed by the Ombudsman, that that is recorded as the verdict agreed by the court and if they agree to paying my costs of £x for this action."

 

As long as you prepare for the case and have a few aces up your sleeve it would be a difficult case to lose. If you think you may feel intimidated or nervous you could try and find a friend to go with you and speak on your behalf.

 

Above all make it clear that you feel you should not be trapped in a contract with First Utility when they have behaved so badly and when the Ombudsman has already agreed with you.

 

_____________________________________________

 

It is late, I am a bit tired and rambled on a bit but I hope you find something useful in the above. What I would dearly like to see is someone to come up with a sure-fire way to a quick solution for you. Unfortunately my own experience leads me to the conclusion that this is not likely to happen. So many companies these days do not care about customers. Many energy companies are like this - I am sure they have worked out that even when they are fined millions of pounds for failing to deal with customer complaints this is still cheaper for them than doing the job properly. This is simply because many people do not have the time, ability or energy to keep fighting and eventually give up. I think it is worth fighting and the more cr@p I get from my energy companies the more determined I get. Eventually these companies will get what they deserve.

So keep fighting and keep us posted and I wish you the best of luck.

[rebel11]

Heres further info:- 17) OFGEM - COMPLAINTS CLICK HERE

[ajs444]

Has there been any progress with this?

 

I am facing same scenario with this company, even after my complaint was upheld by OFGEM.

[rebel11]

Hi ajs444

 

Best to start your own thread, post your story, then we can advise.

 

Has there been any progress with this?

 

I am facing same scenario with this company, even after my complaint was upheld by OFGEM.