Bizz Energy

[Cyclepath]

Hi, Wondering if anyone has any tips on how to handle a business electricity supply problem I have.

A member of staff agreed a verbal contrac with Bizzenergy to change supply to them from powergen. They did not have authority although they thought they were doing the right thing.

Anyway, it seems that despite letters to them explaining this, they are refusing to let us out of the contract without some kind of penalty charge. (I don't know how much yet but I suspect it will be quite a bit)

I have set up my energy with British Gas at half the standing charge and 2/3rds the day and night rates, but it seems we may now have 2 suppliers.

Its all getting rather compicated, and to be honest, the way I have been treated by Bizzenergy means I wouldn't want to stay anyway.

I am at the stalemate stage it seems, with them not conceding a thing and saying it is all legitimate, and us being possibly stuck in a poor value electricity contract we cannot get out of due to what was basically an administration error.

Any suggestions anyone?

[repoman]

Basic law of contract applies. I would argue that under the doctrine of Privity of Contract a person cannot be bound by or take advantage of a contract to which he is not a party. And if the member of staff working for you did not have the authority to enter into a contract on your behalf, i.e. to act as your agent there is no contract. Keep arguing the toss!!!!! Opus energy are another lot that are good at this!!!!

HTH
RM

[Cyclepath]

Thanks, I will keep at it. It seems wrong that this kind of thing can happen and there seems to be very little that can be done other than keep on arguing.

[nick49]

how long ago did you move to bizz? there is a 14 day cooling off period where you can object to going to them. there cant be two suppliers charging you for use of the same supply as there is a seperate company that ensures this cant happen.

[Surfer01]

There is no cooling off period on business contracts so that does not apply. Secondly as it is verbal contract you can always ask for a copy of that recording. You canot be billed by two suppliers for the same consumption as only one supplier can supply you. I suggest you ask British Gas why they are billing you for the same supply. Unfortunately the person at your company that agreed to the change of suppliers represented your company at that point so the contract is legal and binding.

[demon_x_slash]

Unfortunately the person at your company that agreed to the change of suppliers represented your company at that point so the contract is legal and binding.

Are you sure about this, Surfer? IMHO, only the owner of a business, or someone specifically designated by the owner to handle these things, can change something like this, as the person on the other end of the phone could literally be anyone - Cyclepath, have you contacted Energywatch about this? They are better than the usual watchdog and usually resolve complaints like this quickly.

[redsue]

cyclepath - I too have had dealings with Bizz Energy and their 'customer service' is non-existant - they are dire.
I eventually had my problem resolved and had my rates reduced as it was the Broker who had missold me the contract by telling me lies (I had paperwork to prove my point).
Was this through a broker? If so, who? The broker who missold me the contract was using out of date paperwork. They were called Commercial Power and they are in my opinion, sharks.
I shouted very loudly at Bizz Energy and threatened them with court action for lying to me and I got my rates reduced to a really good rate.
Don't bother calling them - as you know you'll be on hold for days and their customer email address is a waste of time - they NEVER respond - give Nina Andrews a call she is a Compliance Officer 01905 368664 - the number puts you straight through.
good luck

[Cyclepath]

Well, things are still rather strange. It seems like I might have 2 meters, one for british gas and one for bizz energy and I need to get one disconnected or something. Apparently they are both registered with the National Grid! Anyway, I have a friendly electrician who is going to look at the state of play, it may be that I can choose which meter to keep in which case I MAY be able to get rid of biz energy......leccy man coming to look on Thursday so will keep you posted....

[Surfer01]

Can you pm me off list and I may be able to help. Ian

[IRACC]

BizzEnergy's next trick will be to demand a direct debit, and then send you an estimated bills, even if you had send readings, and debit your account for several hundred pounds which you can get back by complaining to your bank.

get free from them. [EDIT] ask for record of conversation, and check what was actually said. They will try to bill you for about £1000 for 'breach of four year contract' so fight hard. [EDIT]

Moderator's Note: This site is about conducting your claims yourself, not paying solicitors loads of money for doing something you can do yourself.

[angel951]

Bizz Energy Continue To scam people Via There Agents Commercial Power, With There misleading Verbal Contracts, !!!!!!!watch Out Every1 Dont Go With Bizz Energy Or Listen To Commercial Power, They Have Done The Same To Me Also, And I Will Be Taking This To The Papers!!!!!!!!!!!!! Bizz Energy Have A Ridiculas 4 Year Contract With A Mad 2600pound Early Termination Fee If Was To Cancel B4 The Contract Ends, GUYS !!!!watch Out!!!!!!!!

[IRACC]

Hi Angel951

PM me off list if need help.

[kennythecelt]

Please note that no-one should offer or accept advice by PM.

This advice is contained in numerous places throughout the forum. The reason for this is to ensure that the provision of any advice is in the public domain so that incorrect advice can be corrected by other CAG members if necessary.

[Rooster-UK]

To repeat what Kennythecelt has said....

Do not offer or accept help by PM.
You will have no check on the accuracy of the information given.
If you follow incorrect advice then you could jeopardize your claim.

Regards, Rooster-UK.

[angel951]

Dear Iracc, What Does Pm Mean?

[angel951]

Originally Posted by IRACC

Hi Angel951

PM me off list if need help.

PLEASE HELP ME OUT, WOT DOES PM MEAN?

[nettynoo]

How I wished I'd read this before I agreed to sign up to Bizz Energy, I did a quick google search but obviously not using the right words

Basically I think I was mis-sold the deal by their agents (Commercial Power) too as my first bill has come in and the standing charges are more the double what it was previously with E-on. The agent gave me the charges breakdown and according to them Bizz Energy was far cheaper - now obviously this isn't the case and to me it looks like a clear case of mis-selling - Does anyone know where I stand on this???

[Toddy36]

Sounds like all of these cases are quite serious!

Normally - when they want you to pay in order to get out of a contract, it is around 10% of the net annual value of the contract.

Requesting for a tape of any mis-selling case is a good idea - ask the internal complaints dept to take a look at it. Normally they are quite fair if they feel you have been mis-sold.

Once you have registered a complaint with the supplier, only then will energy watch sit up and take notice of your complaint.

If you want to know more about your energy contract and what the terms mean (I used it for my business and it helped me understand the importance of not allowing yourself to be rolled into an evergreen contract) Take a look at a guide I found a while ago, it is from another supplier - don't worry, its not Bizz!! Its from E4B - visit their website and take a look at their paper on electricity contracts.

Good luck!