Opus Energy - any come-back? Advice pls

[Woody67]

I am at the end of my contract and have made sure not to miss the termination deadline. (the sooner we part company the better).

 

My question is:

 

The initial sales contact, verbally, quoted me a 20% saving on my Hotel electric bill and at a tariff fixed for 3 years.

 

If I haven't made that saving are they in breach of contract?

 

Do I have any claim for miss-selling?

 

I have just read something about 'micro businesses' (under 10 employees) and this may give me some protection under consumer rights?

 

Any advice greatfully received.

 

thanks

 

W67

[Erectusthem]

Dear woody

Seems like we are in the same boat..i had a contract with opus and i run a motel and since the day one everything gone wrong with them. is there any improvement on "micro business" argument?

[Woody67]

Dear Erectusthem

I have since sent an email to the retail operations director for Opus Energy directly (I sent previous emails for his attention but had no acknowledgement of receipt) and as you can imagine, his reply was apologetic but with no substance or offer of help.

I have not yet sent the complaint to the ombudsman but I will be doing so - nothing to lose! It was on their website where there is reference to the 'micro-business' and it would seem that some very small businesses, with less than approx. £5000 spend on electricity could be covered in a similar way to a domestic customer.

My argument is that their sales agent promised me a 20% saving verbally over the phone, and on that basis I went ahead. My belief is that this constitutes a verbal contract, whose terms they have not upheld.

Whether this will go anywhere, who knows, it's been one of those decisions which I've put down to experience, and if I can get any redress all to the good.

My main concern was not to get caught out and fixed into another contract.

Are you still in contract? or have you managed to get out?

 

W67

[Johnstaberner]

I too got caught by the Opus'es in April 2008, when a verbal conversation resulted in a 4 year contract at prices of 35% above what I already paid. OPus were very clever and retained the contract extract of the conversation which did not question there basis of fact, but did in other areas of the conversation. I tried to cancel the changeover on 3 separate occasions with my current supplier who said they were unable to stop Opus taking over, I also wrote to the ombudsman, but got no reply. Upshot is I am a small business paying more than £500.00 a year more for my electricty than I was before this started and will continue to do so for another 2 years.

New laws came out in January 2010 to protect the consumer but are not retrospective. Also you will need to notify Opus 90 days before the contract expires to actually cancel it. So for me there is no way out, (unless you know different?). I was conned, my previous supplier could not stop it, the ombudsman was not interested and new legistration does not help. Do Opus actually have any satisfied customers?.

[Surfer01]

Sorry to be the bringer of bad news, as stated above, it was all verbal and was not recorded therfore little hope of proving what the agent said. A suggestion is that next time use a comparison website and print off the rates quoted or alternatively if phoned, get them to send the rates by email although with the T & Cs so that you have a written copy that you can produce in court. Always check the T & Cs as many suppliers have "get out" clauses in their T & Cs. Good luck with your next supplier.

[Woody67]

Hi all,

I've been away from here for a while, but I can update you on my outcome vs. Opus Energy.

Firstly, whilst still fighting Opus Energy, I made sure that I cancelled contract in due time - I emailed the operations director to get them to tell me the date by which I needed to let them know. I then cancelled this by email, asking for confirmation, so that I had a paper trail of back-up, in case they tried to aviod the cancellation.

 

Secondly, I searched on the internet comparison sites for new business tariffs - most of which were a big improvement on my Opus Energy contract. Having chosen my new supplier I made sure I got changed over as swiftly as possible, I did have to pay for about a month on the Opus Energy 'out of contract' tariff - but it was worth it to be away from them.

 

Thirdly, I made doubly sure that my final readings were acknowledged by both Opus Energy and my new supplier. This resulted in Opus Energy needing to refund me over £1000.00 in excess payments!

 

[EDIT]

 

I got stung, lived with it for the duration of the contract, and made sure I got out when I could. I have a sad feeling that others will have to do the same!

The Directors I contacted, whilst apologetic towards any grievance I had, did nothing to make amends for the excessive charges. However they did make sure I had all the information I needed to end the contract, so that they themselves were covered!!!

 

The only other advice I could give to those unfortunate enough to be tied to Opus Energy, would be to give Opus Energy regular readings to prevent them from taking too much money for electricity that you haven't used.

(I also hope that by writing Opus Energy, that's Opus Energy, enough times, this forum will show up on internet searches for Opus Energy! and others may be warned!!!!!)

 

I wish you all the best for the future of your businesses!

Edited January 4, 2011 by alanfromderby
Please keep posts factual

[Woody67]

Incidentally, I have just done quick google search, and after all the pages of Opus Energy's own website, Consumer Action Groups forum threads comes next!!!

 

W67

[Opps]

I too got caught by the Opus'es in April 2008, when a verbal conversation resulted in a 4 year contract at prices of 35% above what I already paid. OPus were very clever and retained the contract extract of the conversation which did not question there basis of fact, but did in other areas of the conversation. I tried to cancel the changeover on 3 separate occasions with my current supplier who said they were unable to stop Opus taking over, I also wrote to the ombudsman, but got no reply. Upshot is I am a small business paying more than £500.00 a year more for my electricty than I was before this started and will continue to do so for another 2 years.

New laws came out in January 2010 to protect the consumer but are not retrospective. Also you will need to notify Opus 90 days before the contract expires to actually cancel it. So for me there is no way out, (unless you know different?). I was conned, my previous supplier could not stop it, the ombudsman was not interested and new legistration does not help. Do Opus actually have any satisfied customers?.

 

We’re keen to get to the bottom of this but have been unable to pinpoint who the customer is. We’d be grateful if you could contact our Customer Care Team on 0800 8401846 so that we can look into this immediately. Yours, Andy Nash, Operations Director.

[MARTIN3030]

No updates.

Andy please email admin so you can be given heightened awareness as regards your status/brief on the CAG.

 

[email protected]

 

Thanks.

[Jenpet]

Opus emergy need exposing for their disgraceful harrassing & bullying tactics. I battled with them for 5 weeks on behalf of my 86 yr old Dad. Too long a story to put on here, but they made him ill. I managed to get his bill reduced considerably with £50 compensation. I have not finished with them yet since speaking to Ofgem who have advised following the Opus Energy compalints procedure, then involving Consumer Direct.

 

Another elderly relative has been caught up in their web of deceipt, but he is a domestic customer so we are hoping we can get out of the contract this way as they supposedly only supply commercial & coroprate companies. I did ring to ask if they supply domestic properties & was told 'we can do, but usually only supply businesses'. The elderly relatives wife is now awaiting copies of the taped conversations with her husband!

 

I will not leave them alone until I expose them fully!

 

jenpet

[DAY44]

We got out of our contract with Opus (hopeless) energy recently.

I would advise all readers with contracts taken out after January 2010 to request a copy of their verbal agreement. Listen to it carefully.....Opus Energy did not apply the new OFGEM regs and failed to establish Micro-Business status during verbal contracts...e.g. a supplier has to ask a number of questions to establish status...if this is not done the contract cannot be enforced.

 

Good luck

[SambreenaPhotography]

Hi guys, we have litteraly just been snug by this miss selling. Being told Opus were the cheepest supplier etc etc etc and then finding in fact our emergency tarrif was cheeper! They struggled to get the credit checks through as our address isn't registared, so we refused to give them the information they needed to get it through (the extra address details that make our house appear!)

This didn't stop the application as we jusrt received our terms and conditions and letter to say they'll contact us when they take over the supply.

We rung them up to try and stop it, needless to say we were told we couldn't.

They havn't taken over the supply yet, any suggestions?

[Glossy55]

We got out of our contract with Opus (hopeless) energy recently.

I would advise all readers with contracts taken out after January 2010 to request a copy of their verbal agreement. Listen to it carefully.....Opus Energy did not apply the new OFGEM regs and failed to establish Micro-Business status during verbal contracts...e.g. a supplier has to ask a number of questions to establish status...if this is not done the contract cannot be enforced.

 

Good luck

Just so I am clear on this are you saying if they did not ask what your energy consumption was and how many employees you can get out of the contract. Did you simply write a letter to them stating thsi and that was the end of it ?

[Searat]

This may help for people recently signed up by slick salespeople!

Contact your present supplier, and explain why you are stopping payment to them.

Nobody (inc Opus) can take over you account whilst you have a debt with your present supplier, as they won't release you!!!!

Been with E-On for 4 years. Always recommend one of the bigger suppliers.

Who needs Opus? Dreadful lot!

Anyone 'locked in' keep fighting!!

Don't forget to give notice in good time (Termination date)

[DAY44]

Just so I am clear on this are you saying if they did not ask what your energy consumption was and how many employees you can get out of the contract. Did you simply write a letter to them stating thsi and that was the end of it ?

 

Basically yes, they failed to establish whether companies are micro businesses or not during thier cold calls and never sent out T&C's in line with OFGEM Regs of 10 days after completing agreement.

[koru]

Hi we have ended our business due to the bullying and stress from opus energy!We moved from a small unit to a larger unit from British Gas why oh why my husband changed it to opus energy i do not know!The only extra lighting we had was 4 fluesent bulbs they charged us £2,000 more than british gas and we hadn't even put up the other spotlights! They were charging us more than the garages who fix cars and all we sell are handbags and shoes!!!We went to the energy ombudsman and they advised us to write all our readings down at the start of the day to the end which we have done for over a year.11-22 units depending if we had heaters on opus were charging us 50-70 sometimes 100-200 units in a night when noone was in the shop!!!Ombudsman told them to check our meter which was proved to be faulty so the ombudsman then told them to fit a new meter in and revise our bill to our readings.They haven't done this and they haven't replied to the ombudsman!They then sent people out in black suits who knocked on the doors of our fellow business neighbours to ask where we were when we were shut one day,everyone on the industrial estate then thought we had visits from bailiffs as they come in a black car with black suits they aren't they are field agents,but our reputation is scarred as they did this when customers were in the shop, needless to say the impack on our fellow business neighbours and customers wasn't great!The stress caused my husband and I to argue and we have now closed the business.When we were moving out they visited again and asked for payment which the bill keepsgoing up each week.We said we will pay for the electricity used but not what we haven't and that opus need to do what the ombudsman have asked them to do.He said they will find us at home!!!How are they allowed to get away with this bullying and why do they not do what the ombudsman have asked them to do...i'm worried they will come to our house now and start here!Any advice please?

[timesquare]

Hi,

 

STAY AWAY from this company, they will overcharge you, keep you in a long contract, rude customer service, will con you in to believing they are the cheapest energy company around via cold callers who work on commission. Their Process for getting out of a contract is a complete nightmare. Had a 2 year contract but moved premises after a year due to silly energy bills (£300 a month for a few lights and one computer). You would imagine leaving an energy company would be easy but its a lengthy and stressful procedure involving solicitors.

 

After I had cancelled my direct debit due to no longer at the unit they still wanted to charge even though the electric was switched off by the landlord, to make matters worse after 30 days they sent threatening letters including a bill from the solicitors for £5000

 

When moving in to a new unit got numerous phone calls from cold callers asking me I am on an emergency rate and I need to switch urgently to opus energy as they are the cheapest in the area. The emergency rate is still cheaper than Opus Energy according to my first bill.

 

Avoid all the hassle and silly prices by sticking with a familiar name.

[LizF]

Wow - really glad I did a quick google search on Opus before I called them back to connect my electricity supply. Just about to open a new sweet shop in Farnham and can only imagine what they would have quoted, judging by earlier posts a hell of a lot. I don't normally subscribe to these things but shows how essential they are. Thanks for the warning and sorry to hear how badly they treat people.

Any suggestions on good guys welcome, guess its best to stick with the big boys!

[Braindeadsillyme]

OPUS What a NIGHTMARE!!!!.......................ANYONE WHO HAS HAD A BAD EXPERIENCE WITH OPUS please could you contact me.

 

I have for the last 6 months been dealing with OPUS and have been taken for a ride, I have decided to take matters on a LEGAL LEVEL against OPUS; to do so I am looking for owners/traders and individuals with over calculated/over charged, illegal rollovers and dishonest dealings by this unscrupulous company.

 

Please can you contact me to share your experiences and results and also the effects it has had on your day to day life as well as health. I can assure you I have been put through a lot of unnecessary pressure, stress and expense and this company doesn't have an ounce of guilt, shame or a conscience for that matter. I would NOT recommend this company to anyone for they are truly stealing from people with their underhanded tactics.

 

If you would like further proof see REVIEW CENTRE.COM and out of 100 posts only 1 customer was SATISFIED! This in itself makes a big statement ........STAY AWAY FOR YOUR OWN GOOD!!!!

Please please get in touch I want to take my findings to the top! So far I have established they have been in breach with a number of Standard Licence Conditions laid by OFGEM and need evidence to back this up!

[Braindeadsillyme]

HI Koru

 

 

Could you please confirm if you have resolved issues with Opus and if you can contact me to explain further to the extent in which you and your business were affected.

[OPUS101]

I am having a lot of difficulty with opus as well, I've arranged the account to change to another supplier, opus state they will not allow this as I didn't give 90 days notice. I did, verbally during one of their very many phone calls, I took over the business as it was failing, turned it around but being misled by this nasty company.

 

I have no contract with them, but have paid the bills ever since I took over. I want to get away from this bunch........

can anyone help?

Edited October 19, 2013 by honeybee13
Pejorative words

[Veeno1324]

OPUS What a NIGHTMARE!!!!.......................ANYONE WHO HAS HAD A BAD EXPERIENCE WITH OPUS please could you contact me.

 

I have for the last 6 months been dealing with OPUS and have been taken for a ride, I have decided to take matters on a LEGAL LEVEL against OPUS; to do so I am looking for owners/traders and individuals with over calculated/over charged, illegal rollovers and dishonest dealings by this unscrupulous company.

 

Please can you contact me to share your experiences and results and also the effects it has had on your day to day life as well as health. I can assure you I have been put through a lot of unnecessary pressure, stress and expense and this company doesn't have an ounce of guilt, shame or a conscience for that matter. I would NOT recommend this company to anyone for they are truly stealing from people with their underhanded tactics.

 

If you would like further proof see REVIEW CENTRE.COM and out of 100 posts only 1 customer was SATISFIED! This in itself makes a big statement ........STAY AWAY FOR YOUR OWN GOOD!!!!

Please please get in touch I want to take my findings to the top! So far I have established they have been in breach with a number of Standard Licence Conditions laid by OFGEM and need evidence to back this up!

 

 

Hi

I saw your post regarding collecting cases against opus.

 

Please help me, they want me to pay £6000 for 7 months usage. They say so far they have been billing me on estimate only, and now they got meter reading from my previous supplier e-on and my bill is £6150 now.

 

It all started when a random woman called said she's a broker who's not affiliated with anyone, yet recommends opus...cut the long story short, Everytime I interrupted her recording, she would re-start it until there's no interruption. On the phone when I asked her if I can cancel as I don't know anything about them and I will do my research once we hang up, she said yes I have 14 days! Now they say there's no such thing recorded.

 

Please help me

My contact details are

[email protected]

07531942882

[shakuri]

Opus are a complete load of bullies.

 

I stupidly went with them last November when we started our business as we were told they were the cheapest and their customer service was good. What a load of bull that turned out to be.

We've sepnt the best part of 10 months fighting with them, initially they made up estimates and added charges to our accounts and also tried to take payment outside of the direct debit guarantee scheme. We took them to the energy ombudsman who have recently decided that they must remove all charges, send all statements and invoices and arrange a 12 month payment plan for the electricity. We've been receiving threatening and harassing calls and visits from "enforcement offers" ever since we accepted the ombudsman's decision. Not to mention the calls and visits we received prior to the ombudsman case.

 

They are conducting illegal activities with their debt collection actives and we received many calls requesting us to pay up by 1pm that same day of face disconnection. The most ludicrous thing they did was to send a debt recovery letter from their internal debt collection agency "Aboott Debt Recovery" which was recieved on the 22nd of November asking us to pay up by the 18th November and the letter was dated the 11th November. I know this letter was backdated because the amount on the letter they were asking us for was the exact same amount on the invoice dated 21st November - How illegal do they want to be. We've already told them that they are breaking CPR rules and the Protection Against Harassment Act but they do not care, they have been ignoring our emails and only responded today after we asked the ombudsman to get in touch with them.

 

At this moment in time I am sick to death of Opus and just want to get out, they have agreed to let us switch on our Gas but have send because we didn't request not to renew in August we cannot move our Electricity. However in August our accounts were in dispute and with the ombudsman so how on earth are we meant to cancel?

 

I have forwarded on the details of my case to Ofgem and also to my local MP in the hope that things can be resolved and that Opus's appalling practices can be looked into and sorted out.

[surfingbenji]

I have just managed to get out of my contract with opus!

[Andybars]

Shakuri - if OPUS are not sticking to the decision of the Ombudsman then let the Ombudsman know and they will follow up with OPUS.

 

If OPUS still fail to deal with it then raise a new complaint with OPUS followed by a new complaint with the Ombudsman.

 

Whilst it might not stop their behaviour completely, hopefully it will have some positive impact