Utility Warehouse

[shining Light]

Ok fine, but I did offer.

 

I don't understand why anyone would come on a forum simply to slag off a company and seemingly ignore any advice given or offers for help.

 

As i've probably said before, I have never had a problem with UW and my customers haven't either, in fact, I have had several comment on how good they were citing their experiences when they had problems or queries.

 

The bottom line is, things happen. You leave company A because of a bad experience and then find company B are even worse!

 

In my experience, probably around 80-85% of problems could be avoided if the customer carried out basic actions like giving meter readings on a regular basis (something I advise all my new customers to do) to avoid big debts/credits building up.

[loopinlouie]

Shinig it seems you are good for your customers regarding to give regular readings. But it seems there are a few cases of people saying a similar scenario on figures worked out on estimated usage (based on prior company bills)and getting huge bills. They changed to uw on figures given as a saving and found out after period of time there was no saving. Okay part customer fault, but you have to question what is possibly being told to a lot of other customers. Why do they feel at ease with their bills, because they are cheaper and they dont realise a problem may be occuring.

 

Usage changes, hang on but on average a household uses so much and maybe some more, but it shouldnt cause shock and find them realising they should not have chosen uw.

 

I am with one company I get estimated bills which often are as I found out today overestimating,, I simply ring and they reduce the ammount, they have never underestimated me I notice:D Why doesnt uw based on quotes originally seen with bills for new clients overestimate, it seems there are cases of underestimatation.

 

Overestimate is not a problem resolved at no cost client soon cools down. I feel something is wrong with the way they quotes estimate usage and then put the owness on client to pick up something is wrong. Maybe they could read the meters more often, mine is read normally at least two or three times a year. If read more often uw would pick up dd need to change quickly up or down and if client not happy can change and go elsewhere.

 

Its not fair on client to have to notice usage difference months and months later in form of a bill me lord.

Edited February 12, 2010 by loopinlouie

[MadKit]

Firstly, I have been on this forum for quite some time and have considerable knowledge that has been offered here and on other forums. I have been fighting bank charges from the very beginning and won a considerable amount of money back and will continue to fight on the side of the consumer.

 

I have never come onto any forum including this one as you put it

simply to slag off a company

My problems with UW have been documented, your connection with UW has been equally documented so let's leave that alone. My problem with UW will not be assisted by them, they are the problem! And I already thanked you for your offer.

 

IswatBS

Save the sales talk! Some of us do have more than one brain cell.

jambazi12, samson10 etc are among those who seem to be as unhappy as I am!

 

[MadKit]

Just a quick answer to the comments on the estimated billing. I gave meter readings every month, the point that everyone is missing is that my bill was 0 (zero) when I tried to change providers. What happened next is that they retroactively billed the same amounts I had paid at a higher rate saying that the rate they had charged was a "budget" rate and now that I was leaving, I had to pay the difference between what I was being charged and the higher rate for "normal" customers. Usage didn't change but the charge per units used did! And the huge amount I was charged and all that I ended up allegedly owing them was worked out by them and that is what Energywatch should have challenged but didn't.

 

[shining Light]

Loopinlouie, I agree with some of what you say, a certain amount of responsibilty lies with the provider but an equal amount falls on the customer too, especially when circumstances change.

 

I have never had a problem with regards to how much I pay on a budget plan. I once rang them and said I would like to pay an extra £2 on my lecky to avoid a build up of debt, and that was done.

 

Another question, how many customers actually check their meter reading against the estimated reading to see how their account is? This simple step can often prevent a large credit or deficit.

 

All suppliers have to follow a code of practice and adhere to changes from Ofgem, UW included, but I guess we will never overcome the "human" side of things when situations occur.

[shining Light]

Madkit, settle down there, I wasn't targetting you specifically.

I was simply making an observation that there have been a small number of people suddenly appear on this forum (even a 1st time poster) ranting about some "Mega" problem they have had with UW and saying "avoid them" "don't touch them" or "its a con" etc etc, often not even asking for a solution to their "problem" simply "attacking" the company and trying to get everyone else to go elsewhere.

 

Other companies have received many more complaints but generally with a plea for advice and not simply in the form of a "wild attack"

 

I don't know what has gone on with your account so I can't say who is at fault or why it has happened. I hope you are able to somehow resolve it.

Just a fault, but if you are blameless here and the company has acted "over and above the normal perameters" you should let it go to Court rather than pay off a debt you say you don't have.

[loopinlouie]

Any updates?

[MadKit]

Loopinlouie, no updates unfortunately, still paying over £300 per month on the meter even though the heating has been off for two months!

 

Thank you for asking.

 

Shining Light, would dearly have loved to "let it go to court" as you put it but as they broke into my house, installed the meter and there is now no documentation or bills to fight the debt, this is not an option.

[loopinlouie]

Sorry your still having trouble.

 

I decided to try and get upadates on others as well to see if anyone ever gets a sattisfying outcome, doesnt look good so far:mad:

 

Notice how the main thread keeps getting posts from uw reps, imagine they say I have too much time on my hands. Thats not nice:p

 

Best wishes xx

[MadKit]

Loopinlouie, thanks for the reply - once again, you made me laugh.

 

Best wishes to you too and yes unfortunately the UW reps are still lurking but I firmly believe in what goes around, comes around and I can't wait!

 

MK X

[loopinlouie]

Loopinlouie, thanks for the reply - once again, you made me laugh.

 

Best wishes to you too and yes unfortunately the UW reps are still lurking but I firmly believe in what goes around, comes around and I can't wait!

 

MK X

 

[nottslad]

Hey madkit

 

Shocking problems you've had, have you thought about asking for a subject access request? this would mean UW would need to send you the original Ts and Cs you agreed to, the notes on the account and all the bills, might shed a bit of light on exactly who did what and why?

 

Back-billing you in this manner does not seem right to me, and I would have thought it would be an unfair contract term that could be challenged in court or you could maybe contact the ombudsman?

 

Certainly isnt right that they can back-bill you in this way, putting you in masses of debt like this.

 

If you were giving meter reads and they were ignoring them, they can only back-bill for one year from the date they correct the bill if their estimates were too low (I'm not sure if thats exactly what the issue has been, but sounds like that is part of it.)

 

As for entering the property to fit a prepayment meter, they can do this with your agreement if you let them in... To force entry they MUST have a Magistrates Warrant, which is covered under Rights of Entry (Gas and Electricity Boards) Act 1954, it has to be approved by a court before they can pick locks/force entry in any other way.

 

Hope this helps and you can get somewhere in getting this nightmare sorted out

[loopinlouie]

How you getting on madkit, any updates?

[MadKit]

Nottslad, thank you for your reply. I don't know why I didn't receive an email telling my you had responded so please excuse my delay in replying.

 

I didn't think of sending a SAR request and I should have. I will do that today and also address what you have said regarding the warrant, not having the actual details of what they should have had, now I can chase them as part of the SAR to produce this too.

 

Loopinlouie, thanks for keeping an eye on me and reminding me I should be chasing them. I really do get distressed when I think about UW, they are monsters and shouldn't be allowed to do what they have not just to me but to lots of other people. I dread how much I will have to pay again each month if we have a winter like we had last year, my meter card payments were close to £500 some months for gas and electricity and the debt of over £5,000 is still sitting there.

 

MadKit

[Surfer01]

Keep us updated as unscruplous companies like UW need a bomb up thier backside. Nottslad is very good at helping and myself being a former employee in the utility industry I can also offer advice in some areas. I think UW have dug themselves a hole and you could be looking at soem serious compensation.

[nottslad]

No probs with the reply, pity you didn't get to see it sooner as the situation could have been resolved by now!

 

From reading the posts it would appear that as you were in a certain type of contract with UW which dictated the rates you pay, a term of this contract would be that should you wish to cancel the price would be altered for the time the contract has already run (we can clarify this when you get the Ts and Cs back)

 

I've had a quick look at the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977. Schedule 9, Paragraph 1 to the Act, entitled Effect of Breach states:

Effect of breach. E+W+N.I.

 

(1)Where for reliance upon it a contract term has to satisfy the requirement of reasonableness, it may be found to do so and be given effect accordingly notwithstanding that the contract has been terminated either by breach or by a party electing to treat it as repudiated.

 

(2)Where on a breach the contract is nevertheless affirmed by a party entitled to treat it as repudiated, this does not of itself exclude the requirement of reasonableness in relation to any contract term.

 

See (http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1977/50?view=extent)

 

The Act has been amended by subsequent amendments and Acts, however the fundamentals remain the same.

 

I cannot for the life of me see that any Judge in the land would view this hefty financial penalty as reasonable; the normal contract cancellation fee is about £25-£30 if the same thing were to happen with another utility supplier.

 

Let us know what you get back from them

[MadKit]

Update - SAR letter and postal order received by them on 23 November - nothing back as yet not even an acknowledgement of the letter but then I'm not surprised. Roll on 2nd January as that is 40 days (8 working weeks) from date of receipt! Edited - thank you Surfer01 for correction, I should know this.

 

Kit

 

Edited December 13, 2010 by MadKit

[Surfer01]

It is 40 calender days, not working days which takes it to the first week in Janaury 2011.

[MadKit]

Quick Update - not a single word from UW. No acknowledgement letter, no info, nothing! Only a few days to go now so I'm waiting. By the way, if they don't send anything, can you send me the link to the follow up letter please?

 

MadKit

[MadKit]

5 days over! Nothing, nada, niks! Can anyone point me to the follow up letter please?

 

MadKit

[nottslad]

Hey Madkit

 

Surprising you haven't received anything back! Have they cashed your payment?

 

I's be tempted to send them a letter along the lines of:

 

Dear Sirs

 

I wrote to you on xx/xx/xxxx enclosing £10 in respect of a Subject Access Request under the Data Protection Act 1998.

 

As yet I have still to receive a response from you enclosing all information that Utility Warehouse hold on me.

 

I'm sure you will be aware that as a Data Controller you have a statutory 40 days in which to provide me with this information. So far 47 days have elapsed. Please now send the information within 14 days of the date of this letter. Further failure to comply with the Act will leave me with no option than to raise a complaint with the Information Commisioner's Office; asking him to investigate your non compliance.

 

In compliance with Ofgem regulation regarding complaints, please also raise a complaint on your system, back-dating it to my first sign of dissatisfaction over the tariff you are charging me. If no mutually agreeable resolution is reached by the 56th day of the complaint being in existence I will be contacting the Energy Supply Ombudsman.

[jamievilla]

I know this is an old thread but I'd be interested how Mad got on with this in the end, I'm having major problems with UW at the moment since joining them in June when I moved addresses.

 

Basically I live in a 1 bedroom flat on my own, with electric wall heaters (which I try and avoid using) and no gas and my bills are still £100 a month! After complaining and asking for information they have subsequently increased to £200 for this month. Ridiculous.

[ex utility warehouse dist]

"Save the sales talk! Some of us do have more than one brain cell" Hmmm lets not go there right now.

 

Nothing I wrote could be taken as "sales talk"....the points I made were facts, nothing more nothing less, you don't have to agree with them and you don't have to like them, but nevertheless, they are facts .

 

i take it you work for utility warehouse, just by the bad manners and attitude !! can i just say i hate utility warehouse, 30 years of good credit rating then joined UWDC and had an IVA within months, and all their bills are made up mainly off club fees so you cant touch them

[MARTIN3030]

Well the post was over 2 years ago.

[MARTIN3030]

There was a post here (378) from last November though.

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?187546-utility-warehouse&p=3474768#post3474768