To ask desperately for energy switching peoples help here?

[Graphista]

I am apparently the victim of a monumental cock up!

I am with a prepay company (against my wishes but had been very much given the impression it was all but impossible to switch from them)

Tonight I tried to do my regular weekly top up with them via the app and found I couldn't.

I've had a lot of problems with them and it's not uncommon for their top up services to crash so I thought that was what had happened.

As my meter level is lower than I like I called the emergency number as I couldn't get through to anyone on the regular contact numbers even though I called before 8pm when they close but they were very busy and I didn't get through to them and then the lines were closed.

I am very very anxious about this for health reasons, I cannot lose supply.

I eventually got through to someone on the emergency number.

It turns out that another energy company, without contacting me and certainly without my contacting them has taken over my supply.

My own energy company despite having 4 ways of contacting me (phone, text, email, post) ALSO did not inform me of this change although they are claiming they wrote to me I have not received any post from them in ages. Certainly nothing about this.

So I'm now in limbo with no idea what will happen now!

I'm worried about losing supply, I'm also worried about ending up charged twice (I'm on a very tight budget)

I'm hoping somebody who does this job or used to will be able to advise me on how to deal with this.

What questions to ask, what answers and response to expect and what is reasonable and not in terms of actions to rectify this.

Worried sick!!!

How can this be allowed that they can take over someone's supply with ZERO communication with them? Without so much as visiting the property?

I actually would like to switch provider to a credit one of long standing. But to be quite honest this and seeing many many others problems with even the major companies is really off putting.

They all seem to be hugely incompetent!

They used to call this an 'erroneous transfer' where your supply is switched without your authorisation & knowledge.
Doesn't help, but I seem to think there is a way of typing your meter number in to find out your supplier, possibly through USwitch.
Hope you get it sorted ASAP.

Yes the person at Utilita mentioned "erroneous transfer" but basically said it made little difference to the whole matter.

I'm just shocked that this is even POSSIBLE without the customer at the very least being informed.

The annoying thing is I'd love to switch away from Utillta and have been trying to for years!! I've no debt and decent credit record I hate the prepay thing with a passion!

I constantly worry about the meter "running out" and losing supply. I've lost supply before because their top up systems have crashed or something else has gone wrong their end.

EON has recently bought out npower and are now supplying their energy customers. Could this be what's happened?

We used to go 'silent running' eg switch everything off except the freezer!

Hey, I work for an energy company. An ET is usually done by accident - it’s when an energy company was trying to switch a customer to them who wanted to join them. However they’ve accidentally switched you. That can often be because the meter that belongs to you is registered to the wrong address in the energy industry database. I know that sounds bonkers but it’s true. Your current company will have received an official notification from the company taking your supply and should have contacted you to let you know - they might not have known that you didn’t want to leave but they should have sent you a ‘sorry you’re leaving’ communication and then you could have done ‘er what’? If you have left them, the best thing is to speak to your new supplier. Even tho you didn’t mean to join them, if they are supplying your energy they are the ones to talk to and pay. You won’t get charged twice because only one company can supply your energy. So phone the new supplier and say that they have taken your supply without your permission. You can ask them to send you back, or stick with them, but you’ll need to pay them in the meantime.

“I don't understand why you thought you were not allowed to switch from them?” Not a case of “not allowed” but it being very difficult because equipment didn’t transfer and changes to equipment had to be paid for by the customer.

Talking hundreds of pounds which I just don’t have.

“Your current company will have received an official notification from the company taking your supply and should have contacted you to let you know - they might not have known that you didn’t want to leave but they should have sent you a ‘sorry you’re leaving’ communication and then you could have done ‘er what’?” Yes they’re claiming they sent me a letter but I never received one. Also claim they sent a text, apparently to my old number - which i changed in October and did notify them of the change and I’ve received plenty of other texts to the correct no. Guy I spoke with tonight noticed on my account old number on some “pages” of my account their end and new number on others. In other words they didn’t update the info properly!

I am thinking to check my usage tomorrow (can’t until regular phone lines open) check on switching sites who I’m likely best off with and if the “new” company is looking a likely good company to go with for me I may consider fully switching to them - seeing as they apparently can do so without me even being aware of the fact!! Seemingly it’s far more simple than I was led to believe!

Then again it’s worrying that they’re capable of such a cock up! So why would I want to be their customer?

But then other companies have loads of complaints against them too, I don’t think any of the energy companies have especially good reputations!!

One company I won’t go with again is the one I was with at my last address. They tried to stick me with a nearly £1000 final bill that wasn’t mine! Took months to fix!! Then a few months after it was supposedly sorted they tried it again!

Geez it gets better! They've taken the money for the top ups even though they never went through!

Saying no refund for 3-5 working days!

First call handler - already doing that really annoying thing they do of talking over you, starting to "answer" before they have the full info very rude. And pointless!