Flipper energy switching feedback thread - £300 voucher to be won NOW CLOSED

[JustineBMumsnet]

This thread is for the Mumsnetters who are testing energy switching service Flipper.

Here’s what Flipper has to say: “Flipper is a fantastic new service which we think is perfect for Mumsnetters. Flipper is NOT price comparison, we are your personal energy expert. All the work is done on your behalf, no looking at pesky bills, figuring out your usage or which deal is the best for you. We take everything into account when calculating savings (incl exit fees) and we even manage the switch process and confirm it for you. We then run quarterly checks to make sure you are kept on the best deal. Flipper is 100% independent, we take NO commission from energy companies and we only work for our members, ensuring our Flippers are always kept on the best deal. No fuss, no confusion - just savings”

If you have began your testing of Flipper later and would like to give feedback on the your initial experience with the sign up process, please answer the below questions:

1. How did you find the sign up process? Did you understand Flipper’s instructions?
2. Did you find the FAQ helpful? Did you feel that it answered the questions you had sufficiently?
3. Are you clear on what will happen post sign up? Please describe what the next steps are for you.
4. If you used Flipper’s customer care team, did you find them helpful? Did they respond to you in a timely manner?
5. Is there anything more you feel could have been done for you?

If you've now completed your testing of Flipper and have had your service switched, we'd like you to answer the below questions:

1. How satisfied are you with the estimated savings you will make on your energy bills with Flipper?
2. How well do you feel Flipper handled your energy switch?
3. How easy was the process for you – from signing up, to switch completion?
4. Were you happy with Flipper’s communication and customer care throughout the process?
5. Would you be comfortable having Flipper manage your energy on an ongoing basis?
6. How would you compare switching your energy with Flipper to switching with price comparison sites?
7. What would you say is the best thing about Flipper?
8. Would you recommend Flipper to family or friends?

All those to give the required feedback will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher for a store of their choice (from a list).

Thanks, and good luck with the prize draw!

MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs Apply

Ah, I have just done a Uswitch and MSE and both use the rate you would revert to, as required by Ofgem.
Our current tariff appears to have been extremely good, so will be interesting to see what Flipper comes up with.
I will not be impressed if Flipper commences to switch without getting confirmation from me first. I don't recall seeing this spelt out jn the sign up process?

I'm not going to be able complete the product test as I don't feel comfortable giving my log in details. Probably being paranoid but I've been a victim of online fraud before.

It has been over a week and I still haven't heard anything. Has anybody got results yet? I will call them later as I don't understand why it would take so long.

Despite a message saying it might take a week, the next email was a few hours later stating they had commenced the switch. Bearing in mind this is to a company I have never heard of, I am livid.. DH was going to contact our existing supplier to see what they can offer, and I had identified a well-known supplier offering a reasonable deal, that we preferred.
Really not impressed.

They saved me £124

1.How did you find the sign up process? Did you understand Flipper’s instructions?
Sign up was easy. But I was frankly gob-smacked at the amount of personal information required, including account password. DH did change ours to something very different from the original but still. With hindsight I should've stopped there and then.

1. Did you find the FAQ helpful? Did you feel that it answered the questions you had sufficiently?

Hopeless.

1. Are you clear on what will happen post sign up? Please describe what the next steps are for you.

Not clear at all. No indication that Flipper will start switching without consent. Misleading indications of timescale - said it would take a 'few days'. The next, and only, communication a few hours later (not 'days' later) stated that switch had commenced. To a supplier I have never heard of.

1. If you used Flipper’s customer care team, did you find them helpful? Did they respond to you in a timely manner?

Phone not available on weekends. I had to use live chat. I have been assured that cancellation will take place first thing on Monday. Watch this space.

1. Is there anything more you feel could have been done for you?

Yes. The whole thing is a shambles, I feel totally suckered in. I am amazed that MN have been taken in by this. I am actually extremely and suggest that anyone who hasn't started the trial does not continue.

Still checking the market for me, after registering two weeks ago.

They told me they'd cancel my switch. I then had an email from the company they'd started the switch to (despite me telling them beforehand not to switch me as they'd somehow got the wrong tariff details for me, despite me giving them log in details to my Eon account) welcoming me. I managed to cancel the switch myself, thankfully.

This company is an utter shambles and I would not recommend them to anyone!

I signed up as soon as I read the email on 28th July and I've still not heard anything.

How come some people heard back after five minutes and others are still waiting?

I must admit, I'm not very impressed so far.

Sorry mn - having read the comments so far on this thread I'm not prepared to complete this test - I think the concerns about sharing data, being switched without the chance to check CS reviews of the new company, and issues about whether Flipper are using your 'real' tariff have added up to make me feel too uncomfortable. Apologies for any inconvenience this causes.

So I rang today, quick answer. Said I had not heard for a week and a half and she said they couldn't access my electricity bill and online just had summary. Could I scan and email it over?

Well what if I hadn't called? Do they just sit on it? Glad I'm not paying for this. I'm guessing they've just been focusing on registering people and the ones they can do immediately. Anything with a follow up seems to be put to one side!

If you haven't heard, give them a call.

020 800 453 88

1. How did you find the sign up process? Did you understand Flipper’s instructions?

I found the sign up process very easy and the website was clear and easy to follow and pretty much guided you through it. I got emails and texts straight away telling me what to expect and whats happening next. The amount of information and personal details needed was a bit alarming and caused a raised word with my OH as they were his bank details,passwords etc and if it wasnt for trusting Mumsnet I would of shut the whole thing down. I really hope Im not making a mistake doing this.......

1. Did you find the FAQ helpful? Did you feel that it answered the questions you had sufficiently?

I didnt have to use the FAQ as everything went smoothly at the time and I didnt have any questions.....I kind of do now though!!!

1. Are you clear on what will happen post sign up? Please describe what the next steps are for you.

Well after sign up about 24 hours later I received an email saying I could make a saving of £85.65 a year and that the switch over was happening already, I then received an email from the company that I never heard of introducing themselves. I was ok with this but my OH wasnt saying dont they need meter readings blah blah blah and didnt like that were not in control which I do understand. I really feel like Im having to put my trust in flipper which is a strange feeling.

1. If you used Flipper’s customer care team, did you find them helpful? Did they respond to you in a timely manner?

Didnt have to use them thus far and hopefully wont have to in the future and everything goes through smoothly.

1. Is there anything more you feel could have been done for you?

Everything has gone ok so far, no delay on emails,problems with website etc I just really hope the switch goes through with no mistakes being made, problems with bank details, meter reading etc and hopefully it will be a positive experience that I can recommended to others in the future. Also I dont want to hear I told you so from my OH!!!!

Yes I also won't be completing the product test I'm afraid.

I ended up cancelling with the new supplier myself. I have also had an email from Flipper saying they have cancelled from their end. I have requested that they cancel my account and delete my data.

Hi all, Flipper have some more information they'd like to share with you below regarding your concerns.

"Online Energy Account Login Details & Security

So that we can make sure our savings calculations are accurate, we need to analyse your historical energy usage. We get this data from your online energy account and need your login details to access it. This also allows us to manage the switching process and deal with your supplier so you don’t have to—providing them with meter readings, checking your switch status, dealing with any issues that come up, and ensuring your switch is completed in a timely manner.

All sensitive information in your online energy account is securely encrypted and there is no risk of fraudulent activity.

Give us your latest bill instead of your energy account login details

Even though all sensitive information in your online energy account is securely encrypted and there is no risk of fraudulent activity, if you don't feel comfortable letting us know your login details, that's ok—you can login to your online energy account yourself, download your latest bill, and send it to us at [email protected].

Please ensure that -
- you send us the bill in PDF format (this is probably the format of the file you'll download from your online energy account).
- the bill is clear and legible.
- all pages of the bill are included.

Due to feedback from Mumsnet users, we will also be adding an ‘upload bill’ function to all customer Flipper accounts which will be live next week.

Please note that your energy consumption figures will not be as accurate when sending us your latest bill because we won’t have access to your online energy account to check your historical usage.

Up-front payment details & automatic switching

Energy tariffs change very quickly, so to avoid delays that can result in missed savings, we ask for payment details up front and switch customers to their best deals when we find them.

Your card isn’t charged until we find you a deal that saves you at least £50/year, and you have a 14 day cooling-off period to cancel your switch if you change your mind. If you don't like your new supplier for any reason, we'll switch you again at no extra cost with no questions asked.

You can tell us if there are any suppliers you wish to avoid during sign up in the “Personalise your switch” section.

Data security

Security is just as critical to us as it is to you, so we invest in bank-level 256-bit encryption technology to keep your data safe. We will never sell or share your data, and will only ever use it to find your best deal and switch you.

Savings calculations

We take all exit fees and discounts into account when we calculate your savings. We’re always 100% transparent with our members, so we’ve included a comprehensive breakdown of your savings which can be found in your Flipper account (dashboard.flipper.community) in the 'New Deal Found' tab.

Rollovers

When your previous contract expires with your supplier, they’ll automatically roll you over to a considerably more expensive standard tariff—this is common practise for energy providers.

We take rollovers into account when we make our calculations because we adhere to the regulations set by the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem), who are the government regulator for gas and electricity markets in Great Britain. Their principal objective is to protect the interests of energy consumers, which is in-line with our own objectives.

Ofgem requires all price comparison websites to assume that when a customer's energy contract expires, their supplier will automatically switch them to a standard tariff, and this must be factored in when estimating the cost of a customer's energy for the year ahead. This is because one can not possibly know what deals will become available in the future, and if a customer will actually switch themselves to a different tariff or automatically be rolled over to a standard variable tariff.

We listen to our members and would welcome any proposals from Mumsnet users for alternative ways of calculating energy costs without taking rollovers into account."

1. How did you find the sign up process? Did you understand Flipper’s instructions?
Pretty straight forward. Simple and easy sign up process but as some people already said here, I don't really get why it is necessary to provide our payment details up front. Surely, that will only be necessary if we agree to switch. If I wasn't doing this through MN, I probably wouldn't have signed up because of that.

2. Did you find the FAQ helpful? Did you feel that it answered the questions you had sufficiently?
Yes, although the information can be a bit convoluted at times.

3. Are you clear on what will happen post sign up? Please describe what the next steps are for you.
I believe they will let me know when they find a cheaper energy provider. However, I signed up about two weeks ago, so far I've heard nothing from them.

4. If you used Flipper’s customer care team, did you find them helpful? Did they respond to you in a timely manner?
N/A

5. Is there anything more you feel could have been done for you?
It would be nice to have a time frame of some sort or regular updates. I don't know why they haven't been in touch.

1. How did you find the sign up process? Did you understand Flipper’s instructions?
The instructions were very straightforward, but there comes a point where you have to give all your supplier's details - user name and account password. That made me feel very uncomfortable, but then I thought "It's my energy supplier. The worst that they can do is input a false reading" In the end, I gave them what they wanted, and signed up.
2. Did you find the FAQ helpful? Did you feel that it answered the questions you had sufficiently?
Not at all. For example, nowhere does it tell you how you can close your account, if you change your mind. Is the fee an annual charge or is it a one off charge?
3. Are you clear on what will happen post sign up? Please describe what the next steps are for you.
I gave Flipper everything they asked for, and I received an offer after about a week. As far as I understand it, everything has been taken care of, and the new supplier will be taking over shortly... The problem is that I just received an offer from my current supplier [coincidental]. Flipper said they couldn't compare this offer to the one that they were offering me with another supplier. I'm not happy with that. They should have been in a position to make that comparison, and tell me which one would save me more money.
4. If you used Flipper’s customer care team, did you find them helpful? Did they respond to you in a timely manner?
In the case mentioned above, I received a reply four days after I submitted my query. I'm not sure if four days is considered "timely", so you make up your mind on that one. As I said, I didn't find their reply helpful, but the wheels of a change in supplier have already been set in motion, and I am not going to stand in their way
5. Is there anything more you feel could have been done for you?
I highlighted some issues above.

I found it hard to get past the first screen and was uncomfortable giving my bank details .

1. How did you find the sign up process? Did you understand Flipper’s instructions?

It seemed fairly simple and straightforward. I realised i would have to give them my current suplpiers details so changed my password and all was fine.

1. Did you find the FAQ helpful? Did you feel that it answered the questions you had sufficiently?

Don't remember reading them.

1. Are you clear on what will happen post sign up? Please describe what the next steps are for you.

They sent me an email quickly to say they had found me a better deal (over £200 saving) and i have since received an email from that supplier. As far as i'm aware all i need to do now is send my meter readings to both suppliers.

1. If you used Flipper’s customer care team, did you find them helpful? Did they respond to you in a timely manner?N/A
2. Is there anything more you feel could have been done for you?

I've never heard of the new supplier and research has shown mixed reviews. I would have liked the chance to be asked if i was happy before the switch started. My preference would have been for one with a more consistent track record.

1. How did you find the sign up process? Did you understand Flipper’s instructions?

The sign-up process was relatively easy. I entered the free code. It does feel very wrong to give out your password to someone else though.

1. Did you find the FAQ helpful? Did you feel that it answered the questions you had sufficiently?

It was helpful but I'm still not clear on when my membership of Flipper ends. I'm just worried about getting charged.

1. Are you clear on what will happen post sign up? Please describe what the next steps are for you.

I had to re-set my password and send a new one through. That was fine. I've had an email today to say they've found me a deal so I believe I just need to wait to hear the details.

1. If you used Flipper’s customer care team, did you find them helpful? Did they respond to you in a timely manner?

One of the team rang me straight away as my password didn't work and it needed to be changed. I then emailed them back. It was all quite timely and very friendly.

1. Is there anything more you feel could have been done for you?

I think it still isn't quite clear what happens after you've switched - are you still a member of Flipper - are they going to charge me?

. How did you find the sign up process? Did you understand Flipper’s instructions?

Surprisingly complicated.
I am still trying to set up my account.
I've had several emails and phone calls with flipper and I found one of the staff on the phone rude and unclear. The next person I spoke to said she didn't understand why her colleague had given me incorrect info.
Also I was asked to supply my bank details over the phone when someone from flipper phoned me. I declined and said I would enter them on their website, a week later and my flipper account still isn't set up....
It feels like you have to give a lot of info to set up your account. I would much rather give my payment info after flipper have found me a switch, even if this risks me missing a deal (just how quickly do energy deals expire anyway....?)

1. Did you find the FAQ helpful? Did you feel that it answered the questions you had sufficiently?

Yes

1. Are you clear on what will happen post sign up? Please describe what the next steps are for you.

Still not clear whether I have to cancel if I don't want to be charged next year

1. If you used Flipper’s customer care team, did you find them helpful? Did they respond to you in a timely manner?

No, I still don't have a flipper account, and as above I found one of the customer care team abrupt and unclear

1. Is there anything more you feel could have been done for you?

Well, I haven't actually managed to use their service yet....

1. How did you find the sign up process? Did you understand Flipper’s instructions?

All v clear

1. Did you find the FAQ helpful? Did you feel that it answered the questions you had sufficiently?

Have not had to use them yet

1. Are you clear on what will happen post sign up? Please describe what the next steps are for you.

As I understand it, I am now waiting to hear from flipper

1. If you used Flipper’s customer care team, did you find them helpful? Did they respond to you in a timely manner?

Not yet used

1. Is there anything more you feel could have been done for you?

Not as yet

The whole process has been a farce. After unfulfilled promises I started looking for a new deal myself and cancelled my flipper account.

I wish them all the best but I won't be recommending them from personal experience.

1. How did you find the sign up process? Did you understand Flipper’s instructions?

Signing up was pretty easy. No issue there.

1. Did you find the FAQ helpful? Did you feel that it answered the questions you had sufficiently?

No. FAQs not clear on what happened next. It was onto through feedback on here that I realised they were going to flip me automatically and I wouldn't get any feedback on the options they found before this happened.

1. Are you clear on what will happen post sign up? Please describe what the next steps are for you.

After signing up, I read the feedback on here and decided not to proceed to the flipping stage. I don't have an online account for my energy bills, so they would need to set one up for me so it has been easy to avoid the automatic switch by failing to provide them with the details they need to do this. I wouldn't be comfortable with providing them with this anyway.

1. If you used Flipper’s customer care team, did you find them helpful? Did they respond to you in a timely manner?

Tried online chat to clarify matters. Didn't work.

1. Is there anything more you feel could have been done for you?

Provide a way to close the account easily. I am now receiving continual texts to remind me to provide the further details they need whereas I'd like them to just leave me alone!

1. How did you find the sign up process? Did you understand Flipper’s instructions?

All straightforward, however took a couple of goes to get it all setup and saved.

1. Did you find the FAQ helpful? Did you feel that it answered the questions you had sufficiently?

Not needed to use yet.

1. Are you clear on what will happen post sign up? Please describe what the next steps are for you.

I am now waiting to hear back if they can do anything.

1. If you used Flipper’s customer care team, did you find them helpful? Did they respond to you in a timely manner?

Not yet used

1. Is there anything more you feel could have been done for you?

Not so far