totally agree with you they have office hours only which is a nightmare for me as no personal calls from work,

EDF open till 8pm which is great!!

Allgunsblazin:

I saw a great deal from Ovo Energy.......No I shall send them an email (2 weeks ago) to test their CUSTOMER SERVICE......

Still waiting for a reply!!

Golden Rule Test out the Customer Service before even contemplating the switch

Ha, ha, ha. Prompted by your warning I sent an enquiry email. A full week later still waiting. And that is before custom has been gained. Doesn't look good for customer service.

Allgunsblazin:

I'm not going to make excuses for poor customer service, and you or whoever made the point that as prices converge customer service can be a differentiator.

Different communications channels have different characteristics and I do like email as it provides a hard copy record, but in trying to assess customer service perhaps an attempt at a phone call would be worthwhile. It's 0800 so nothing to lose.

One thing I've noticed about OVO Terms and Conditions is that it is very clearly stated what happens when the fixed rate expires. I like that. Not all suppliers are as clear. Like you I still await a reply to my email, though its only a couple of days so far.

You might be interested to know that with Scottish Power online tariffs, you can chose your own day of the month for your Direct Debit. Possibly not the first but certainly subsequently. Whenever you submit meter readings online there is an instantaneous update of your account balance. When you submit your meter readings after 12 months there is an instantaneous update of the DD amount. In my experience it's a fairly accurate recalculation. In respect of customer emails, you get a tracking number by return and a 48 hour target response. While the tracking number doesn't "guarantee" a response or response quality (I *think* email response is offshored), it does mean customer service can't hide.

Either as a recommendation or a benchmark have a look at Scottish Power online service.

Jalexa, this was my email to Ovo dated 30th March, I have forwarded this again today !!

I have found Atlantic to be slow on the response side however they did respond after suffering technical difficulties, of which were true, and credit to them for advising me to check the cheapest supplier via the sites that we both utilise.

Now I am in a situation to not jump from the frying pan into the fire, as Atlantic will be reducing their prices, but unfortunately for a lot of these companies they are far too slow to put you on to a cheaper tariff, as I have seen cheaper with the same supplier.

For me in Kent it may have to be British Gas ! of which is still a saving.

You guys may want to use this as a template for future switches, it is direct in its content, perhaps it is on the MD's desk !! lol.

Hello,

I am seriously thinking about switching energy provider from Atlantic over to yourselves.

However I have seen some negativity with regards to readings and direct debits, although you may not be the only supplier to receive bad feedback.

I have supplied my final readings to Atlantic although they advise me that you would do the final reading before the switch takes place.

I will be going for Dual Fuel at the fixed tariff of 12 months, would that be from when the switch takes place, ie 1/4/10 ?

Based on my accurate readings I would save by switching, however I would not want the switch to reflect existing direct debit amounts from Atlantic as these are far too high in comparison to your tariff.

And our direct debit date for the 1st of each month would assist.

I have been loyal to Atantic for 7 years and I would not like to be left disappointed by moving energy supplier and encountering issues, this is purely based on my working industrial knowledge with the then London Electricity now EDF Energy.

My spend for Gas is £844.14, and Electricity is £566.71, although Atlantic rewarded by way of 1 months rebate for both accounts.

Allgunsblazin:

No I shall send them an email (2 weeks ago) to test their CUSTOMER SERVICE......Still waiting for a reply!!

Golden Rule Test out the Customer Service before even contemplating the switch

I think that is a great idea. Just done the same.

That said there are many other issues than just (not) responding to emails. It's interesting that the reviews are quite polarised on OVO.

In theory once accurate annual consumption on a fixed rate tariff is properly reflected in the Direct Debit amount there is not a lot which should go wrong. A "Big 6" supplier instead of the more normal 12 monthly DD review performs a 6 monthly DD review. That virtually guarantees a surplus in favour of the supplier. That sneaky "gotcha" would not be reflected in a good email performance or by comparison table topping results.

I saw a great deal from Ovo Energy.......They can save me over £350 per year in Kent.......And Moneysupermarket has them listed.....

So I checked a few reviews only 5 of em 4 positive 1 negative......Should I switch for this bargain of a lifetime ?

No I shall send them an email (2 weeks ago) to test their CUSTOMER SERVICE......You are correct there was no customer service...

Still waiting for a reply!!

Golden Rule Test out the Customer Service before even contemplating the switch

flanneur:

have just checked the comparison again & it now throws up scottish power with a discount of £160/annum meaning that i would only pay £22 a year. surely something is going wrong!

Well done for finding an anomaly.

Your consumption is even lower than low and particulary suited to Ebico. Obviously its important to keep this under review so try another Consumer Focus accredited comparison if you feel your particular comparison is wrong.

perhaps my explanation was too vague. i use 500kwh elec & 2000kwh gas per annum. when i put these figures in to compare, i am given npower (go save) as the best price @ £116. this is £22 less than i am paying currently with ebico.

however, when i calculate the costs @ 7.8708p/kwh gas & 14.91p/kwh elec for npower as opposed to 3.675p/kwh gas & 13.1355p/kwh elec for ebico, i still come to about £170/annum even with the £63 discount deducted.

have just checked the comparison again & it now throws up scottish power with a discount of £160/annum meaning that i would only pay £22 a year. surely something is going wrong!

flanneur:

but by my maths, ebico are still the best (500kwh electicity & 2000kwh gas)............can someone explain this to me?

I'll leave MS to explain any isolated error but I've tried several Consumer Focus accredited websites and none support your argument.

Two possible explanations are that your maths are wrong, or alternatively you are currently paying less on a no longer available tariff.

I'm not going to exclude other possibilities but you haven't posted enough info to go further.

just compared all providers using my low usage details for gas & electricity. you recommend npower as being the cheapest, but by my maths, ebico are still the best (500kwh electicity & 2000kwh gas). even with £63 discount from npower i can't match the figures you show. can someone explain this to me?

access:There is a catch to edf v5 which relates to it and the standard tariff but unlike financial institutions the catch is clearly stated on its website.

There is a Which? revelation today that power companies can raise tariffs for 2 months before informing their customers.

Also stated is "it is also concerned that customers who switch supplier are not given a guarantee that the tariff they want will last for more than a day or a week."

EDF V5, Scottish Power Online Saver 7 and no doubt others are technically vulnerable to this becasue the initial discount is significantly greater than the guaranteed minimum discount.

Could that even be a double whammy?

There is a catch to edf v5 which relates to it and the standard tariff but unlike financial institutions the catch is clearly stated on its website.

With many fixed rate energy deals about to end and winter around the corner it’s time to get switching. Our deputy editor, Felicity King-Evans, unpicks the leading products to ensure you get the best deal…

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