I think that utilities (gas and electric ) are fine nut broadband a definite no no. Can I ask - are you an Utilities Warehosue agent?

Are people making money off the back of utility warehouse? Does signing up through them get them commission? Is there some advantage in those people praising utility warehouse?

I took utility warehouse broadband and phone and am locked into them. No one will take me on without a hefty charge for a new line (£120) Its all about the costs of changing your LLU provider - even if its a virtual unbundle as it is with UW as they appear to use BT.

When you pay for your telephone through Utility Warehouse, you are still using a BT line. If you are on Talktalk you need to get reconnected to BT before you can change over supplier.

There is nothing more dangerous than 'part knowledge' it can lead to misconceptions. Check with the company for honest straight forward information if you need anything explaining.

I suggest you check the contract you signed. Utility Warehouse does not tie anyone into a contract. You are free to leave at any time. The only contract is when you take a free laptop (worth £450) this is for 2 years at £10 a month which gives you a lifetime warranty. This means after 2 years you only paid £240 for a £450 laptop and lifetime warranty. Pretty good value.

I joined this forum today too. As a customer I was so happy with my savings (20% less for gas/elec, £200 a year less telephone and an excellent broadband service - previously I'd suffered BT internet and it always was dropping out) I became an agent. I signed up my Mum who is very astute, she is now very happy with her savings and is telling her friends to take a look at Utility Warehouse. Since this month the company rewards customers that refer new customers by giving them more discount off their bills ad infinitum.

What other company do you know that does this on a permanent basis.

To all those browsers who spend hours checking comparisons, get a life! Sign up to Utility Warehouse, where you are not tied into a contract so if you decide to move on, you can.

Hello Little Miss Lovely,

My friend is deafblind and wants to join Utility Warehouse as an agent. I will help her with the administration. Like you, she is determined to work for a living.

Can you give me any advice regarding your experience as an agent, that you think may help her. Or that I, as an agent can help her with?

I am not sure how to give you my contact details, perhaps the site could link us up?

Kind regards

I think you may be mistaken regarding leaving Utility Warehouse Broadcall (telephone and broadband). I have just left and they charged me £50. Also Eon gives 1 Tesco point for every £1. Tesco points can easily be changed to Airmiles and a lovely holiday in the sun!!

It is all based on commission! if you add up the membership charge the standing charge etc, the phone calls....need i go on, what kind of discount club is it? I have broke all ties with them, I have been for legal advice and my bills (fuel) will be disputed, just waiting for the next step from my advisor! I was told by UW that i would be charged to change my LLU provider (the guy was real snotty too!) but i had the last laugh, when i rang BT and explained to them what i had been told and i was at no point told my BT line would be taken out when i went to UW, they did it free of charge! I have moved to SKY for my internet and i am now getting the speed i am paying for, not like with UW, when i phoned UW to enquire why it was so slow? they said i was lucky to be getting what i was? as in a previous post i mentioned i do not know much about the speed thing, but how come i can get it now? cheaper with SKY too! Please phone BT and ask them to take you back on, explain just as i did that they are trapping you and you want to leave UW, let me know how you get on!

Is it me or does De Mensha take every opportunity to advertise his product and go off-topic in doing so?

Im currently at university enjoying a nice 10mb download/upload, unlimited service... Its a shame that when I go back home on the weekends I have to endure constant disconnects and nothing near the speed that my home-line is capable of as it were receiving through other ISPs.

I've also noticed that with Utility Warehouse, if you download anything before midnight, you're internet is severly limited... soon as it gets past midnight the downloads seem to pick up slightly... AVOID AT ALL COSTS!

Should someone appear at your door trying to sign you up. Take a leaflet, check the small-print and sign up after you've done a bit of market research... the advisors have already tailored the way they want the conversation to run by dropping key words and hiding important scam information.

Also, this arguement seems to be going two ways... Customers who are desperately trying to get away, telling people how the product actually is. And advisors that are getting paid to say the product is great. Bias?????

Intellix:well said!!

Is it me or does De Mensha take every opportunity to advertise his product and go off-topic in doing so?

Im currently at university enjoying a nice 10mb download/upload, unlimited service... Its a shame that when I go back home on the weekends I have to endure constant disconnects and nothing near the speed that my home-line is capable of as it were receiving through other ISPs.

I've also noticed that with Utility Warehouse, if you download anything before midnight, you're internet is severly limited... soon as it gets past midnight the downloads seem to pick up slightly... AVOID AT ALL COSTS!

Should someone appear at your door trying to sign you up. Take a leaflet, check the small-print and sign up after you've done a bit of market research... the advisors have already tailored the way they want the conversation to run by dropping key words and hiding important scam information.

Also, this arguement seems to be going two ways... Customers who are desperately trying to get away, telling people how the product actually is. And advisors that are getting paid to say the product is great. Bias?????

This is going to shock you Intellix but ALL companies pay commissions or wages for staff to bring in more customers. It is called business.

Those run in the standard way pay customer sales people a small wage plus commission, they have managers who make more money, directors who more money again, even they don't do any of the work to gain new customers, then ther are shareholders who make money by just speculating. Oh dear me, that sounds like a pyramid! That is our accepted standard way of selling.

Direct marketing pays all the people who are involved in the selling services and enlarging the sales force a proportionate percentage of profits as commission. Thiose who work more get paid more i.e. an inverted pyramid.

Glad to be able to clear that up. Have a nice day.

What happened to the customer's always right? I have had a crap deal from UW and so has a friend of mine, if it sounds too good to be true it USUALLY is!

I'm sorry you're deal from UW wasn't as good as you had hoped, you should have been advised to stay with your previous suppliers if it was better for you.

The guarantee from the company says that it is always cheaper than British Gas for gas and always better for electric than the regional supplier. For all other situations you should weigh up the pros and cons of the deal. Always read the customer brochure, all the details are in there to make an informed decision.

The new customer referal discounts are an excellent deal, also the free monthly draw to win free utility bills for a year. Someone wins each month. I always show my customers what the deal will be, then I advise them to think over the differences before making a decision, as I was taught to do at the training. I'm sorry your experience was not a good one, I am sure you have had good and bad experiences with many other companies but that doesn't necessarily mean the whole service is bad, maybe the person you dealt with was not tiptop.

Good luck in the future.

Thank you, your words are very kind, but...i spent 2 years recommending this company to my friends etc, only one (thankfully) took my advice and signed up, they too had similar problems to myself? The gentleman i dealt with when i signed up was great and was helpful on many occasions, but...i'm sorry to say it's the company at fault and they have nice people like yourself to fight their corner, just like the nice agent who dealt with me! I very nearly signed up to become an agent myself but i am so glad now i did not, it's like anything it's great till it goes wrong and unfortunately for me it is going to be a very expensive wrong!

oh dear.

I have checked with all major suppliers who operate LLU. They only take over "BT lines" not lines already unbundled (well not UW ones anyway) - the fact that UW use BT lines is immaterial as BT class it as "not fully supported".

The only way to move (according to Tiscali & TT) is to get the line reassigned to BT or get a new line - that costs something like £120. Once back with BT you can move again to whoever - AOL/Tiscali/TT - or even stay wuth BT (yes I talked long and hard to them too about the costs of returning). The problem is that you have just spent lots of money to move so any benefits of a cheaper deal are lost . I believe that all LLU is the same so I would recomend staying with BT line rental whenever you change broadband supplier. There is a very good explanation of this earlier in the forum

I am staying put until ofcom sort out LLU transfers - its cheaper

Anyone with a UW phone/broadband deal who dont beleive me - just try and move without paying the "return to BT" fee. Some may say they will do it but once signed up you get a nice little letter syang you need a BT line before you can become their customer - I got one from TT. If you manage it please let everyone else know the trick