Utility Warehouse

[Crossover]

Just wondering if anyone uses them/any thoughts?

I have come across them in the past but not had cause to delve. An acquaintance recently suggested we have a chat about lowering bills and it turns out they’re a ‘partner’

I can’t say I’m convinced by the supposed savings and the rate cards are not the most straightforward

I have other thoughts but don’t want to sway opinion too much initially so will see what others wish to mention

 

[Tazi Hupefi]

For quite some time, their energy tariffs undercut even the government price guarantee at a time there was virtually no competition.

I think the key with them is to make sure you actually want/need all the stuff that is part of the bundle of services and that you check that you are actually making a saving by bundling them together, rather than taking out individual contracts.


Certainly not a scam or high risk - they have an incentive/referral scheme, which is how they are primarily promoted - but it's all above board.

 

[GusB]

Just wondering if anyone uses them/any thoughts?

I have come across them in the past but not had cause to delve. An acquaintance recently suggested we have a chat about lowering bills and it turns out they’re a ‘partner’

I can’t say I’m convinced by the supposed savings and the rate cards are not the most straightforward

I have other thoughts but don’t want to sway opinion too much initially so will see what others wish to mention

I worked with someone who was a Utility Warehouse partner as a side business and she actually did quite well out of it in terms of earnings (and a car, if I remember correctly).

My current three-year fix is coming to an end, so I've just done a quick check with UW and the price it's offering is comparable (£1 a month more) with the figure that EDF is offering for renewal. Sadly, it's more than I'm paying now but that was inevitable given that I fixed just before prices rocketed. My only concern is that UW's tariff is variable, whereas EDF is offering a one-year fix with a reasonable exit fee.

For quite some time, their energy tariffs undercut even the government price guarantee at a time there was virtually no competition.

Current competition still seems to be quite limited. Go.compare and the Meerkats both came up with a single result and that was a tariff with SO Energy which was significantly more expensive. Only Uswitch provided some decent results - incidentally, it rates Utility Warehouse as the Best Value for Money Supplier 2024.

I think the key with them is to make sure you actually want/need all the stuff that is part of the bundle of services and that you check that you are actually making a saving by bundling them together, rather than taking out individual contracts.

Agreed. I wouldn't go for one of UW's bundles; my current broadband and mobile tariffs are cheaper than its current offers and I'd be paying more if I was to sign up for more than one service. My mobile contract is £12 a month (iD Mobile) and I get 100GB of data that rolls over for that amount; I think UW was only offering about 8GB a month for a similar price.

 

[Red Onion]

I’ve been with them for a while and not had any problems. They were favourably priced for the bundle at the time but now that my broadband has run out from the introduction offer, it’s skyrocketed and they won’t budge from the “new customers only” clause on their current deals so I’m going to leave them, with the exception of the mobile phone.

 

[nw1]

I inherited them while living at my previous address and the previous residents used them.

Main thing I remember about them is getting a box of chocolate pigs as a moving in gift. Their prices (both electricity and gas) seemed fairly typical, neither unusually high nor unusually low.

 

[Crossover]

When I ran the numbers against our energy usage, UW came out a chunk more expensive (they offer favourable standing charges but at the expense of higher unit costs, which doesn’t suit our usage)

That would only have been achievable, too, with taking all services and there was at least one I definitely wasn’t interested in anyway

 

[skyhigh]

Shop around, there are better offers out there.

If you don't mind a little bit of risk, you could potentially save a reasonable amount on a tariff such as Octopus Tracker. For example my gas unit rate today is 4.54p vs the price cap rate of 5.47p in Yorkshire.

 

[Baxenden Bank]

I have a very dim view of them.

I voluntarily transferred to them, put in honest numbers of my previous energy usage, they quoted me on that basis and set up the transfer, direct debit etc. That all went smoothly. Within the month they dramatically increased my future Direct Debit payments based on a new forecast of usage (the basis of which they refused to share with me). That resulted in a massive credit balance on my account, not automatically returned at the next 'account review' because the 'account review' conveniently didn't happen.

Once a customer they set up an appointment for me to have a smart meter fitted, despite me not asking for one, and there being a bid red button on the website to 'request a smart meter' had I felt the urge to request one.

A 'partner' came round at some point trying to encourage me to sign up to Utility Warehouse, clearly they work blind, so she had the opportunity to became fully aware of my views!

I am always wary of bundling things. You can easily lose track of which parts of the package cost what, resulting in getting a good price for some parts but paying way over the top for others. Or unbundling yourself at a future stage becomes more hassle than it is worth.

 

[fourtytwo]

I have only been with them a year or so just for energy (electric & gas).
What I like about them is they bill me every month for exact usage in arrears and take payment by DD
AFAIK there tariffs are comparable with others.

I was previously with Octopus who continuously overestimated my usage and stiffed me for ever increasing DD's, when I tried to put a stop to this by reducing payments they disabled the feature! I spent many unhappy hours on the phone with them trying to get them to behave reasonably, in the end I left.

Never had a problem with UW

 

[GusB]

I inherited them while living at my previous address and the previous residents used them.

This is what's known as a "deemed contract". There's no obligation to stay with that supplier but if you're happy enough with them, fair enough.

I voluntarily transferred to them, put in honest numbers of my previous energy usage, they quoted me on that basis and set up the transfer, direct debit etc. That all went smoothly. Within the month they dramatically increased my future Direct Debit payments based on a new forecast of usage (the basis of which they refused to share with me). That resulted in a massive credit balance on my account, not automatically returned at the next 'account review' because the 'account review' conveniently didn't happen.

I realise that you're usually fairly switched on about these matters, but the monthly amount isn't set in stone. Was there a meter reading in the meantime that possibly caused them to review your usage and increase your monthly payments? Either way, if you ask for an explanation you should be provided with one; if they fail to do so you have a valid reason to make a complaint.

Once a customer they set up an appointment for me to have a smart meter fitted, despite me not asking for one, and there being a bid red button on the website to 'request a smart meter' had I felt the urge to request one.

I'd check the terms and conditions of your tariff; some require that you have a smart meter fitted. If this isn't the case, again you have legitimate cause for complaint if your supplier is insisting that you have one installed.

One thing we used to suggest to customers who weren't entirely happy with the MFDD (monthly fixed direct debit) payments was to switch to QROB (quarterly receipt of bill). The latter option can still be paid by direct debit, thereby benefitting from the direct debit discount. Customers could then choose to pay a fixed amount of their choosing by standing order each week or month and the quarterly direct debit would only claim any outstanding balance. Obviously, we made it clear that there was a risk that their payments may not cover that balance and that meter readings should be submitted before the billing period ended in order to ensure that the quarterly bill was accurate.

My point about meter readings is important; many online tariffs require that customers supply their own readings. If a customer refuses to provide them, there are no grounds for complaint if an estimated bill is supplied.

 

[Baxenden Bank]

Was there a meter reading in the meantime that possibly caused them to review your usage and increase your monthly payments? Either way, if you ask for an explanation you should be provided with one; if they fail to do so you have a valid reason to make a complaint.

I doubt it, as far as I can tell. I gave them my dual readings for Economy 7, they initially quoted on that basis, then after the first DD payment 'the software' determined a new DD payment (possibly) based on the given combined usage figure but the Typical Domestic Consumption Value (TDCV) for the split. As an electrically heated house, I do not have anything like the TDCV proportions. Equally there is a massive change in monthly use over the course of the year. Hence the benefits of a monthly budget scheme. As a simple consumer I seem to be able to understand this concept but the Utility Warehouse contact centre clearly has no understanding of anything. You just get standard boilerplate text in response to any query. Responses along the lines of 'it is based on your forecast usage', without actually showing their calculations, just the final annual amount. A formal complaint eventually saw a reduced payment, back to 1p per month less than the initially quoted payment.

I'd check the terms and conditions of your tariff; some require that you have a smart meter fitted. If this isn't the case, again you have legitimate cause for complaint if your supplier is insisting that you have one installed.

More a case of they have targets to meet to install meters, so reply upon very unnaceptable behaviour of 'charge on ahead and retreat if the customer objects sufficiently'. Hence I now object on principle to a smart meter (along with the other lies about their specific benefits for me as a consumer). How to make friends and influence people! Nudge theory in action. They easily backtracked when challenged, I just don't understand the point of an 'opt in' button if they are going to opt you in anyway unless you kick off.

 

[Crossover]

I am always wary of bundling things. You can easily lose track of which parts of the package cost what, resulting in getting a good price for some parts but paying way over the top for others. Or unbundling yourself at a future stage becomes more hassle than it is worth.

For me, I feel it is a solution to a problem that doesn't exist. It is heralded as meaning you only have one bill etc, but I don't find managing a utility company, a broadband provider and a mobile provider (VOXI for me, so no contract anyway) takes too many minutes out of my month.

I wasn't overkeen on the sales strategy from the Partner I spoke to - even down to asking me whether I needed so much broadband speed, when I currently get more bandwidth than they can supply at a cheaper price than they can supply. The whole thing smacks of desperation to get more people on board and contribute to the MLM payments.

In truth, the Partner I spoke to (who I have known for years) I considered to be fairly astute, so it seems odd to me they have been sucked in to all of this.

I may have also stuck the knife in and said that at least some good came out of it - it has made me look at our utility usages, deals around and I have now put us on a fixed deal for the year with Octapus at a much better rate than UW could manage - expect it'll save us about £30 a month!