TXUI Energy
A few years ago, I bought my first house with my (now ex) girlfriend. Being sensible about bills, we did an internet search to find the cheapest utility suppliers. By far the cheapest electric was an american owned outfit, TXUI energy. So logically, we opted to go with them.
We duly set up direct debits and payment plans and assumed all would be taken care of.
Then our first bill plopped onto the mat. It was late - 3 months late to be precise. Upon opening it I was slightly taken aback by the amount they had taken out of my account, and that they had billed us quarterly (instead of monthly) and estimated our usage based on the energy usage of the USA instead of the readings we had phoned in to their automated system. Cue first phone call. Explained everything to the very helpful person on the end of the phone, and they assured me that everything would be sorted. On top of that, they promised me a cheque for £25 by way of an apology.
Assuming all was sorted, forgot about it. Then 3 months later, our next bill arrived. And it would appear that I hadn't made the phone call as nothing had changed. Cue another call, end result being the same - our account would be sorted and here, have £25 as way of saying sorry. Brilliant thinks I, £50 so far, which has gone some way to paying for our electricity.
3 months later, we recieved our next bill. And guess what..? Same situation. So I call them up again, they are all apologies and here, have £25 as way of an apology. Ok... Week later, a letter from TXUI appears. It contains a cheque. For £20, and a note saying sorry for all the inconveinience. Hang on, thinks me. They said £25... So I called them up and explained the situation and that they had promised £25 compensation but sent £20. Oh dear says them, please accept our apologies and we will mail the other £5. Week later, another letter arrives. Inside was a letter saying sorry for the mistake, a cheque for £5 - and a cheque for £25 to apologise for sending the wrong amount!
And then our next bill arrived... Again, billed quarterly, again with an estimated reading...
Yes, it was a hassle having to call them up all the time to complain, but because I had to - coupled with their absurdly generous compensation policy - we never actually paid for any electricity in the three years we lived in that house, and actually ended up with them paying us for using their electric!
(animal252 last activated his kitten hammer on, Sun 5 Sep 2010, 10:11, Reply)