Energia very dishonest behaviour.

Praetorian

Just a brief warning if you deal with Energia.

I signed a two year business energy supply deal with Energia in May 2017. So our electricity was at a certain rate per unit for the next 2 years. The amounts are taken by direct debit so our accounts department don't watch the costs very closely. But I was doing some reviews and I spotted their electricity rate rose ~50% in June 2018. So we have been overcharged for the last 8 months. I'm taking action now.

If you are with Energia, check your bills!

dudara

Moving to Entrepreneurial & Business Management, as you are not a consumer.

How was your unit cost defined in your contract? Some companies specify a % based on a base rate, and that base rate can be subject to change. I'd check the contract first to see what Ts&Cs were written into it.

Also, it's possible you that were notified of the rate changes, but didn't notice.

Praetorian

dudara wrote: »

Moving to Entrepreneurial & Business Management, as you are not a consumer.

How was your unit cost defined in your contract? Some companies specify a % based on a base rate, and that base rate can be subject to change. I'd check the contract first to see what Ts&Cs were written into it.

Also, it's possible you that were notified of the rate changes, but didn't notice.

The contract is quite simple, it's 24 months at a certain rate. The change of price coincides with a 12 month contract, so I'm assuming they entered the details incorrectly in their system, deliberately or accidentally.

amcalester

Praetorian wrote: »

The contract is quite simple, it's 24 months at a certain rate. The change of price coincides with a 12 month contract, so I'm assuming they entered the details incorrectly in their system, deliberately or accidentally.

Why not give them the chance to rectify before calling them dishonest?

You said yourself it could have an accident, very unlikely the agent did it on purpose.

OldMrBrennan83

amcalester wrote: »

Why not give them the chance to rectify before calling them dishonest?

You said yourself it could have an accident, very unlikely the agent did it on purpose.

They're an energy/phone/broadband/financial/TV provider in Ireland so it's a fair assumption. They all have the dark arts down to a tee.

At the very least it's very likely the agent did it on purpose and it's what they're trained to do.

amcalester

OldMrBrennan83 wrote: »

They're an energy/phone/broadband/financial/TV provider in Ireland so it's a fair assumption. They all have the dark arts down to a tee.

At the very least it's very likely the agent did it on purpose and it's what they're trained to do.

Speaking from experience or just plain ol’ paranoia? These agents are marked on their data entry accuracy, any errors like this could affect pay raises/bonuses etc.

I’ve no link to Energia but I have worked in call centers and as piss poor as I may have been at times I never knowingly screwed someone over.

Nor did I see anyone else do it and we were never trained to do so.

Praetorian

I don't like the business practices of the power companies. When contracts run out, they bump the per unit rate up to whatever figure they pull out of the sky, with the realisation that a lot of consumers / businesses don't keep a very close eye on per unit rates. The transparency on the telecoms industry seems to be better. Power companies will often get away with months or years of extortionate rates. They increased the rate on our per unit price by more than 50% for example in this case. For me working in a small business, it's absolutely disgusting business practices and if we did it to our customers we wouldn't have any customers left.

I cannot even make a complaint to the regulator until I have a complaint reference from Energia. Energia have been so far unwilling to give me a complaint reference. Where do I go if Energia are unwilling to engage? At the very least I want the regulator to know this is happening. I wouldn't be surprised if it was deliberate and is widespread. It's such an easy way to make a lot of money.

I'll keep the thread updated on how Energia respond. If they respond.

bluetractor

Electricity price calculations changed last year for many business users. You now have the electricity charge, passthrough charges and management charges. We're with GoPower. Our fixed rate was 14.4c + fixed charge of 7.95/month. Then we get a letter in August saying that terms are changing to this new pricing system which gave a "wholesale market rate" + pass though charges + management charge and a lower PSO levy.
The net result was an average increase of 20%. I had an opt of of 30 days, but Energia and SSE had also changed to the new system, so saving were neglible.
So check any emails you received from energia from June to September and you may find that they wrote to you with the changes. Problem is, due to the amount of "energy saving" emails the various companies send your probably missed them

antoinolachtnai

In general, electricity companies had a clause in their power agreements that allowed them to reset their prices when the new wholesale market arrangements came into force in 2018. These changes were originally envisaged for May 2018 but were deferred until the beginning of October 2018.

Praetorian

Update. I think we will get our refund, but we have not had an apology or an actual email acknowledgement to any of our correspondence. Their company policy seems to be, don't answer emails, answer the phone because you have to.

James Delaney

Praetorian wrote: »

Update. I think we will get our refund, but we have not had an apology or an actual email acknowledgement to any of our correspondence. Their company policy seems to be, don't answer emails, answer the phone because you have to.

Total Agree - A pathetic Service from Energia.

Atom Ant

antoinolachtnai wrote: »

In general, electricity companies had a clause in their power agreements that allowed them to reset their prices when the new wholesale market arrangements came into force in 2018. These changes were originally envisaged for May 2018 but were deferred until the beginning of October 2018.

At what point is their power agreement conferred to our agreement unless that explicidly indicate so. They play the futures market we do not.Other providers out there take the risk and agree a fixed term price. Watch out for them and their agreed discounts. They started off with me on the agreed then reduced it by 8% an on renewal increased it by 35%. If they were the last provider in hades never go near them again. They are only as useful in keeping Electric ireland in check in the market place but beyond that incredibly deceiptful as to their ability to adjust their rates...If I do not get my money back I will take them to the small claims court.