Posts under ‘Ofgem’

Gas and electricity customers face the prospect of debt collectors chasing up unpaid bills after the energy industry regulator told suppliers they no longer had to offer unlimited coronavirus payment holidays.

Ofgem gave the go-ahead to restart debt collections weeks after calling on energy suppliers to offer help to customers facing financial pain due to the Covid-19 pandemic by delaying or reducing bills.

Bailiffs were also barred from chasing households struggling to pay council tax or parking fines, but these rules will remain in place for at least another two months. read more

Featured below are extracts from negative customer reviews about Shell Energy posted during the last several days on Trustpilot.  Visit the Shell Energy page on Trustpilot to view all reviews in their entirety, positive and negative (and Shell Energy responses). Watch out for any fake reviews. Note the reoccurring themes in the negative reviews, including difficulty in communicating with the company. This article posted on 7 May 2020.

Avoid like the plague, they are taking advantage of people in lockdown

I was with the previous company before Shell took them over and had no problems with them, as soon as shell took over its been nothing but problems, for no reason my bill went from £ 75 to £92 and then 3 months later £102, i asked them to change my tariff to a cheaper one (£85) which all went through and i received confrontation. I checked the small print and there was 0 charge for changing tarriffs.
I got my bill today, not only has my bill stayed at £102 but theyve also charged me £100 for unknown “other charges and tarriff” upon looking at my bill the price p/kwh had DOUBLED in one month this has put me over £220 in arrears. And they do not want to help and say its what i owe so it must be paid even though they themselves dont know what the extra £100 charges are. It seems they are taking advantage of people being in lockdown and hiking there prices up
I have made a formal complaint to ofgem read more

Featured below are extracts from negative customer reviews about Shell Energy posted during the last 24 hours on Trustpilot.  Visit the Shell Energy page on Trustpilot to view all reviews in their entirety, positive and negative (and Shell Energy responses). Watch out for any fake reviews. Note the reoccurring themes in the negative reviews, including difficulty in communicating with the company. This article posted on 27 February 2020.

BEEN VERY DIFFICULT TO SPEAK TO SOME…

BEEN VERY DIFFICULT TO SPEAK TO SOME ONE AT THE COMPANY
TRIED FOR 4 WEEKS EVERY DAY JUST TO GO ROUND IN A CIRCLE

TRIED A NEW APPROACH RANG AT 5PM AND YES GOT THROUGH TO A HUMAN CALLED RACHAEL RICHARDS
WELL WANT A BREATH OF FRESH AIR
1. POLITE LADY
2. LISTENED TO MY PROBLEM
3. SORTED IT ALL OUT
4. Thought i was going to have to go back to drinking after 5 months alchol free

But know back to good old customer service friendly chatty and helpfull plus resolved

cant thank her enough Gary
free read more

Printed below is the main content of a Shell Energy letter dated 24 Feb 2020 sent to a distressed terrorised pensioner apologising for issues raised, including shortfalls in service, overcharging and bullyboy tactics.

Hello Mr XXXX

Ombudsman Final Decision dated 24 February 2020

We’ve set out below the list of remedies set by the Ombudsman and the status of each. If there’s any outstanding matters left to address. I’ve confirmed when you’ll expect your next update and/or resolution.

The Ombudsman decided that Shell Energy should:

• Provide you with a goodwill payment of £200 in recognition of the shortfalls in service you have experienced this will be credited to the account within 10 working days.
• Credit your account with £820.79 in recognition of overcharging you for 4399kWh of electricity rather than re-billing your account and re-applying SLC 21BA as proposed by Shell Energy. This has been completed by correcting the inial read on the account 61750.
• The remaining balance on the account after the £200 gesture of goodwill has been applied will be £1199.50

I would like to take this opportunity to apologise for the issues raised and the inconvenience it has caused. It is important to us that we provide a consistent and accurate service and to do this we continue to provide visibility and feedback to other departments regarding matters such as yours. read more

Featured below are extracts from negative customer reviews about Shell Energy posted during the last day or so on Trustpilot.  Visit the Shell Energy page on Trustpilot to view all reviews in their entirety, positive and negative (and Shell Energy responses). Watch out for any fake reviews. Note the reoccurring theme in negative reviews; the difficulty in communicating with the company. Posted 4 Feb 2020.

Avoid .. awful

I have tried three times to talk to someone about my account today, and the only loop I end up in is your telephone loop. I have asked to be passed to a supervisor/manager, and both Kyle and Shahid on separate calls put me back into your telephone loop, which is never answered. I have emailed customer services and not yet been contacted back. Their chat line is automated, or seems to be, and I am completely unable to chat to anyone who can help me. Their service levels are appalling. read more

By John Donovan

Postings and messages I have read or received in the last 48 hours lead me to the conclusion that bullying understaffed Shell Energy customer service is driving some of its locked-in customers to illness and despair.

Some staff must be uncomfortable having to treat vulnerable customers so shabbily and ruthlessly. How will they feel if someone does resort to suicide, as has been threatened?

There are so many disturbing customer postings on Trustpilot and other review sites about Shell Energy that there may be enough potential claimants to warrant a class-action lawsuit? read more

The featured extracts below are from profusely apologetic replies from Shell Energy in response to stinging customer reviews about Shell Energy posted on Trustpilot. Visit the Shell Energy page on Trustpilot to view all reviews in their entirety, positive and negative (and the complete Shell Energy responses). Shell’s apologies try to address the reoccurring theme in the flood of negative reviews – the difficulty in communicating with the company.

Extracts from apologies put into writing by Shell Energy on Trustpilot 

16 Jan 2020

I’m extremely sorry that you’ve had difficulty getting through to us. Please be assured that we’re investing a lot into reducing wait times and making sure we have the support and measurements in place to ensure that wait times are reduced going forward also.

16 Jan 2020

I’m extremely sorry that you’ve had trouble getting in touch…

16 Jan 2020

I am very apologetic for the negative experience you have faced thus far with our services. I can assure you this is surely not the level of service we wish to provide to any of our customers. I would also like to apologies for the long delay in answering your call or essentially being available to take your query.  read more

…those with EDF, Shell Energy and Scottish Power will see even greater hikes of £192, £175, and £146 on average, respectively.

By GRACE GAUSDEN FOR THIS IS MONEY

PUBLISHED: 12:00, 14 January 2020 | UPDATED: 12:00, 14 January 2020

Thousands of households across Britain could see energy bills soar by as much as £190 a year as 47 fixed price deals come to an end this month, data shows.

Some 142,000 customers will see their bills go up by a collective £16million if they don’t switch tariff by the end of January, according to uSwitch.

The average increase in energy bills will be £114 but some could see annual price hikes of £190 – equivalent to a rise of 19 per cent. read more

Last month iSupply paid £1.5 million for “failing to treat customers fairly” and charging more than the price cap allowed, and in June, Shell Energy paid £390,000 for similar offences.

Ofgem is investigating whether energy supplier Utilita broke its legal obligations and overcharged customers with prepayment meters.

The regulator wants to see if customers’ bills were inflated above the levels allowed under the price cap, introduced in April 2017 for prepayment customers.

It is believed to be the third investigation into a supplier for price cap failures.

Last month iSupply paid £1.5 million for “failing to treat customers fairly” and charging more than the price cap allowed, and in June, Shell Energy paid £390,000 for similar offences. read more

By John Donovan: 05 JAN 2020

Selection of extracts from pissed off customer reviews about Shell Energy UK posted since 24 Dec 2019 on review sites such as Trustpilot.

From Shane on Trustpilot, 4 Jan

Hideous company a total disgrace to the electrical supply industry.

Absolutely NO customer service as they never answer the phone just look at all the reviews that complain about this.

Constantly overcharge and dispite being massively in credit they never refund the money they hold…

I can only assume all their staff wear Stetsons and ride around on horses as they are the biggest bunch of cowboys you will ever have the misfortune to deal with totally incompetent ill-informed and incapable of supplying any help or support. read more

Ofgem has said it is minded to allow Shell Energy to claim up to £354,147 for costs incurred in acting as a Supplier of Last Resort (SoLR) to customers of failed supplier Usio Energy.

First Utility, which rebranded as Shell Energy in March this year, was chosen by the regulator to take on Usio Energy’s 7,000 customers following a competitive process.

An SoLR can make a claim for Last Resort Supply Payment (LRSP) from relevant distribution networks if granted consent to the amount claimed. read more