Name: Bulb
Rating: 4.11

“When I changed thought it was a breath of fresh air in the rip off energy business, I have tried to contact them regards smart meters and now a massive increase in my tariff,looks like I may be changing ,shame really ,didn’t want to keep changing.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

Hi Richard! I can see your account is in good credit but looks like you have first generation smart meter which were originally only 'smart' with the supplier that installed them. However, they are beginning to be connected to by other suppliers since the end of last year and I can see we're receiving smart meter readings from yours. We've had to change our tariff recently because the costs of supplying your home have increased but we'd be happy to take a look further if you'd like us to. I've popped you an email to have a chat! - H

Posted 4 years ago

“I bought a house in December & before moving I switched provider or so I thought. Bulb was the vendors provider mad they have blocked each attempt I have made to leave them. Last month I got hit with a £350 bill on top of the £111 that was apparently the agreement with previous house owner. This month after being blocked again from leaving I have received a bill for just under £1000!!! I live alone & am energy conscious. You can’t speak to them on phone states Covid reasons and the chat box I finally spoke to someone who said it was sorted and I’d receive an updated bill but I have been sent the same bill again. This is ridiculous!! Absolute crooks”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

Hi Meg, If there is a change of tenancy for a property, we need to know as suppliers so we can create the right accounts for the right people. If the property was with us, there will have been an account open which we needed to correct the dates for to make sure you were billed only for the period you were responsible using meter readings from your time there. We only object to switches if requested to or if there is unpaid debt on the account. I can see now your account has the right dates and has been billed to up to date meter readings. If you would like us to take a further look into anything please let us know! - H

Posted 4 years ago

“BULB is the WORSE deal Ive ever had ....What a bunch of lying ,extortionate CROOKS .Cant wait to be free from it plus Ill make certain I never refer anybody to its absolute B.S none service !!!!”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

Hi Frank Sorry to hear you've had a poor experience with us. Can you let us know what the issue is by emailing Feedback@bulb.co.uk? We can take a look for you as its quite hard to give a comprehensive answer without the details. Thanks, - H

Posted 4 years ago

“Bulb price increases are a scandal and based on dishonest claims. Bulb price increase based on incorrect increase in wholesale price. Bulb have significantly increased their electricity prices this month. They provide an ‘extraordinary’ graph to all their customers. They state wholesale cost of energy Sept 20 at £295 going to £355 in about Feb 2021, as a 31% increase 🤥. Maybe they should get a calculator out again.. £295 to £355 is in fact a 20 % increase. A 31 % increase would bring it to £386. Their figures, explanations and logic for a price increase are floored & complete rubbish and they should be thoroughly embarrassed and ashamed, to be sending these statements to the public and customers. The statements need to be retracted, apologies given, and explanations offered. Bulb may think their customers are ‘thick’. I think they need to employ some people who can tell the truth. I have sent formal complaints concerning this, copied to the the ombudsman and bulb CEO; several emails sent within the last 24 hours. The dishonesty leaves me exasperated. Bulb have not bothered to reply, or correct their errors. I hope the Ombudsman will take a dim view of the outrageous inaccuracies they are publishing and inaccuracies they are phishing. This is the first of many reviews I will make. This will go viral. They’ve been notified, it’s a simple matter to correct they haven’t bothered Sincerely,”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

Hi Michael Wholesale costs have changed by 31%. The email you received is regarding your particular property based on your use using the readings we have and what we think your costs will increase by given this tariff change. We’ve written more about this on our blog here: https://bulb.co.uk/blog/energy-price-watch-were-changing-our-prices-mar-21 We don't offer fixed tariffs. The tariff you have with Bulb is variable, which means prices can go up or down. If they go up, we work hard to limit increases to you and always give 30 days' notice so if you would like to switch you can. And if they go down, we quickly pass those savings on. Unfortunately we don't offer fixed tariffs or individually adjusted ones, as we keep our tariff reflective of the true cost of energy. I can see we have issued you an apology for any inconveniences caused by this in line with the Ombudsman decision, but if you do have any further questions please feel free to get in touch. - H

Posted 4 years ago

“Started off swimmingly then declined rapidly to the point that we're now going to switch. We live in a four bed terraced house, nothing out of the ordinary, and they've been constantly billing us for £350 a month...in the middle of summer. Soon, almost overnight, for some reason that I've yet to fathom, we were in over £1500 of debt with them. Never had that before with any provider! This caused our (in advance) payment to increase and now it's stratospheric and it's going to bankrupt us. Interestingly, our neighbour have the same house and their fuel bills are about a quarter of ours. Phoned a few times, just banging our heads against a wall. It's a runaway freight train and we don't know how to get out of it. Somethings badly wrong but as long as they're coining it in, they don't care. Inconsistent, overpriced and uninterested. Very very disappointed (and stressed). They're ripping us off.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

Hi Brian, We bill to meter readings so if you submit them regularly we'll make sure to bill to this use. If you think the readings are high there are a few reasons why this could happen: - User error in reading the meter - Previous underestimation of energy consumption making the actual reading look relatively large or small - Particularly cold or mild seasonal weather leading to use of more or less energy than normal - Changes in circumstance (eg illness, new baby, working at home etc) - Faulty appliances using more energy than it should (a trace test would show this; which can be carried out by an electrician) - Changing types of appliance (ie moving from gas to electricity or vice versa) If you believe that none of the above applies to you, we can organise for an engineer to perform an accuracy test on your meter if you think the issue lies with the meter itself. If you'd like us to, just send us an email to feedback@bulb.co.uk outlining the issue. - H

Posted 4 years ago

“Bulb has been the worst decision of my my financial life !!! And I would avoid joining them at all costs. They have caused me such distress due to several mistakes they have made and have even apologised for, yet they’re still demanding a ridiculous amount even though I left them four months ago!!!! I joined fooled into thinking they would be a much smoother and easier option to handling both gas & electric. WRONG SOOO WRONG! No only did their monthly charges go from £80 to £170+ but their excuse was it was to cover winter expenses. I finally left them in November and to my shock they said my final bill was £500+ I had several people look into this and provided several meter readings to them, to then be told it was a mistake on their part and they’ll adjust it accordingly. After several people apologising they offered me a refund. A month after this refund I am now being told that the refund was a mistake and now owe them near enough £200. This is four months after leaving them. DO NOT GO WITH BULB THEY WILL INCREASE CHARGES THEY WILL BLAME IT DUE TO WINTER EXPENSE THEY WILL MAKE SEVERAL MISTAKES AND APOLOGISE BUT STILL CHASE YOU FOR MONEY DUE TO THEIR OWN MISTAKES. Thank you bulb for the several anxiety attacks I’ve had in the last four month due to your incompetence. WELL DONE!!!! I will keep leaving this review until bulb leave me alone!!!!”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

Hi Sarah Sorry to hear you've had a poor experience with us. We bill to meter readings so it's worth having a look to check those are correct on your account as incorrect readings or high estimates could cause a high bill and therefore a need to increase the direct debit. It could also be that we didn't get a reading in a while so when we did we needed to increase the DD to cover your use as we had previously actually underestimated. We also use the new suppliers readings as our final readings, so we can make sure this is the case as well. It can take up to 6 weeks from switching to receive a final bill, but we'd be more than happy to look into this for you- I've sent you an email so we can check this out once we have some more details. - H

Posted 4 years ago

“A shiny application and the initial promise of good customer service... but after being a customer you quickly realise this is just a veneer and they are just as bad (if not worse) than any other energy provider.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

Hi there, Sorry you've had a poor experience with us- if there's anything you'd like us to look into please email feedback@bulb.co.uk with the problem and we'd be happy to help - H

Posted 4 years ago

“I am a Bulb customer and just received an Email from Bulb saying that my predicted energy bill will be more than £34,000.00 per year, starting April 19th 2021. I assume this is an error, as I live in a studio flat, but have received several emails now saying that it is not a mistake! I have researched the Ofgem enforced price caps and this is, unsurprisingly, in excess of that amount by about £32,000 per year. I will update this review once I am assured that this absurdly high predicted bill has been issued erroneously. I switched from British Gas as I wanted to do my part for the environment, but so far I have found Bulb embaressingly unprofessional, which is hardly what you want from an energy provider.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

Hey there This doesn't look right at all! I can see my colleague also managed to work them out for you in an email but we did raise this glitch to be looked into so it won't happen again. Really sorry about that! If there's anything else we can help with please let us know by emailing feedback@bulb.co.uk. - H

Posted 4 years ago

“Nothing but bad service from the moment I joined them. My Bill's have never been accurate and after having a smart meter fitted by them, they billed me £500 for a months usage, it took two months and a lot of stress to get them to rectify it. My smart meter was averaging £40 usage or less per month through summer and I was paying them £87 per month yet when I left they gave me a final bill of £68??? Appauling company and dreadful service. My query sent one month ago has still not been answered. I am now with eon and pay £76 per month and am currently in winter months in credit. I think that sums it up really. Avoid them at all costs.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

Hi Joanne Sorry to hear you had a poor experience. The large bill for one month was likely caused by an incorrect reading on the account. We can always check and adjust these to make sure they're right so I'm glad yours was rectified. The final amount owed was for the total debt remaining on your account not just the final bill dates. The debt on your account was caused from a usage increase from October onwards. These high bills resulted in the account going into debit. Your gas usage from October - November for example was about £50 and your electricity was about £60 so the direct debit amount won't have been enough to cover it, which is why it was increased. We bill to meter readings so bills vary as to what you use each month. I hope that helps clarify where the charges came from, but as we were getting smart meter readings we did bill to those accurately. All the best - H

Posted 4 years ago

“I was a bulb customer with no problems but when I moved supplier I left the feed in tarrif payment system with them and it's hard to move to a new supplier as so.much information is required. They refused a payment last year and have told me it will be paid this year. It isn't their money to do this with.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

Hey there, sorry to hear of your issues with our FIT. We can take a look into this for you but we'd need a bit more information. Can you email feedback@bulb.co.uk outlining the issue and we can see why this has happened? - H

Posted 4 years ago

“We have been with Bulb for a couple of years now and at first it was wonderful. Realistic pricing and good service. However over the last few months the service has deteriorated rapidly and the prices have literally doubled!! They are now wanting to charge us £370, numerous hefty hikes to get to this point. How can a company that quote £137 per month initially get this out of hand. They are now saying we are £1118 in Debit, how on earth you van allow that for a start is beyond me. I shall be clearing this balance and switching asap...avoid!!”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

Hi Rachel, We're sorry that the service you've received since being with Bulb has been so poor, it's definitely not up to the standards we strive for. I've had a quick look for you and it looks like we do get some meter readings from you, I would recommend submitting them monthly if you can so we can make sure to bill you correctly and we can check your use month to month. When you do submit readings the use is quite high. At the moment we've recommended increasing your direct debit to cover your monthly average use based on those readings, and pay towards any debt on the account. There are many reasons why your meter might produce unexpectedly high or low readings: - User error in reading the meter - Previous underestimation of energy consumption making the actual reading look relatively large or small - Particularly cold or mild seasonal weather leading to use of more or less energy than normal - Changes in circumstance (eg illness, new baby, working at home etc) - Faulty appliances using more energy than it should (a trace test would show this; which can be carried out by an electrician) - Changing types of appliance (ie moving from gas to electricity or vice versa) I recommend having a think if anything in the property could cause you particularly high use. I've sent you an email as well reiterating the above and seeing if there's anything else we can check for you. All the best, Holly

Posted 4 years ago

“Trash.Overcharging me £3 every time I top up. Small house going through gas super fast even though monitoring closely. Have put in 3 complaints and just sent in circles. Trash service. Bait and swithc prices (Bulb are more expensive than previous provider though claimed to be 30% cheaper. Over it, now just want my overcharged payments back and to move provider. Despicable service that has left me and child deciding between gas to eat and bathe or gas to keep the house warm. Not acceptable at all.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

Hi Stacey Sorry to hear you felt you went in circles. Your Emergency Credit limit on your gas meter is £10. Once this is activated and used, this goes onto the meter as debt on your "OWED" screen, and needs to be paid back in full until you can activate the emergency credit again. When you top-up your meter, 30% of the top-up will go towards paying this "OWED" screen debt off, and the rest will go on the meter as credit. This means that if you top-up £10 after using your emergency credit, you would get £7 credit, and the meter would still have £7 on the "OWED" screen to be paid back from future top-ups. We're sorry if that wasn't explained properly when you tried to get in touch with us the first time but this will be where the the £3 is going on your meter. Hope that helps explain! - H

Posted 4 years ago

“Worst energy company, over inflates bills. We live in a one bedroom flat in a 2 adult household. The flat is warm and compact, we rarely use heating even in winter. In terms of our usage, we have minimal usage for lights, television and showers, nothing to warrant humongous increase of bill from £45 to £90 In a short span! Avoid at all cost.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

Hi there Have you submitted a recent meter reading? If you don't submit them for a while it could have been we were underestimating you use so when we got an actual one, it caused a catch up bill so it looks a lot higher. We recommend giving meter readings every 3 months at a minimum if not every month to help keep bills accurate. If you do submit regular readings then the bills will be accurate as we bill to these which reflect your actual consumption so it may be worth checking you appliances, as meters are rarely recording inaccurately. Hope that helps but if you have any questions please do contact us! - H

Posted 4 years ago

“Massively overcharge you then ignore any contact you make If I could give Bulb a minus rating, I absolutely would. I was issued a £296 bill that apparently was back dated from 2nd December 2020 to 28th February 2021. After being told wrong information by multiple people and a lot of pestering from me to their useless team in customer service, it was then brought to light that actually, I had overpaid and £296 was my corrected amount. I had overpaid via direct debit but I also had £189 credit in my account. Bulb took my £189 credit out of my account and are now telling me I owe them £8. How is this the case? If I have over paid, HOW DO I OWE YOU £8? WHERE HAS MY £189 CREDIT DISAPPEARED TOO? I have tried MULTIPLE times to get answers. I have used the online chat, I have emailed and I have even tried calling but I am now just being ignored. Even after providing proof that my £189 has been taken out of my account after the £296 bill was issued, they are still ignoring all of my attempts of contact. It even seems that I have now been banned from their online chat. Proof is attached to this review. I have tried reporting this to Ofgem but the dispute needs to be going on for at least 8 weeks before they will take my complaint. Why can’t anyone tell me where the F my credit amount as gone? To name of few of the useless people you should avoid - Pinky, Lou & Nthbeleng. Like speaking to a brick wall.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

Hey Sarah, Thanks for leaving this review. I can see we replied to the trustpilot review and my colleague managed to get to the bottom of what happened and explain it to you. I understand the bill corrections can get a bit confusing when they are superseded and rebilled. We're really sorry that this was your experience, and that this wasn't picked up on right away. We do appreciate the feedback and will take it on board in future. - H

Posted 4 years ago

“I’ve only been with bulb for 3 weeks and have already put in an application to switch to someone else. I have a 2 bed bungalow and my monthly payment started at 83 pound a month for gas and electric. Suddenly 3 weeks later my monthly usage is now 227 pound a month, they haven’t received any readings in those 3 weeks other than the ones I gave them when I started with them as my smart metre readings don’t seem to be going through to them and my gas metre display has stopped working but they apparently can’t change my metre at the moment and don’t know when they can so gas is estimated. So where they have got that I am using 227 pound a month is beyond me!”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“The most ridiculous prices I have ever experienced they promote green energy all signing all dancing like your doing your bit for the planet oh yes lovely I will have some of that oh here you go sir you saved the planet but unfortunately you will have to sell your car to pay us for your energy usage thanks bulb”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“This has been appalling. While they look like they have the same rate when you sign up, something is going on. my bill was estimated as 57/month for a small 2 bed house when I signed up. A little more with covid working to be expected, but not double over the winter ie bills of 112! For most of this I've been living by myself. This would be higher than capped plans allowed by the gov. Just looked at u switch, able to get plans for 600 per whole year for my same usage so changing. What is going on with this rate? I've even checked for a gas leak. All appliances are switched off at wall when not on use. Hot water is on eco. Even as someone on a good income the amount bulb has been charging is stressfully high. Can't wait for my new plan.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“Avoid, avoid thieves, money stealing from prepayment meter...when i use emergency they deduct money, when i top up, they deduct money from meter...and meter is running fast..don't use this service please They are cowboys, scammers”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“I agree with the feedback.PLEASE DONT USE BULB ENERGY. They started low and at about £60 a month and now we’re in arrears of 709 being made to pay £240 each month. No extra usage as kid has moved out. It’s scam Please use other reputable companies”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“3months waiting for decision on warm front d8scount, other companies take 5days. No one can escalate the query. Told they decide by end 9f March, when its too late to get it from other suppliers. If they say No, what proof have you got or is it added to their profits. Chatlines answer you and promise you nothing. Emails are not answered. I am putting £60 a week in meters, I think I am funding the whole street here.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

Shipping & Delivery
Delivery Methods	Courier
On-time Delivery	100%
Customer Service
Communication Channels	Email, Live Chat, Telephone
Queries Resolved In	Under An Hour
Customer Service	4.6 out of 5

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