First Utility Reviews

Name: First Utility
Rating: 1.19

1.2 Rating 127 Reviews

4 %

of reviewers recommend First Utility

Company Reviews

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Metrics

1.2

Based on 127 reviews


Shipping & Delivery
Delivery Methods	Courier
Customer Service
Communication Channels	Telephone, Live Chat, Email
Queries Resolved In	Over A Week
Customer Service	1.1 out of 5

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First Utility 1 star review on 30th September 2022

Anonymous

First Utility 1 star review on 16th July 2022

Brenda Price

Anonymous

Anonymous // 01/01/2019

Filter: Rated 1 None 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Stars Helpful

“No communication”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“The company are bordering on a scam. They failed to set up an account with online access for me. I tried several times. First Utility kept sending threatening emails with no account details, no amounts and no breakdown or tariff info - just requesting I pay (no clue as to what amount)! I called to sort this and complain and was put through to their circular customer service number.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“I have my broadband through them an d it's a joke, I only joined them on the 11th Jan and it's the worst service ive ever had, the internet constantly drops out and now I've been with out any phone line or internet for 3 days they have given me 5 days saying bt may be out to fix it on one of them in the afternoon but what day is anyone's guess, DO NOT join them no matter how good the offer is.”

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Posted 5 years ago

“Very poor service , avoid this disgusting company.”

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Posted 5 years ago

“Bad service - customer service dept just hung up on me didn't want to help me.”

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Posted 5 years ago

“Worst experience ever. Wanted my to prove I owned my home via house deeds, didn’t believe I only just moved in. Then when bill was settled by previous owner leaving my small amount - didn’t inform me but sent disgusting letter threatening bailiffs round. Despite a million calls explaining I would pay what was mine. Liars. Can never get through. Phone or chat. Would never ever use.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“Where to start... in a nutshell, my bill was estimated to be arounbd £30 pm. Having started to receive bills over £150pm, I complained to First Utility. Their investigation went on for 26 months!!! In one month, First Utility threatened me with legal action if I failed to pay £600 in 24 hrs. Eventually, following months of agony and heartache, following the intervention of the Ombudsman, my complaint led to a Check Meter fitment, proving I was correct all along. First Utility paid me back nearly £4,000 under pressure from the Ombudsman plus a very small (£150) gesture of goodwill. My advice to anyone and everyone is that yes, we all know that things go wrong, but the sign of a good company is how they respond. I would absolutely save yourself the pain and challenge and go elsewhere... AVOID!!! AVOID!!! AVOID!!! AVOID!!! AVOID!!! AVOID!!! AVOID!!! AVOID!!! AVOID!!! AVOID!!! AVOID!!! AVOID!!! AVOID!!! AVOID!!! AVOID!!! AVOID!!! AVOID!!! AVOID!!! AVOID!!! AVOID!!! AVOID!!! AVOID!!! AVOID!!!”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“Terrible, terrible company. Moved into my new house who had an account first First Utility. They refused a switch to a new provider THREE times and each time, after spending over 40 minutes on hold, could not tell me why they had rejected my claim. Unacceptable - never use them for gas or electricity.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“I have never dealt with such an incompetent company. It’s no wonder they receive nearly 48,000 complaints a year. I have sent numerous emails to First Utility informing them of my account and contact details yet they still they send out bills to Mr owner occupier. I have also emailed photographic evidence of the correct meter readings to them but they choose to ignore these and send me out estimated bills way over the correct readings even though I have on numerous occasions informed them the property is unfurnished and unoccupied. I would strongly advise potential customers to stay well clear of this cowboy outfit!”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“Online support live chat takes you nowhere. They read from a script and it's like banging your head against a wall. Phoned customer services. Round and round on entering data on phone keypad, account number, date of birth, post code, press a number, then back to entering all the data again. Then waited 45 minutes to be answered for guy to say "hello I can't hear you" and he then put the phone down. Direct Debit data does not match the tariff offer cost. Trying to get clear answers is impossible. Terrible customer service.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“Moved house , old house waiting to be sold ,transferred account to new address gave meter readings for gas and electric of old property told them house was empty till sold and we will inform , debt collectors letter for an estimated bill popped through old house for a hundred and odd pound , called and had the misfortune to talk to a female called Ali (alison) finally realised she calls herself Ali as she probably doesn’t know how to spell her name , and up her own you know what! very dissatisfied customer soon to be ex customer”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“On the 24th October 2018 i cancelled my broadband account due to unforeseen circumstances. The account was only opened within 14 days of cancellation so i should have had a cancellation free of charge but i didn't. I understand that there is a 30 day cancellation period, so my account was cancelled on the 24th November and i was told i could pay my final bill from then. I phoned yourselves as i had not received an email with my final bill and was told that i would get it on 5th December instead for £266. Today, 5th December, i still have not received a final bill so i called you again and was told the bill had not yet been produced. How long does it take to produce a bill!? Meanwhile, i was receiving emails from yourself stating i owe £72 to recover my account, if not debt collectors will be at my door. I do not want to recover my account as i personally closed it. When i called and asked about this, no-one really knew what i was meant to do, whether i needed to pay it or wait for my final bill... I have now been told i will receive my final bill around the 19th December which will include the £266 cancellation fee, plus £20 usage fee and possibly plus the £72, which has randomly been added! Every time i have called to speak to someone, i have waited over half an hour and never got an answer by the first person i have spoken to, My average phone call with you is usually around an hour long... absolutely ridiculous!! So now, 6 weeks after i cancelled my account with you, I am still waiting my final bill! All i want to do is pay you and yet i am receiving hate mail stating that you are sending round debt collectors when i do not even know what i am meant to be paying yet!! I am 19 years old and on minimum wage, I hope you feel very proud of yourselves for making this such an horrific experience for me! I will be taking this further, as i am absolutely fuming! Disgraceful company!”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“Still waiting for my refund after leaving on September 6th . Not interested now the resolver trying to fix it who are just as bad. The ombudsman have closed it because it’s not 8 weeks yet. They are right it’s not 8 weeks it’s more. Don’t change to First utility Cowboys”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“My Partner recently joined Bulb and used another members code from here! He has just received the £50 free credit!! No other provider was offering By using someone elses code you get £50 automatically once fully set up He is offering £75 if you sign up using his code £50 from Bulb and £25 from the £50 he gets So £75 off your first bill!! The code is below: refferal75gbp.tk”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“Well where do I start first utilities what a joke Signed up for smart meters and have had months of being made a fool of don’t let this company any where your home. The first prison they sent to fit the meters did nothing came and left after waiting weeks. Weeks later they sent another one well he didn’t know the difference between a condensing boiler and combi boiler he fitted a smart electric meter then the fun started again when it came to the gas meter my meter is small meter in a standard box on an outside wall I was told he would have to fit a temporary meter because my gas pipe would need to be cut back to make it shorter so the new meter would fit, the fun starts again he fitted one meter Said it didn’t work so he removed that one and fitted another he Said that one didn’t work all there was nothing wrong with the meters he hadn’t turned the gas supply back on so he put the old meter back and just left with out saying he was leaving. The saga continues, the next chapter first utilities phone two say that another comedian would be calling in about five to six weeks to cut the pipe and fit the meter the day arrives I get a phone call from the next benny hill saying he was about ten minutes away but he wouldn’t be able to fit the meter because of the weather conditions now I’m really baffled we are having one of the nicest summers I can remember for a very long time benny hill arrived asked me where the gas supply comes into the meter this is a man sent to work on my gas and electric help. Could it be that copper pipe covered in yellow going up the outside of my house into the gas meter I wonder. Next thing he said the only way the meter could be fitted as to nock down my living room wall. And then started to say that the meter could not be fitted and that he last person that was there was a layer and he had the parts to fit the meter, Very dangers people. So, I phoned first utilities to complain here it starts again after spending twenty minutes complaining about he services and being told that he was taking notes I was put on hold for twelve minutes and then cut off waited for them to phone back that never happened so I phoned back no notes where taken from my first call at all so start over again. Was told some one would be back InTouch no one very did. So, I contacted their Resolution Centre team what a complete waste of time that was the person that was supposed to be dealing with my complaint never listened at all. Stay well away from this company.”

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Posted 5 years ago

“hi switched recent and totally love it ,use my link and i will help you get another £ 40 on top of your £ 50 just pm after you complete switch and enjoy ,im more then happy to give you my share ,and keep £ 10 for me join.bulb.co.uk/refer/michal6442”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“After 2 months giving meter readings they still sent estimated bills. The property was empty. I don't know how many meter readings they needed but they still gave estimated bills. The staff are awful/obnoxious/and very rude. The estimated bill was £126.00. The actual bill was £39.00. And if you need to speak to customer service be prepared you will have at least 20 mins wait. GOOD LUCK.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“When it was my annual renewal for gas/electric I could not have the lowest cost because I refuse to have a smart meter installed in my bungalow. As they are not compulsory, I consider this a form of blackmail.”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

“First Utility - Most incompetent energy provider Just over 4 years ago the energy provider FU (First Utility) made a small mistake with my final bill when I left a rented property. FU apologised for the mistake and stated that they had cleared and closed my account so I thought the matter was closed. However, what followed next was 4 years of stress and frustration trying to get FU to engage with me and correct their mistake and call off the Debt Collection Storm Troopers that they unleased on me without any consultation what so ever. FU have used all the tricks at their disposal to avoid actually having to engage with me to resolve the consequences of their billing mistake. I have spent hours trying to engage with FU and most of this time is spent repeating myself again and again as I never speak with the same person more than once, even when the issue was supposedly escalated to the highest customer relations team. Unfortunately, the sheer incompetence and arrogance of FU is mind blowing. Even when they have an opportunity to get closure via a goodwill gesture they even manage to mess this up multiple times by breaking their promise and not actually sending out the goodwill gesture. As for getting them to explain their actions you might be better asking a baboon to explain quantum physics. Without any consultation FU unleashed their pet Debt Collection Storm Troopers to hound and threaten me. I know from various company review sites that there is a history of Energy providers, including FU, using Debt Collection dogs to intimidate innocent customers into submission and they use these parasites without notifying the customer. I am convinced that FU actively blocked the email address associated with my account to frustrate my attempts to resolve the issue. When I tried to circumvent this by using a different email address FU rejected my email stating that I must use the email address associated with my FU account. When I asked FU about blocking my email account surprise, surprise they denied that this was being done even though I pointed out to them that their own automated reply system did not work when an email was being blocked. Unfortunately, FU treat customers with contempt and think they are stupid. Oh, and shock horror shortly after this conversation my email account suddenly started working. Go figure. FU have offered goodwill gestures of £35 and then £50. However, both of these were never sent so I had to chase them each time and on the last occasion I rejected the £50 offer, but they then had the audacity to say you can't reject it as it had already been accepted. A so called Senior complaints manager informed me that FU considered the £50 goodwill gesture (Relates to £12.50 for every year) was the final offer and was in FU's opinion a reasonable offer for the 4 years of grief they had subjected me to. I explained that the only option I was left with was to post my experience onto various Social Media platforms, which is what I proceeded to do. Throughout this sorry saga FU have never once contacted me to try and resolve the issue. However, once I posted my experience on one of the Company Review sites it solicited an immediate response from FU. FU actually contacted me (now there is a real FIRST), but yet again I had to explain the history to a different person all over again. FU then came back and offered to increase the goodwill gesture to £75 (£18.75 for every year), which I rejected and said that I would accept £250. First Utility rejected this and said that £75 was their New final offer. Shortly after FU contacted me again (someone different of course) and they wanted to know if the £250 I asked for would resolve the issue to which I replied that it would. They dangled this carrot then immediately took it away by saying that they would not pay this, but were prepared to increase the old final offer to a New final offer of £100. After dangling the carrot and taking it away this was the final slap in the face so I rejected their latest Final offer. After 4 years, 4 Final goodwill gestures I have now received a Deadlock letter and advise to seek a resolution with the Ombudsman. However, the Ombudsman is swamped with complaints about the energy companies and is powerless to reign them in. The only option left to customers is to let their feet do the talking and share their experience via the various social media and review sites so that others can make an informed decision before going with these rogue companies. In my opinion First Utility has to be the most incompetent and obnoxious company I have ever had the misfortune to come into contact with. The broken promises, belligerence, stone walling and use of Debt Collection agencies as their personal Storm troopers to silence or bully innocent customers into submission is totally unacceptable and I hope that one day the authorities revoke their license to operate.”

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Posted 6 years ago

First Utility is rated 1.2 based on 127 reviews