“STAY WELL CLEAR OF UTILITY POINT
STAY WELL CLEAR OF UTILITY POINT! Their whole business model seems to be to overcharge customers monthly, then resist repaying. I’ve waited 5 weeks for a refund which should take days. They are evasive, unhelpful and patronising.”
“Email received stating they owed me £135.74. They would pay within 10?days. Not answering phones, state there is 7 or8 doing live chat. Rubbish I typed message numerous times then press send and screen goes blank. PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT JOIN THIS COMPANY. unless you can afford to lose money”
“same as all other reviews on this site, refund requested and agreed to, but that was never actioned, will be within 28 days. nope, then 7 days, nope,5 working days it just keeps going over 3 months now and nothing.is this company is some sort of financial trouble?.”
“Have been with Utility point since August 2019 my last statement says I'm over £230 in credit we requested a £100 refund some 8 weeks ago and sent follow up e mails requesting refund they increased my direct debit when it suited them but we cannot get a refund of any sorts --- absolutely disgraceful trying to see how to go legal”
“Like many, many other reviewers have said, it's very very tricky to get refund of your credit from them once you leave. Been waiting 5 weeks so far for the £250 they owe me. Useless, incompetent and mendacious.”
“i left utility point on the 7th September 2020 and the still have not refunded the £120 i was in credit. it is 21 November i have sent numerous emails with one reply saying it will arrive in 10 working days then another saying it will be an extra 3 to 5 working days and after 8 days i am still waiting. i will never use this company again.”
“Like a lot of complainers they have ran my credit up to £900 I have made 3 requests for refund, once being told its delayed because they asked for a photo of my gas meter and I have not sent it of course they had not asked for it, so I cancelled the standing order and they contacted me straightaway unfortunately I believed him when he said if I reinstate it I would be repaid faster
naturally I haven't had a refund I am now going to cancel the standing order again but not switch to see how much I can get back in power”
“I switched to them via lookaftermybills and it is worst thing I have done.
I have moved houses and put my old house on rent.
I was told by them that as I as in contract and don't take them to new house, I will have to pay £30 per fuel so £60 in total.
I then spoke to Greg at utilitypoint and setup everything and my switch date was confirmed as 6th November.
I also told them that tenants move into my old house on 1st Nov and that I will happily pay uptill 31st October and give tenants a clean start.
I was told to submit meter reads on 31st which I duly did.
Since then I have been going around in circles with with an email from one of their team to say that they are going to increase the DD on that account as I am under paying and then next team telling me that I need to pay up dues and then another one telling me submit new meter reads.
I am owed about £70 pounds as I was in credit but they are sitting on it.
You cannot call them as Covid is taking pee, you will not get a reply to your email for at least 3 days and when it comes through, it will be a random reply from someone who hasn't got a clue.
I have left my number for them to call me on number of occasions but they just like sitting behind keyboard and type at you.
I am at the final tether before I take it official authorities and get rid of them completely as they have proven extra sh**te so far.
Note: they will also try to get review flagged / removed.”
“AVOID AT ALL COSTS!
This company owes me £538 in credit, after I switched suppliers. I was promised a refund within 10 days but I received nothing, my emails have been fobbed off and now they simply ignore them. It seems from the numerous bad reviews I have read about U.P that many others are being treated the same as me. I think this is a dreadful company. Their MO seems to be to increase direct debits where it is not necessary, amass a huge credit and when you leave fail to give back the money when you ask, this is certainly my experience. Do not be fooled by the friendly "I hope you are well' emails, they really don't care. Don't waste time trying to contact them and get a reasoned response, simply send a letter of complaint and start the Ombudsman process, it will take time but looking at the reviews it is the only way they will pay you back. It is now a point of principle for me and I absolutely intend on taking this through the whole Ombudsman process and courts if necessary until I get my money back. I am surprised they are not worried about the bad publicity. The WORST company ever. IT IS NOT YOUR MONEY Utility Point, give it back!!”
“I think more people need to know about how bad this company is and those broker companies should be also held accountable for vouching for this company. They keep increasing the direct debit and build a large credit. When it comes to return it, they are so reluctant. Even though I have moved, they are continuing to add standing charge on my bill, so they don't pay my full refund. Ofgem need to step in and do something here as I have been waiting for a month now for my refund.”
“Been with utility point for 4 years. Always paid on time. Recently moved on the 1st October and gave final reading on 3/10/20 . Was told it would be 10 days. After numerous phone calls and emails and it is now 13/11/20 and still nothing . On Monday this week I was told it would be escalated now it was out of the ten day time frame. We are now another 5 days down the road so another 5 weeks all together. It’s ridiculous , poor management and I would never ever advise anyone to ever go with utility point. I only wish I knew this before I did. Although my refund is not a huge amount £90.00 but to me it is as I am a single parent who needs this money for food.”
“We love rewarding our members and for a…
We love rewarding our members and for a limited time we’ll also reward your friends too! For every friend that you refer and joins Utility Point you’ll receive £100* credit as a thank you and so will your friend!
Your unique Refer a Friend code: Cyan1035271”
“I left Utility Point Gas on 9th September 2020. Getting the credit balance refunded is like getting blood out of a stone.
On 16th October, I received an email from Utility Point saying:-"Good Afternoon, We can confirm we have received the final verified meter readings and we have been able to produce your final bill.
Please be advised you are currently in credit by the amount of £138.73
This will be refunded within the next 10 working days.
If you have any questions regarding this, please do not hesitate to contact us"
On 28th October, 2 days before the 10 working day deadline, I sent a reminder email to Utility Point.
"Please note that Friday, 30th October, will be 10 working days since you advised me that my closure credit balance would be refunded to me.
Please ensure that the refund is paid by that deadline.
It is now 7 weeks since I transferred my energy to a new provider. Please note that if the refund is not paid to me by this Friday, I will be making a claim for the automatic £30 compensation due from you under the February 2020 Ofgem ruling"
On Friday, 30th October, I received an acknowledgement email saying:-
"I have now escalated this query to my managers in order to chase your refund.
I am very sorry for this delay"
On Sunday, 1st November, I sent an email to Utility Point saying:-
"As you will see in the email trail below, you undertook to refund £138.73 within 10 working days of the final bill date of Friday,16th October.
Despite a reminder sent on Wednesday, 28th October - you have failed to refund my money in the time laid down by the regulator. This has now triggered an automatic £30 penalty in accordance with the February 2020 Ofgem ruling which means that the refund due is now £168.73. This email will start your internal complaints procedure. I give you a further 10 working days to send me this refund, either by cheque or as a direct bank account credit.
If this refund is not received by close of business on Friday, 13th November, I will be commencing court proceedings to recover my loss and will be making a formal complaint to Ofgem and engaging the services of the Energy Ombudsman"
On 5th November, I received this acknowledgement:-
"Good morning Mr Baynes
Thanks for your email. I apologise that your refund still has not been processed. I have forwarded this on to our payments team.
Warmest Regards
James, Utility Point Ltd"
We'll see if the refund does arrive by Friday 13th November but I have my doubts and a claim through the HM Gov Small Claims Court will otherwise be submitted that evening.”
“Promised credit refund of over £200 within 28 working days! 35 days later not responding to communication! Cheap prices for a reason! Don’t go there!”
“Been with utility point for a few years and had built a balance of about £150. Moved out of the house 2 weeks ago and they told me all I had to do is close the account and the balance will be paid back to me. I didn’t receive the refund and they said they’ll escalate the matter. I’m still waiting for MY Money back. Their phone lines are closed, you wait for an hour to chat to customer help who just tell you they’ll escalate the matter and I will hear back within five days. Avoid this company like the plague. Next I’m planning to raise a formal complaint with the regulator as it seems like they don’t want to give me my money back. It looks like I’m not alone in this situation.”
“I was paying my previous supplier £70pm and was switched by look after my bills to Utility Point paying £51.60pm after 5 months I was £68 in debit I had to contact Utility Point and raise monthly payments to 75pm to get back into credit l am now in credit by £32.48.
I received an email from utility Point to raise my direct debit to£133.2pm.
We live in a small bungalow which is well insulated and in the evening from 6pm we use a multi fuel log burner.
I have emailed utility Point several times but they are very difficult to get in touch with”
“I’ve been chasing a refund of £663 was told 10 working days still no sign of MY money. I’ve emailed, called and now I’m setting up a complaint with the energy ombudsman. Utility point seem to have a bad reputation for not refunding peoples hard earned money and the cost of our duel energy just kept rising i finally ended the contract when it was costing me £270 per month! I recommend Pure Planet energy affordable and clean energy.”
“WARNING - THINK BEFORE SWITCHING TO UTILITY POINT
I also made the mistake of allowing a credit balance to build up and have been trying to obtain a refund from Utility Point for months. They have failed to meet two of their own deadlines to repay so I am now going legal in the Claims Court to obtain my refund. They made a large loss of nearly £8m last year (is this why so many people on this site cannot get a refund?) and there is no-one to speak to about it by phone. Best to avoid them at all costs.”
“Can't Be Trusted.
Everything was fine whilst they were taking a DD.
When I changed supplier I had a credit balance of £285.29.
new supplier started 4th September.
They sent me a new bill in September. When I queried it they said it would be sorted.
By 14th October they said they had sorted it and would make the refund within 10 days.
16 days later no refund so I used their online chat which told me it would be escalated and the ESCALATION (not the refund) would take another 5 days (maximum of course, though how can you believe them when they are way over their previous maximum and I doubt anything would be happening if I hadn't contacted them.)”
