Future Energy Arvostelua 21

Like most energy companies it's the leaving that hurts!
I moved from Future Energy in August 2017 at the end of my 12 month contract without any issues.
However my credit balance refund didn't appear until January 2018 and required numerous calls/emails. This wasn't helped by my online account being disabled immediately on leaving.

They took thousands from smart metering trainees who got nothing at the end of their cowboy course. They continued to blame the lads for failing when in fact they were not able to issue certificates due to their incompotence..

Utterly hopeless and run by idiots. I'm told the directors of the business tried to take control of the company by way of a dodgy rights issue in November 2017 and then crashed the company. In my opinion they didn't give a toss about their customers or shareholders. Just read the other reviews. The whole sorry episode needs investigating.

For all of you who may not know, Future Energy ceased trading on Thursday 25 January.

First of all, don't panic. Your gas and electricity will stay on and any credit balance is protected by regulator Ofgem's safety-net rules.

Q. What should I do now?

A. Ofgem's advice is to "sit tight" for the moment - over the next few days it will appoint a new provider to take over your supply. According to the regulator:

Don't switch yet. Wait until the new supplier is appointed.
Take a meter reading - you'll need this to settle any credit or debit balance on your Future Energy account.
If you need any further support during this period, Future Energy has advised customers to visit Ofgem's website, or call Citizens Advice on 03454 040506.

Q. Should I cancel my direct debit?

A. Ofgem says the new supplier will contact you shortly to discuss your current direct debit arrangements, so there's no need to cancel it. However, you can do so if you want, as you'll be able to set up a new direct debit with the new supplier.

Q. What will happen if my account is in credit?

A. Importantly, you won't lose it. Ofgem says the new supplier will pay back any outstanding credit - it will contact you to explain how this will work.

The advice is to take a meter reading and a note of your account balance if you know it, and then wait for the new supplier to get in touch.

Q. How long will it take for Ofgem to appoint a new supplier?

A. It's not clear at this stage - Ofgem says picking a new supplier can take up to two weeks, but we understand it's likely to make a decision early next week.

Q. Will Ofgem ensure I get a good deal?

A. It's currently unclear as to whether the new supplier will honour your existing tariff.

Once the new supplier contacts you, check the tariff it's offering, then do a comparison to see if you can find a cheaper deal elsewhere - Ofgem says you won't be charged exit fees if you want to switch away from the new supplier.

Q. I'm paying back debt to Future Energy. Will I instead pay this to my new supplier?

A. This is unclear at the moment. It depends on if the new supplier arranges to take on debts owed to Future Energy. Once a new supplier is appointed, it will explain how things will work in practice.

If you have a bill from Future Energy you should pay it, or pay the new supplier when it is appointed.

Pleased I took steps to switch on 23rd Jan after my last posting on this site, as I always had a feeling this situation was about to happen, they have been useless from the word go... it just could not continue like it had been operating.

It's a case of "Goodbye" from me...
After 11 months of unacceptable service, I've switched. It's a shame really - I live in the North East and loved the idea of supporting this fledgling company based in Newcastle, but they obviously can't get their act together.
My gripe? They just can't get their billing process to work, which is kind of important when you're trying to keep an eye on energy costs. Fortunately, I can work out for myself what energy I've used and what cost I've incurred, which is just as well because Future Energy don't seem to be able to tell me.
Numerous calls have got me nowhere. My last email, sent a week ago, has to date, gone unanswered. Now I know why - they can't solve the problem.
The customer portal is also poor. In addition to missing bills, an incorrect account balance, there is no history of submitted meter readings. For half the year, the Customer portal didn't work at all due to an upgrade, apparently.
I've stopped short of giving a 1 STAR and that's only because the initial rates were very competitive and telephone staff are pleasant.
FYI Future Energy, don't ask me to email me my details so that you can chase this up - you've had months to sort this out. I just hope you can get my final statement right!

12th Jan 2018 UPDATE: So, finally received a reply today to my email, which was sent 11 days ago. An admission to the fact that they have moved to a new Billing system that doesn't work is too late for me...

I have finally called it a day and opted for another supplier.
I joined in September, and to say this company's approach is confusing is an understatement.
I've sent meter reading after meter reading yet no payments have been taken. It took an age to access my account online and I've had no responses to emails or Facebook appeals for clarification.
Now I'm expecting months of delays in getting my final bill.
I live in the North East and hoped I was supporting a local energy supplier.
I don't know what FE's problems are, but I'm afraid they are theirs and not mine.
There'll be a letter going to the regulator too.
Very poor show.

Update:
The response below is, I'm afraid, too little too late. No mention of the emails that went unanswered. And what Direct Debit issues? First I've heard of any problems. If the only communication I can get is via a review website then it's time for me to move on.
I think the comments of others here speak volumes.

Further update:
Future Energy has today gone bust. Who is surprised at that.

As others have reported, I've been with this company for a year and have yet to have an accurate bill, despite numerous calls and emails, very pleasant customer services people, but false promises and excuses.
My advice, find an alternative supplier

Hello Don't ever go to this company for Gas and Electric they are a absolute HEADACHE they should supply the energy free of charge
in other words useless is being nice to them

Never in my life have I experienced a customer services team like them
in other words don't bother with them I would rather freeze to death , and that's a Geordie trying to help a north east company prosper , very very very poor James

Been with FE for nearly a year. despite repeated attempts to get a bill - to no avail. I would suggest don't bother dealing with customer relations, they simply don't do anything. - flag up an official complaint (ensure you say that it is specifically an Official Complaint) - make note of date and person you speak to, and then then wait the necessary 6 weeks and go to the Ombudsman and let them sort it out. But be aware Ombudsman is slow too, but they will resolve it.
It's like deja vu with previous supplier... How hard can it be to run a company like this...? with smart meters etc - #resigned sigh...

I joined Future Energy in March as they offered a good fixed deal for gas and electricity. To date the few minor problems I have had have always been sorted out by the helpful staff quickly and efficiently. I think what people need to bear in mind is that this is not a huge company like N Power and the like and maybe do not have the capacity or staff to deal with problems quite as quickly. I too had issues not being able to access my account to see my bill, but on ringing up and speaking to someone arranged to have one sent out , no problem. The only blip I do have is understanding my bill. Both my husband and I are reasonably intelligent but struggle to work out weather we are in credit or debit. At the end of the day all we want to see is a reduction in our energy bills which at present this company is delivering.

Oh dear without doubt the worst customer experince ever.
Never return phone calls.
Still waitng for my final bill from July. Was told I could access my account but could n't. Very good with the lip service and excuses.
Promises promises but never deliver even after I contacted the MD.
I'll be contacting the ombudsman again shortly.
Save yourself a load of hassle as there's plenty of choice and use other suppliers.
These muppets are a joke.

I have experienced nothing but problems with Future Energy. My first attempt to switch failed completely, but they didn't let me know - I had to chase them to find out why nothing was happening. On the second attempt, they only switched one fuel, not both. On the third attempt, they switched to the wrong tariff. So after a couple of months, I decided it was time to leave. That was in July. 3 months later, I've still not received a final statement, nor a refund of the balance which I am due. At first they told me that my new supplier (edf) had not sent final meter readings. On checking with edf, I was told that this was done within 3 weeks, and that Future Energy had acknowledged receiving them. Every time I ring, I'm told my account will be escalated with the billing department, but still I receive nothing. And now the guaranteed phone call back yesterday to let me know that everything was sorted never materialised (surprise surprise). Always very pleasant on the phone, and full of apologies, but absolutely useless at getting anything done. Reviews on this and other websites suggest they are totally unprepared to give money back. What happens when they go bust? Would rate with zero stars if possible

I first requested a bill from this company on 28 July when I was still a customer. Out of frustration I started with a new provider on 5 September and duly provided closing reads to both future energy and my new provider. I have chased my final bill on a couple of occasions but was told they have 6 weeks to generate it. 6 weeks have now passed and I feel I am being fobbed off. A ticket has been raised and they're apparently looking into it but already I've had a number of excuses including laying the blame on my new provider and the fact the readings have to go through a number of review processes - I've been asking for a bill since July!!!!! I'm starting to worry I won't ever get my credit back and would like a decent response from future energy before I consider next steps. Judging by reviews on this site and their Facebook page (which has mysteriously disappeared) I am not the only one being affected which makes me believe it is not my new energy supplier at fault.

Further to your comments below nobody phoned me yesterday? My concerns have not been abated in the slightest??

I signed up with this company because they offered me a cheaper deal on duel fuel than British Gas. I waited for about three weeks, heard nothing, so called the company. They informed me that I was not on their system and invited me to go through the signing up process again. Two weeks later I contacted them as I heard nothing. The girl on the phone informed me that I was not on their system, then started to laugh and put the phone down. I contacted them again and got a so called supervisor to call me back the next day. The super said he couldn't find me on the system, told me he would find out and call me back. Needless to say I never heard from them again. This has got to be the worst, joke of a company I have ever had the misfortune to contact. They can't even sign anyone up without screwing things up. You could not make this up, Fawlty Towers would be better organised.

As a northeasterner, I will always support north east companies and business. Unfortunately, this company is a total disaster. At first, they were ok but after submitting my last meter readings as requested some months ago I was no longer able to log onto my account, and still unable to do so. After several messages sent via there site without response, I started making calls and was eventually told they had problems with there systems and were unable to produce account statements but hoped it would be up and running in a few weeks. After far more than a few weeks still not able to log on to my account and have no idea what my account stands at. I was told on my last telephone conversation that they were now sorted and informing/allowing some 200 people each week via email to reset their accounts. Perhaps this is because their abacus is slow running. After all this time there has never been any communication from them to let us know what the issues are or when they would be sorted or what our accounts stand at.. The website has now been updated and shows the football club and charities it supports and provides funds for. Shame it can't support its customers the same way. IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A NORTHEAST ENERGY COMPANY CAN I SUGGEST YOU LOOK ELSEWHERE.

Good tariff but poor customer service, during supply they would ignore supplied meter readings and put an estimate instead. Swapped supplier 8 weeks ago but still waiting for final bill. No response to emails.
Taking on board your response I (again) contacted the customer services to which I have had no reply, checked my email filters and there is nothing from Future energy. It's now 3 months since my final reading and no settlement bill, with no indication of when I will get one.
Messages totally ignored from 13th & 23rd of September & 10th October relating to the matter. However an immediate response to a poor Trustpilot Review, see below - which is inaccurate, they hadn't contacted me then, and still haven't.

Have been waiting 4 months for final bill called them repeatedly but got nowhere. Made a complaint about 7 weeks ago so just waiting till next week to go to the ombudsman. Always being told to switch because it's cheaper had a nightmare with customer care with the smaller energy companies. Think it's best to go with the cheapest one out of the big 6 too much stress with smaller companies.

The prices seem to be good but the customer service is non existent. I've never yet had an email answered.