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Spark Energy fails to communicate

Rebecca Rutt
by Lovemoney Staff Rebecca Rutt on 20 July 2012  |  Comments 12 comments

From hours waiting on hold to quarterly bills which never arrive, my relationship with Spark Energy has gone from bad to worse.

Spark Energy fails to communicate

It doesn’t take much for me to moan about a company, be it a shop I’ve had a problem with to a bad meal in a restaurant, but my recent experiences with Spark Energy have forced me to take more action than simply whining to my friends.

Moving into a rented property last year we decided to stick with the energy supplier, Spark Energy, and see what the bills were like. After giving a meter reading and bank details for a direct debit, we waited for our first bill. Nothing arrived for a month so I called up and after several wasted lunch hours on hold, I spoke to someone who said the bill would be sent out.

This scenario repeated itself several times over five months with no sign of a bill, so I then resorted to contacting the press office.

Estimated bills

The press team were quick to respond, but by this time we wanted to switch as I worked out it would save us about £100 a year.  However, I was told we had actually been underpaying our bills for the past six months – no one had thought to tell us this – so if we wanted to leave we’d have to pay around £150 to clear the bill.

We paid via direct debit because it was cheaper, but because of this the company had estimated our bills over the winter, and severely underestimated them with no explanation. We begrudgingly stayed with Spark and a few months later with no communication from the company again, we noticed our May bill had been put up by £49 a month.  

Now while I don’t really agree with the price rising, I can’t argue too much as all the leading suppliers are doing it. But £49 a month is pretty steep for May, especially because as a house we’re pretty stingy with the heating and will always go for a blanket over turning it on.

Your rights when prices rise

A further email to the press office resolved the ‘mistake’ but it really doesn’t justify a company doing this. We were told a letter had been sent out, but I don't see how a company can justify putting up the price by so much when it has no idea if the letter has been received or not. We definitely didn't get it, and Spark didn't bother to try and call us or email us to let us know. 

Under the Direct Debit rules energy companies are supposed to inform customers if a payment will change, especially if it’s going to increase, at least 10 days before it happens. If it doesn’t, you should contact your supplier and complain. If it’s unable to answer the complaint within eight weeks take your complaint to the Energy Ombudsman - exactly what we plan to do.

Spark's lack of transparency and communication has been atrocious and it seems my experience isn’t unique. A quick look at the reviews section of the website shows many more grievances from other unhappy customers: 

If you've had a similar experince with your energy company, be it Spark or another provider, please share it in the comment box below. 

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Comments (12)

  • meldrewreborn
    Love rating 44
    meldrewreborn said

    Resetting Direct debits is a common area of friction between the supplier and customer. The tendency is for the supplier to set them slightly higher than is really needed, and the picture is clouded further when an account is in arrears. some suppliers also ignore discounts that are part of the Deal (another accolade for NPower!) when setting the DD amount. Another trick is to reset the DD after the winter period when arrears are more likely, and then "forget" to adjust when an account is in credit.

    But customers can ensure that their account is as up to date and correct by supplying regular meter readings, and monitoring their account to see that they are paying a reasonable DD amount. You need facts when arguing the level of a DD with the supplier - without them you're really protesting without a logical basis.

    Another thing about OVO - if your account is in credit they pay you at an annual rate of 3% for the use of your money - its much fairer that the rest who give you absolutely nothing!

    Report on 26 July 2012  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • MarcusPCE
    Love rating 0
    MarcusPCE said

    My problem has been significantly worse with Spark Energy.

    I moved into rented property in 2011, to discover (yes, discover) that Spark Energy were my new suppliers. As I wasn't immediately aware of these people, when the first letter from them dropped onto my doorstep I immediately googled the hell out of them, and no, I was not impressed with what I saw.

    I immediately contacted my previous supplier (Southern Electric, always been very good with me), and switched over at the end of the first month.

    The final bill with Spark Energy was really shocking for one month's electricity, coming close to a whopping £200. I had a massive problem with this, because even with other suppliers, I had averaged between £30-50 pcm (winter months included for higher costs in heating), but this was in March and that March was really hot, so no heating required!

    I got in touch with Spark's customer services, and the person I spoke to said she had noticed a problem with the bill, and said she would get in touch with Southern Electric to tie up loose ends and see if ends could be met so that everything seemed to be above board and correct with the bill.

    What followed - the next thing I received from Spark Energy, was not from Spark energy, but from their DCA, Buchanan Clark and Wells, possibly the worst level of debt collecting agency scum I've ever had the misfortune to deal with. Threatening letters asking for immediate payment etc etc....I told them the bill was under dispute, and after much bickering with Spark Energy and BCW I managed to get Spark Energy to call off their dogs.

    I then sent a complaint to Spark Energy, which received no response. So I sent another one some time after, in February last year, to which no response was received yet again. In November last year, I sent one more final complaint, demanding a response. I got one this month. Not only have they been entirely incompetent in handling the complaint, they are also lying to me.

    They say they should have had a D300 Flow from Southern Electric, now, Southern Electric DID send a D300 Flow the same month I submitted a complaint to them last year (February).

    Not only did they lie to me, TWICE, they added insult to injury by not just reducing the bill, but still seeing fit to charge over the odds for electricity I would never even get to use. It's not as bad as it was, but from nearly £200 to £136 as a "one off payment" (so kind - whatever), it's still not good enough. I'm not recommending Spark Energy to ANYONE, and if anyone does have any common sense, they'll avoid them like the plague.

    As far as I'm concerned, I'm very surprised they've been able to function for as long as they have.

    Report on 09 May 2013  |  Love thisLove  0 loves

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