Utility Alliance Reviews 331

This is a genuine customer review. It's not from UA staff, their family or friends. The situation UA put me into caused months of difficulties, hassle and stress.

UA cold called me and give them their due the staff sounded friendly and professional if very, very persistent. I was reassured that as industry 'experts' they knew their stuff. After being persistently called, as another reviewer puts it, they finally ground me down and I put my trust in them. I was lined up nicely by UA staff with tales of ever increasing energy costs, how hassle filled it is to find a good deal and arrange contracts, how they need to 'lock in' a great price at an early stage (when all they wanted to lock in was me) and how a 3 year deal would give a "cushion" (they should have said 'whoopee cushion')

Having 'locked in' prices for 3 years (& UA staff having understood I wanted fixed rates), 5 months into the contract the supplier wrote saying the unit rate and standing charges were changing. I believe that's what they call a 'secret uplift' in the industry.

3 electricity contracts were set up via a phone call. I was led to believe the prices were very competitive, especially when compared to the previous supplier, who it was alleged had "ridiculous" prices.

I received no written confirmation of prices, no letter of confirmation, no welcome pack (despite being told one would be sent), nothing, until I contacted UA in late Sept 2019 to ask. The contracts had started 2 weeks earlier. I was staggered to see the standing charges had more than trebled from the previous supplier's rates (and those which were widely available elsewhere). This resulted in increased costs of almost £1800 (if the rate remained fixed, as it was supposed to be). You would think that experienced 'experts' would have spotted the hike in costs and recognised the impact on a microbusiness - seemingly not!

I complained. The company director complained. Some calls weren't returned, when they were returned I was told that I had given authority and made to feel as if this was my fault. UA could provide no evidence of alternative prices obtained or how they calculated I was getting the best deal. Why wouldn't UA hold such records? Apparently it's because they work from 'live markets' and keep no records whatsoever.

The Customer Relations Manager told me (once it was too late) there is no cooling off period for businesses entering phone contracts. Funny the Energy Consultant didn't mention that at all! The wider complaint (including UA's staff giving false information) was ignored .

UA refused to provide any of the call records, even the 'script call', despite several requests. If UA had a transparent complaints process, they would have happily provided them. Instead, it took 6 MONTHS to get a copy of the 'script call' which eventually came from Corona Energy, who said they had to "request this from (UA) on many occasions". Miraculously Corona Energy managed to forward the call recording on within days of receiving it. When it did arrive, let's just say the recording had some inconsistencies in it, which led me to wonder if it had been edited.

Finally Corona Energy agreed to terminate the contracts (presumably based on the evidence now in front of them).

My advice to anyone needing to arrange energy contracts: put aside an hour or so, ring the suppliers yourself with your MPANs and consumptions; in my experience, there is no 'hassle', they don't pressurise you, they are happy to provide email quotes and hold them for 48 hours so you can consider it and make an informed decision.

If you do fall foul of UA my advice is DON'T GIVE UP, they tried to fob me off for as long as possible. Don't accept the snippet they play you over the phone (they only played the part they wanted me to hear). Be equally as persistent as UA are and keep going until you get your recording, then scrutinise it from beginning to end.

Anyone for a game of TRUTH OR LIE....?? Here are some of my recollections of what UA staff told me:

UA are industry funded (up front) to work on behalf of small businesses to reduce their bills and that they don't receive commission on sales... (LIE)

At 1 point, that it took a while to get back to me as they hadn't dealt with Corona Energy before... (LIE)

The contracts would become null and void in the event of a change in occupancy... (LIE)

The prices obtained for me were "....really good actually, brilliant. Pretty much the same as what you are paying to be perfectly honest with you...." (LIE)

The script call recording would be provided to Corona Energy at the point of submitting the contract.. (DIDN'T HAPPEN).

Note to UA - please don't respond by politely asking me to contact you. You have my number. You had your chance to look properly into my complaint, you didn't bother and thought you'd fob me off. It didn't work.

Was contacted by a guy named Asif a few months back and he managed to work out a great rate for my grocery store. Because of this I got back in contact with him regarding a new business I was starting up. He took on the full headache of the hotel premises and then went on to find good deals for my brothers shops as well. Will definitely be recommending him to other family. Just waiting for this company to be able to start helping sort out house bills

We Were called today again by Johnny, being over friendly, asking to talk to the person in charge of the energy bills. Confirmed he had called in January and they had our data on their system. We are registered with TPS and it is a criminal act to make sales called to TPS reg companies. They are also hold data on our company without request which is also again the law.

We have been called by the company many times and advised we are TPS reg and to remove our data from their system and to stop calling.

They have not. The law has being broken is these aspects. We do not deal with criminals and warn other not to. You have been warned. Those who start by breaking the law are normally not ethical companies.

Look at the reviews and made your own mind up, are the good reviews too good to be true? We advise do not deal with this company. They keep calling although asked not to. Asked to be put through to manager and told this could not be done. Are these the action of a good company?

Moments after finding a massive 50% increase on our companies Electric/Gas for the 1st year quarter I received a call from Jayson (fate stepped in). His professional no holds barred approached was exactly what we needed and with everything going on reference Covid it was a very welcome time to pass this issue over to experts for resolve.. Together with Lee they fixed all our contracts until September 2025 and locked in some low rates while the market is still variable. Highly recommended, tell them what you need and they will find it. I now have a different department of Utility Alliance reviewing our water/waste water bills too. Very happy, 5 Stars

Our broker Lisa Marriott has been excellent, not only has she found us competitive contracts for our Gas and Electricity renewals but she has been a great help to us in terms of dealing with other companies and getting to the bottom of some complaints.

Having dealt with a number of other firms, which was very stressful), Lisa stepped in and made it simple for us and removed the stress of dealing with the other companies - she is worth every penny!

Have been dealing with Dale Conway at Utility Alliance for about 6 months now - he called out of the blue at a time when I was having a nightmare hanging on the phone (for what seemed like hours!) to current suppliers trying to sort contracts for flats that I manage. Dale has done a brilliant job, I call or email him information and he gets it sorted quickly and efficiently. New contracts at far better rates have been put in place and any difficulties with the transition (the old suppliers do not like losing business it seems) is dealt with. Very pleased Dale made the original call - would highly recommend.

Annette was absolutely brilliant in helping me sort my account with NPower. I totally recommend her and this company.

Utility Alliance must have rang my office 3 or 4 times a day for the entire period of Corona Virus lock down. Pain the backside. I would rather stick pins in my eyes than use them as a utility supplier.

Utility alliance contacted ourselves and explained that although we were in contract we could still take advantage of the favourable energy prices and lock them in to start when are current contract ends. For a small business like ourselves and with energy prices definitely being a concern we are pleased to have been able to secure a competitive price.

Roger Hayes
Bristol Glass Processing

Great experience from start to finish. We had issues with our current supplier and Andrew Hempstead eased us through the process making it very fast and effective. Andrew has delivered everything he had promised our business and we plan to add further products to this with him. Overall we are very pleased, thank you!

Good honest experience, first dealings with Utility Alliance and Asif and all went to plan.

Kept us informed along the way and very easy to deal with.

Very helpful and very knowledgeable and would highly recommend them.

Thought I was being helped as a small independent business only to now find I’m lumped with outrageously expensive bills for what we use and no response after filing a complaint over a month ago, currently feeling as if I’ve been scammed and definitely would never recommend to any other new businesses.

Dealt with Ian Caithness who was fantastic throughout.well Recommended.

Predatory brokers who, when given the opportunity will lock you into long term contracts at rates massively above the market average.

AVOID for the good of your business and bank balance.

Rude and pushy during the global Coronavirus pandemic. Ridiculous!

Friendly service.
Provided excellent quotes for our business meters. Made the sign up process simple and straight forward. Only issue we had was information on the focusing document being incorrect. I had to sign three times. Other than that hiccup it was fine.

Very Knowledgeable and Friendly, made the whole process easy, which is so important when trying to sort things out on a voluntary basis. Would definitely recommend.

I have used Utility Alliance on several occasions and i have always dealt with Amy Hardware and I have always found her very professional and extremely helpful and nothing is to much trouble when I'm sure that dealing with some of these external companies can be very frustrating I wouldn't want to deal with anyone else.

We have used their consultant Mark Wilcox for our Scout Hut electricity contracts. He made the process simple and easy, ensuring that we were getting the best deal for our use. Taking into account our need to save money as a small Scout charity, and ensured we understood all the relevant charges.

Would not hesitate to recommend him, and the company.

I found Utility Alliance extremely helpful for our small business. Connor Cronin and Kim Hodgson were very patient with me and kept to appointment times to discuss our requirements. Even after signing up with them if I have any issues or queries Connor Cronin is there to assist me speedily, professionally and courteously. Would highly recommend Utility Alliance to any business.