Episode 7 Rip Off Britain

We asked you to tell us who's left you feeling ripped off

and you contacted us in your thousands, by post, e-mail,

even stopping us on the street, and the message could not be clearer.

There's too much focus on profit and less on customer care.

It's so hard to complain, companies make it so difficult to complain.

You told us, with money tighter than ever,

you need to be sure that every pound counts.

All my money is very hard-earned, so when I go to spend it,

I expect value for money.

So whether it's a deliberate rip off,

a simple mistake or a catch in the small print,

we'll find out why you're out of pocket and what you can do about it.

Your stories, your money. This is Rip Off Britain.

Hello and welcome to Rip Off Britain,

the programme that's here to battle on your behalf

when you think you've had bad service or been left out of pocket.

And just as importantly,

has advice to help avoid the same thing happening to you.

Now, today we'll be meeting people

who've experienced big problems after getting big bills.

Something I'm sure we all dread and can identify with.

And when that's happened,

all to do, by the way, with the cost of running their home,

what a struggle some of them have had to put things right.

So, we're going to be putting the big names on the spot

to find out exactly what they intend to do to improve their service.

We're also going to be hearing from a man who wants

answers from his water company - but not because of his own bill,

but to try and help out his neighbour with theirs.

Coming up on today's show, energy mistakes that are costing you money.

I thought the nightmare was over - it wasn't.

It took months of almost daily telephone calls and long letters.

Drowning in water bills? You're not alone.

People in here have got no idea what everybody else is paying,

but they're unaware what's going on.

Everybody's paying a completely different amount.

And more advice from the experts at our pop-up shop.

Over the last year, the number of complaints made

about big energy companies has increased and more often than not,

that's to do with the amount

that they've actually charged you for your gas or electricity.

Because sometimes, when you get an unexpected large bill

it has nothing at all to do with how much power you've actually used.

It's probably down to a simple mistake by your supplier.

Not that they'd necessarily see it that way.

And even if it seems fairly obvious that you really could not possibly

owe as much money as they say you do,

they may not handle things in quite the way that you would like.

The big six energy companies are rarely out of the news.

They've increased their charges at a time when many of us

have had to tighten our belts.

Our energy prices are heading ever higher this winter.

They've even come under fire from the Prime Minister.

We will be legislating so that energy companies

have to give the lowest tariff to their customers.

With them posting bigger profits than ever before,

no wonder everyone has an opinion.

But it just does seem to have gone through the roof.

It's going to cost us more and more according to them,

while they cream off more and more profits.

What kills me - especially in the winter - year in year out,

are the exorbitant prices and they are really difficult to cope with.

Between them in the first three months of 2013, the big six

energy companies received almost 1.5 million complaints from customers.

EDF was the one with the highest number -

a quarter of all customer complaints made were to them.

But the others didn't get off lightly either.

Earlier this year a survey for energy regulator Ofgem found that

just 55% of us would say that we're satisfied with our energy provider.

So that's a lot of people who aren't.

And, of course, when you're not happy with your supplier,

you don't just write to them, you also get in touch with us.

Rosemary Potterill from Deal in Kent did just that.

She had a problem with ScottishPower dating back to

when she first signed up with them in 2010.

I opted for the cheapest tariff and paid by direct debit through

the bank and this system seemed to be the best option for me.

ScottishPower took Rosemary's payments by direct debit

every month and at first she didn't notice that she was being

charged an astronomical amount for her energy.

As this was an online account, no paper bills were sent out,

this was to save money. I did not know how much energy I was using.

It was only when Rosemary's bank account kept

going into the red that she realised something was seriously amiss.

I was paying £633 monthly for gas and electricity.

That was almost five times the amount that she'd paid

her previous energy supplier, who she'd only left

because ScottishPower had been offering her a cheaper tariff.

I thought that when I was going out,

my children were turning on all the lights

and running every piece of electronic goods that they owned

and that's why the energy was so expensive.

Worried about how much power she was using, Rosemary turned her

heating down and even started using candles for light.

None of that stopped the big bills.

The situation came to a head in December of 2011, when Rosemary

received a bill for over £1,300 for just two months' energy.

I was so frustrated with this cycle of going into debt

that I actually cancelled the direct debit, I was so angry with them.

When Rosemary didn't pay, ScottishPower started to investigate

and spotted a huge mistake in her accounts.

Rosemary's meter was a metric one,

but she'd been billed as if it was imperial,

translating into massive bills.

When the mistake was put right,

it turned out that for two years Rosemary had been overpaying

ScottishPower and was now in fact £5,000 in credit with the company.

-But that wasn't the end of it...

-I thought the nightmare was over.

It wasn't. It took months of almost daily telephone calls

and long letters requesting the re-payment of the overpayment.

ScottishPower did refund Rosemary all of the overpayments

that she'd made, but they didn't reduce their estimates

of how much power she would use, so her next bill was over £1,000.

Only when she complained again did they reduce it

to around £200 a month. And even then her problems continued.

During the time Rosemary had been overpaying

and going overdrawn, she'd racked up bank charges of almost £1,000.

ScottishPower initially offered me £100 compensation.

They then offered £200 and finally £250.

If I didn't accept within the fortnight I would get nothing.

I refused.

After Rosemary turned that down she went to the Energy Ombudsman,

who agreed with the company's offer. So she and ScottishPower

remain at loggerheads over resolving the matter.

Rosemary feels the compensation should be higher

and has stalled in paying further bills as a result.

The company says, she hasn't engaged with THEM in putting things right.

When we contacted ScottishPower, they told us that the meter mistakes

hadn't been down to them, but was as a result of them receiving the wrong

details of Rosemary's meter from the gas metering national database.

That along with them receiving only estimated rather than

actual readings resulted in the overpayments.

They've apologised for the error

and re-iterated that they have offered compensation,

with the latest offer increased to £300,

and they sent details of the work that they've done

to improve customer satisfaction overall.

But Rosemary is standing firm.

I wouldn't have gone overdrawn,

I wouldn't have incurred those charges, I wouldn't have had to make

the phone calls, write the letters, use the printing ink.

It's cost me a lot of money to get my money back,

I would like them to compensate me for this.

Now normally, if you're not happy with what you're paying for your

gas or electricity, you can look for a better deal and switch supplier.

But there's one commodity where you just don't have that option - water.

Something so basic, but paying for it can cause an awful lot of headaches.

Anxiety over paying water bills is one of the most frequent reasons

that consumers contact the national debt line.

There were around 20,000 calls last year alone.

But here's a group of neighbours whose water bills

have prompted them into taking a stand.

In North Somerset, the residents of this block of retirement flats

are gathering together to voice their concerns.

-I've got a £440 bill for single occupancy.

-£387.

£380 for a ten-month period.

Everybody's paying a completely different amount.

I mean, not just a few pounds here and there.

I don't mean this disrespectfully, but I mean,

if you kick the bucket next week, they've got your money.

These ripples of discontent are down to something

none of the residents can do without - their water.

We moved here in May 2012 and we noticed the water bills

were high as soon as we moved in.

Since then, Terry Barge has been a man on a mission,

enlisting his neighbours in a campaign against how much

they pay the local companies -

Wessex water, which deals with the sewage, and Bristol Water,

which supplies their water.

It seems some of them are being charged different amounts

and they don't understand why.

Do you know there are 82 flats in this building?

And they're all the same, every one.

So why are our water rates so different?

Because these flats all share a hot water supply,

they can't be fitted with water meters.

Which means rather than being billed for how much water is actually

used, payments are calculated according to set rates based

on an assumption of how much water a typical flat will get through.

And with 82 identical one-bedroom flats in this complex, you can see

why Terry would think all of them should be charged the same.

He pays what's called an assessed charge, which here,

should only vary depending on whether one or two people live in each flat.

Charging is very clear.

For a single occupancy, it's £251.43

and for a double occupancy, it's £304.43.

As we'll see, things aren't quite that simple, but Terry is worried

that some residents are getting bills very different from the ones he pays.

People in here have got no idea what everybody else is paying.

But they're unaware of what's going on.

Terry and his partner, Mairead,

pay exactly the amount the figures say they should.

But they're concerned that some of the other residents

seem to be paying a lot more. Terry's neighbour Malcolm

can't make sense of how much he's being charged.

-I've just received a bill for £440, I'm not happy about.

-£440?

-Mmm-hmm.

As a single occupier, he should be paying £251 a year,

and he's paying £440.

I can't believe he's paying that much money.

Terry is calling a residents' meeting for later in the day so he wants to

make sure he's knocked on every door and compared every resident's bill.

I really want to help here because there's people that need it.

I'm 70 and I'm one of the youngest here, as well.

I think people need help.

The complex was recently renovated by its owner.

Close to £1 million was spent on improvements,

which included water-saving measures.

The residents are convinced they're being really water-efficient,

so are some of them paying over the odds,

or is there another explanation?

Terry has managed to compare billing information from 71 of the 82 flats.

He's worked out that 56 of them

are paying the same assessed charge as he is,

that's £251.43 for one occupant

and £304.43 for two.

Six flats are paying less than that,

but it seems nine of them are paying more.

So, with soup and rolls provided by Terry,

-the residents gather in the communal lounge.

-Good morning, everybody.

-ALL:

-Morning, Terry.

-Thank you all for coming up here today.

We've got a problem, obviously, with the water, which is

why we've asked you to come to this meeting,

to try and find out who's paying over the odds.

I'm representing my mother-in-law, Mrs Tinsley, she's very frail,

so she can't come down.

I only discovered this about a month ago.

I picked up her bills and found she was paying £387 a year.

I live in a four-bedroom detached house and I don't pay that,

and I've got a washing machine and a dishwasher

and she has none of these things.

It's single occupancy, she hardly uses any water.

-I'm paying £35.02 a month.

-For single occupancy.

No washing machine. No dishwasher, nothing.

All right, Gwen, we'll come to you now.

-You're single occupancy again, aren't you?

-Yes.

How much are you paying, Gwen?

-This year, I shall be paying £387 for 12 months.

-£38.70.

It works out at £38.70 a month.

-Why is it different for everybody?

-It's miles too much.

These residents appear to be paying around £80 a year more than

Terry and most of their neighbours.

If Gwen was on the same rate as them,

she'd only be paying £304.43 per year.

You're paying £13 a month more than nearly everybody in here.

I mean, what would £13 extra be in my pocket?

-Exactly.

-You know, it's a lot.

-But until I told you, you had no idea.

No, I just went with the flow.

When we put all this to Bristol Water and Wessex Water, the reason

for the disparity between residents' bills quickly became clear.

In a joint response,

they explained that in flats like these where

they can't fit a meter, residents aren't automatically put onto

the assessed rate that Terry pays. They have to apply to get that.

So, until they do, they'll pay a higher charge

based on the flat's rateable value.

Ten flats currently have that higher cost.

But by completing the relevant form, residents like Gwen

could quickly bring their bills down.

There were individual reasons why other residents' bills varied,

such as under or overpayments on their accounts.

In a couple of cases, such as Terry's neighbour Malcolm,

there were errors that have now been amended.

The companies say they'll be working more closely

with housing associations to make tenants aware

of potential savings on their water bills,

either by installing a meter or applying for that assessed charge.

And though the reason for the varying charges might not have been

what Terry had thought, most of the neighbours

he was worried about should now be able to pay less for their water.

So his campaign has paid off.

He's glad to have been able to do his bit for the neighbours.

-The Rip Off Britain pop-up shop has come to town.

-Morning, everybody!

Good to see you.

For one weekend only,

we opened up a one-stop consumer advice shop in Liverpool city centre.

-We brought along more experts...

-This is Gary, he's a solicitor.

..gave out more top tips...

That's the key thing to remember, not to reply to e-mails

with any personal information or banking information.

..and met more of you than ever before.

Sylvia called in to tell us about a problem with her energy supplier.

She'd been thrilled to get a letter saying she'd overpaid her

utility bills, but she wasn't so happy with what they said

when she asked to have it back.

I got letters to say, "We owe you £650."

So I said, "I'm in credit for that, I'd like that credit back."

They said, "Oh, no, we're going to amend it with future bills."

Sylvia had already spoken to Citizens' Advice, but was interested

to hear what financial journalist Sarah Pennells thought about it.

The first thing I think you should do is go straight back to

the energy company and say that you want this overpayment back,

because it's your money and by law,

they have to refund that money or give you a very good reason why not.

Even if they give you a good reason, you can still challenge them.

You've done the right thing by going to Citizens' Advice, but I'd

also put a complaint letter into the company, so that if Citizens' Advice

can't resolve it, you can go straight to the Energy Ombudsman.

Lastly, I would see if you can get advice about where you can

-shop around and get a better deal.

-Right.

-I hope that's helpful.

-Oh, it's been wonderful.

-Pleasure. Nice to meet you and good luck.

Just outside our shop, we set up a special corner where you could

go and let off steam about all your consumer complaints.

I love our gripe corner,

because I'm sure that all of us

have things that annoy the life out of us,

and this is a wonderful opportunity as consumers to stand in front

of the camera and let it all out, really get it off your chest.

It makes me really frustrated and angry.

Having to pay on a hole in the wall to get your own money

out of the bank.

When you leave the website and then you go back,

they knock up the prices cos they know you've already looked.

I'm really annoyed at how much the buses cost.

-I'm a student and it costs me a bomb.

-The rising cost of living.

Back inside the shop, Jim came to see financial journalist James Daley.

He'd recently moved house, but was baffled when his electricity company

told him he still owed them money on his account.

I rang them up to tell them I was moving.

They asked me to take a meter reading.

So I got the meter reading and gave it to them over the telephone

-and they said there was a bill outstanding for £60.

-£68?

-£60-odd.

So I said, "How can that be?"

I'm on a key meter, which means I pay as I go along.

Then I get a bill at the new address saying that I owe this money.

But no explanation as to why.

The thing to do here is to put a complaint in writing to them

and say, "I always had a meter, it's impossible to go into arrears,

"I've never been in arrears

"and there's no way I could have a £70 bill at this stage.

"I want you to cancel this bill immediately

"and if you don't do that,

"I'm going to take my complaint onto the Energy Ombudsman."

From what you've told me,

sounds like you've got a cast iron case here.

There's no way you should have to pay that bill.

If I were you, I'd put something in the letter

saying that you wouldn't mind a small payment of goodwill

to make up for the inconvenience.

He's told me to go onto the internet and get in touch with

the ombudsman and threaten them with the ombudsman.

I'll take it from there and hope everything works out OK.

Since coming to see us, Jim has been in touch with his electricity

provider and they've decided not to pursue the debt any further.

Still to come on Rip Off Britain, why an eco-friendly heating system

with royal approval has left these residents dreading another winter.

My daughter woke up at five in the morning crying

because she was so cold.

Plus we take on Energy UK to ask what they're doing

to tackle your complaints.

45% of people are totally dissatisfied

with their energy companies.

That's a really poor show.

Now, whether it's concerns about rising prices or rocketing profits,

gas and electricity companies continue to make the news,

not to mention filling out our postbag and inbox.

But while it's the big six energy companies that hog

the headlines, there are plenty of smaller suppliers around as well.

Does that mean that they always offer a better service?

Some of the people who found themselves signed up to

one of those suppliers would say not.

It's a business that has sparked

a surprising number of complaints given its size.

But for those who are unhappy,

it seems it's not always easy to take your business elsewhere.

It was in August last year when Chris Martin and a friend

started looking for a property to rent in Kingston-upon-Thames.

They finally found what they wanted with the help of

letting agency Your Move.

It had all of the requirements that we needed.

Being close to work was of high importance,

with being able to get back and walk the dog.

Once the move was under way,

Chris set about sorting things out like the gas and electricity,

and contacted his provider, EDF,

so that he could take his account with him to the new property.

I was sticking with my current utility company

to take over my new supply of gas and electric.

So Chris was surprised

when shortly after the move he got a letter from Spark Energy,

a supplier that, like most people, he had never heard of.

After 20 days I received a letter from Spark Energy informing me

that they were going to be my new energy supplier.

But with that warm welcome also came a demand for payment.

He had only just moved in, but the company was already chasing him for money.

They had actually requested a £150 deposit upfront,

which I thought was really peculiar.

I did a little research on the internet about them.

And I found out that there was really bad reviews.

Set up seven years ago, Spark Energy quickly found a niche

supplying energy to rental properties.

Their website reveals a much bigger ambition,

to be the most customer focused energy retailer in the UK.

But the reviews Chris was reading suggested the opposite,

so he phoned them.

He told them he had never chosen them as his energy supplier.

But they pointed out some small print that he had missed

in the tenancy agreement.

I had a brief look through my tenancy agreement

and I couldn't actually find where the reference was to Spark.

So I asked them for proof of contract.

In response, the company directed Chris to a line in the tenancy agreement

that he had signed with a letting agent.

It makes clear that tenants will have their gas and electricity

supplied by Spark Energy, so although it would be Chris who'd be paying

the bills, he had no choice about who they would come from.

I was very disappointed when I found out I had signed up to Spark Energy.

I hadn't willingly signed up and I found it a bit frustrating.

Based in Selkirk, Spark Energy works with a number of letting agents,

whose tenants may find themselves automatically signed up to the company

through a clause in their tenancy agreement.

But Chris wasn't happy about that.

So he told Spark Energy that he wanted to switch back

to his previous energy provider, EDF.

However, Spark Energy weren't going to let him go that easily.

When EDF put a request through to switch, their efforts were blocked.

I received a letter from EDF telling me that there

had been a snag in the efforts to switch.

I soon realised that Spark were blocking EDF the switch.

And in the meantime, the bills from Spark Energy were quickly mounting up.

Chris was more determined than ever to switch

but Spark Energy told him they had blocked that

because his account was overdue

and he could only change supplier once his final bill was settled,

so he promptly paid up and ask to switch again.

Spark Energy told him

he could move to the new supplier in a few weeks.

But when that didn't happen, the company said that a new bill

was now outstanding.

In the weeks he'd had to wait, his next bill had been generated

and Chris quickly realised that once he'd paid that,

the whole process would happen all over again.

Once we paid the outstanding amount there just always seemed to be another

amount that had been overlooked and we couldn't actually leave.

I felt that they had intentionally made it really difficult to switch.

The amount of effort it took to switch was more effort

than I have put into anything for a long time.

In fact, over a period of four months,

Chris tried to switch to EDF four separate times.

It just felt like it was ongoing. Never-ending.

E-mails, phone calls, it just felt like it was never going to happen.

There was always some reason for us not to be able to switch.

The law says that energy companies must allow consumers to switch,

provided they are not in a fixed-term agreement

and they don't owe more than £200 to their supplier.

Spark Energy were saying that Chris did have outstanding debts,

because that is how they class each newly issued bill.

And although Chris kept paying them,

by saying he could not switch until three weeks after

settling his account, the company was able to keep issuing new bills,

starting the whole sorry cycle again.

Chris took his case to his MP and also to Consumer Futures,

who referred his complaint to the industry regulator, Ofgem.

And they have now launched an official investigation

into Spark Energy, after receiving similar complaints.

I think the company as a whole needs to be investigated because

I don't think that they particularly adhere to the code of conduct.

I think that the way they treat their customers is appalling.

At Rip Off Britain we have received a number of stories about Spark Energy

exactly like Chris's case.

As have the government-appointed body, Consumer Futures.

There are three main types of complaints

that Spark Energy customers had.

Complaints about billing,

complaints about switching,

people who were prevented from switching, or that it took a very long time,

and finally there were a lot of general complaints about customer service,

people finding it difficult to get through to Spark Energy,

or waiting long periods of time for their complaints to be resolved.

But Spark Energy says:

They insist they work closely with consumer bodies

and regulators to put customers' interests at the forefront

of what they do, and point to a series of improvements that will

further enhance the overall experience.

They are confident that Ofgem's investigation will find

their systems and procedures fully compliant,

and that many of their tariffs are amongst the cheapest on the market.

And they say the issue which caused Chris's complaint has now been fixed,

and the whole issue resolved to his satisfaction.

Although that is not quite the end of the story, Chris did eventually

manage to switch to the company he had wanted to be with all along,

but he had a feeling that he had not heard the last of all of this.

And he was right.

I was relieved to finally leave Spark after a five or six month period,

and I sort of thought it was all behind us.

When I actually went to renew my lease I realised that the clause

was written back into the new lease, in the new tenancy agreement.

But Chris wasn't about to go through all of that again

and demanded that the clause was removed.

I was surprised at how stubborn the letting agency were

and I thought that the second time around they would remove

the clause quite quickly, quite easily, but I did have to

phone my landlord up and get him to request for it to be removed.

Letting agency Your Move told us that it is to

make things easier and help the tenants that,

in common with several other big-name letting agencies,

they organise for Spark Energy to supply their rental properties.

Although they admit that the company does pay them

a small administration fee for the costs of facilitating the connection.

But they say the tenancy agreement is not

conditional on the arrangement and that tenants are not

prevented from switching to an alternative supplier at any time.

But Chris had almost given up on being able to choose his own

energy supplier.

And he found dealing with Spark Energy a long and stressful business.

I think they treated us appallingly as customers,

it is not something I would expect.

They come across as a relatively big brand on their website

and all the promotional material.

But actually they have got quite a small company mentality.

It was really consuming and occupied a lot of my time.

Come on.

Next, an estate where some of the residents are absolutely

dreading the approach of winter.

Their homes are fitted with an alternative energy system,

and it is one that has been championed by Prince Charles.

But it has not proved quite so effective for them.

Britain's energy supplies are dwindling.

The race is on to find another source of power,

one that is environmentally friendly, cost-effective, and renewable.

Which is why energy supplied by biomass technology seems to

tick all of these boxes.

It works like a wood-burning stove, but on a huge scale.

Biomass burns wood pellets, chips, or logs, to provide warmth

in a single room, or to power central heating and hot water boilers.

Even Prince Charles has a biomass boiler at Highgrove.

So, could this be the answer to our energy problems?

Katie Meeran certainly hoped so, when two-and-a-half years ago,

she moved into her brand-new home.

The housing association that runs the estate sold properties as being

energy efficient.

I moved here in January 2011,

just before my daughter was due to apply for infant school.

And I wanted to stay in this area, it is a stable start,

to be in a nice area, with nice neighbours.

The community is really nice and it is growing.

So, yeah, I was really excited about it.

Katie was particularly taken with the prospect of lower bills

courtesy of a biomass system that was designed to provide

energy to the entire housing development.

The biomass heating system was a positive for me,

if you like, because it gels with my beliefs that we should try to

move towards more sustainable forms of energy.

But it wasn't long before Katie realised that things were not

working quite as they should.

The week after we moved in, my daughter woke up

at five in the morning crying because she was so cold.

I was understandably really confused and concerned.

The water wouldn't heat the radiators enough,

so there was something wrong with the supply.

There would be no hot water in the mornings,

at peak times when you'd want to shower.

And the heating would only get warm intermittently.

As the problems continued, Katie and her daughter were forced to come up

with alternative ways of staying warm and getting hot water.

It was also quite frightening.

Whenever there would be snow or frost or dips below zero

at night on the weather forecast,

we knew that we would not have enough heating to see us through.

We would block off the sitting room, where we are now.

Shut the door and line the bottom of the door with towels or rugs.

I would also make sure the immersion was switched on all the time

so we had hot water.

And my daughter and I and the dog

basically slept in my bed with my mum's old electric blanket on.

So you can imagine my electricity bills being quite high.

Katie isn't the only person living on this estate to have

the same problem.

Michelle Holder has struggled with her biomass system too.

It was a really hard winter and there was snow,

and it just got cooler and cooler.

Eventually the radiators were really not working.

It was horrible not being able to walk around and be comfortable

and having to stay really wrapped up all the time.

I ended up spending a lot of time at my parents' house, at work,

at the gym, at friends' houses, borrowing heaters,

borrowing more blankets.

I couldn't have people round in the winter because it was too cold.

I didn't want to put my friends in that situation

so we would go out to the pub or go out to a restaurant rather

than come to my very nice new home that I loved.

Some of the other neighbours have a similar story, leading them

to rely on less sophisticated

and more expensive ways of heating their homes.

We have got electric heaters round the house so they are touching them.

Two of them are toddlers so it is quite hard to keep their fingers

and try and watch them all the time.

It is quite hard to keep all the rooms the same

sort of temperature so they are not going from one to the other,

like one is really hot and one is really cold.

So that is quite a hard balance.

As well as not having reliable heating and hot water, like many of

the residents on the estate, Michelle has never received a bill for all

of the heating and hot water that she has used since she moved in.

Although that may sound like a bonus, the fear of a large

unexpected bill landing on the doorstep is a big worry.

I think after six months, a lot of us

were curious of when the first bills were going to come through.

Was it six monthly? Was it once yearly? None of us really knew.

And we still haven't been given any indication when we are going

to be getting a bill, let alone how much it is actually going to be.

None of us know if it is £5 a month, £20 a month,

£50, we don't have any idea of how much the bills are going to be

and how far back they are going to go.

So why has this system been so problematic for these residents?

Engineers who have looked at their systems have questioned

whether it was installed correctly, and also told Katie

and Melissa that the pipes made to deliver hot water

and heat to their homes are blocked with soot

and by-product from the system,

which might explain why most of the residents on the estate haven't had

any difficulties and say the system is working fine in their homes.

Experts say that with technology as new as this,

there's bound to be teething problems.

But for the residents that we spoke to,

they just don't see much benefit in having an energy system that,

for them so far, has not proved very efficient at all.

It has been really frustrating for the last two years that

I love my flat when I moved in, and you kind of get to the point,

I don't like it as much as I did.

It is not a place I want to come home to.

It is not warm, it is not what I thought I was buying.

We contacted the housing association, the developers

and the estate's managing agents,

all of whom are "working to get the problems resolved".

They are confident that the system was "installed correctly".

Although the number of people affected is bigger than

initially thought, it's because most residents have not had trouble

and it was "difficult to identify the problem initially".

It seems that the issues are down to "a gradual build up of residue".

So no-one is going to be charged for their energy

until remedial works are complete.

The housing association has also made clear that

when bills do go out, there will be,

"a 50% reduction for residents who have been affected."

They have also "provided additional heating

"and been contributing £5 a day towards the cost."

And since filming the developers have told us

that repair works have now been carried out on the system,

and that the heating and hot water issues

that Katie, Michelle and Melissa experienced have now been resolved.

Another cold winter, I think, is going to kill me.

It is something I don't want to think about.

Are we going to be back in the same situation

we have been in for the last two years when winter comes round again?

I'm just hoping it's not going to be a cold one.

Most of the companies that you tell us about haven't set out to

rip you off, so when you feel that is what has happened it may

be their terms and conditions that weren't clear enough or there

has been a genuine mistake that they have been slow to put right.

Whatever the explanation,

when things go wrong you need to know what to do and where to turn.

So we've put together a guide of tips and advice.

You can find a link to the free guide on our website:

Or a hard copy will be sent if you send us a stamped,

A5 self-addressed envelope to the address

that we will give you at the end of the programme.

Whether it's rising prices, confusing tariffs

or because you're worried about how you'll pay your bills,

energy remains one of the biggest issues

filling the Rip Off Britain postbags.

So I've once again come to the offices of Energy UK,

the trade association for the energy industry,

to see what they're doing to bring the number of complaints down.

Every year I come to see this company, and every year you say

it's going to be more simple, it's going to be less confusing.

But it's not really.

Well, the supply of energy from

where it's generated or sourced

to the domestic house,

it is a complex journey.

But we are working as hard as we can

to make it less confusing for the consumer.

It never seems complex in terms of your profits.

And I think that's what really galls the customer most.

We see big, big advertising of how much they've made every year

for the shareholders, and yet our prices, the consumer prices,

are just going up and up. That's difficult to equate.

And nobody ever gives me an answer that satisfies me, anyway.

Over the next decade or so, we have to invest

over £110 billion in replacing our ageing energy infrastructure.

And to be blunt about it, keeping the lights on

and keeping us in warm, healthy homes.

So to do that, you've actually got to have an industry

-that is actually profitable.

-But I never see a drop in your profits.

The profits do drop on the supply side, and indeed in many cases

you're looking at margins that are very, very low

or are actually negative margins,

so there is a lot of volatility in how those prices are run through.

Over the big six, there were one and a half million complaints.

One and a half million in the first three months of this year.

So again, it takes us back to, whatever is being done,

-is not being done quickly enough.

-That is a big number.

But if you actually break it down,

over 80% of those one and a half million contacts were dealt with

on the same day or at worst by the close of the next working day.

So that means an awful lot of those customers were actually

having those problems solved by talking to the energy company,

probably on the same phone call.

So that is actually quite a quick turnaround.

There is another important aspect here.

It's only by talking to customers, it's only by actually understanding

where a customer's problems are, that we as an industry can improve.

Change doesn't happen overnight,

but there's a heck of a lot of work going on amongst

all of the suppliers to improve the relationship with the customer.

Ofgem did a survey this year and found that 45% of people

are totally dissatisfied with their energy companies.

-That's a really poor show.

-It is.

And it shows that we've still got work to do.

There's no arguing with that whatsoever.

And I very much hope that every month that 45% gets reduced,

so next month hopefully it'll be 44, and so on.

All of the major companies and all the smaller suppliers

take the relationship with the consumer very seriously.

And we are on a road, we know we're nowhere near the end of that road,

and we aim to make sure that over the next six months,

the next 12 months, the next 18 months,

we are putting the customer first.

When I can't get through next time to a person to help me

with my bill, I'm going to call you, Lawrence.

-I look forward to speaking to you, Gloria.

-Thank you very much, thanks.

Here at Rip Off Britain we're always keen to hear more of your stories.

And we're particularly interested in ones to do with food,

for a new series next year.

Confused by all those different labels on the supermarket shelves?

Worried that products described as healthy may be nothing of the kind?

Whatever is worrying you about the things we put on our plates,

you can write to us at:

Or send us an e-mail to:

The Rip Off team is ready and waiting to investigate your stories.

Well, as we've said before here on Rip Off Britain,

there are some very large companies

who just do not make it easy for their customers, and I think

-we've had examples of that on today's programme.

-Sure have.

But do remember that with most utility companies,

if you are not happy with either the service

or indeed the prices that you're quoted,

then you do have the right to take your business elsewhere.

Now, the only one you're stuck with is your water company.

None of us has any choice with that.

But as we've seen in the story of Terry and his neighbours,

that doesn't mean that they won't listen to you.

And what a joy it was to hear about someone working so hard

to get a better deal for other people as opposed to himself.

Very inspiring. We've run out of time now,

so I'm afraid that's where we have to leave it for today,

but please do keep your stories coming and we'll see you soon

to investigate more of them.

Until then, thanks for your company, and from all of us here,

-bye-bye.

-Bye-bye.

-Bye.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd