At the weekend, GB Energy Supply collapsed. While the energy regulator, Ofgem, is transitioning its 160,000 customers onto a new supplier, we’re joined by guest author and GB Energy Supply customer, Liz Ford, who shares her take on the situation.
I’ve been a customer of GB Energy Supply since the summer.
Being two pensioners, we try to stay on top of our bills and make sure we make the most out of the best deals on offer.
I switched to GB Energy Supply after seeing that it was offering a reasonable tariff.
I took reviews of its service into consideration and knew a customer of the provider who was happy with it. All seemed fine, so I went ahead and locked into a fixed one-year tariff and set up quarterly bills.
Missing bill
Last week, I telephoned GB Energy Supply’s customer service team because I hadn’t received my latest bill.
I’d logged onto my account online, but while the meter reading was there, the bill wasn’t. Something wasn’t right – it should’ve been there at the beginning of the month.
After speaking to the customer service team, I was sent a bill via email and discovered I was £134 in credit.
Knowing that GB Energy Supply owed me money, I relaxed a bit, as I thought the bill would balance out.
Company collapse
Then on Saturday night, a friend (and former GB Energy Supply customer) rang me to tell me about the company collapsing.
I checked my emails to see if I’d had any contact from GB Energy Supply and saw one telling me that the company had collapsed and to contact Ofgem for more information.
It wasn’t until Monday that I started to get actual advice from the likes of Which? and the media on what is going on and what to do next.
Transition process
Being in credit has left me wondering when and how I’ll get my money back. To be honest, I’ve got little faith in how this process will work out.
I know that Ofgem is handling the moving of GB Energy Supply’s customers onto a new supplier, but I’m not comfortable that it’ll be a smooth process for us at all.
And I can’t help but wonder who’s going to take on all these 160,000 customers that now need a new energy supplier. I’m not sure how any new supplier’s customer services team will be able to cope with a sudden influx of 160,000 customers… all trying to get the best deal available. That is, I suppose, unless it’s a one of the Big Six suppliers.
Having to balance my bills, I do worry that the new supplier won’t be able to honour the arrangement I’d had with GB Energy Supply either, so I’ll definitely be calling it to make sure I’m on the best tariff available to me.
This is a guest contribution by Liz Ford, a customer of GB Energy Supply. All views expressed here are Liz’s own and not necessarily those also shared by Which?.
Were you a GB Energy Supply customer before it crumbled? How do you feel about the way its collapse is being handled? Are you concerned about the situation?