Mercury Energy cold call

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networkn

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Topic # 87041 18-Jul-2011 15:09

So I just got a call from ME on my business line telling me they are going to do me a favour and lock my prices down for 2 years so I don't pay any more than I currently do for one part of my charges.

I said that sounds great, and she says, I am going to transfer you to a voice recorder to record you giving approval. I said.. hang a tic, are we contracted to you for 2 years, and she says.. yes. Early termination is $20 a month for the remainder of the term and $110 cancellation fee.

Works out that if I move to another provider tomorrow, I am up for $600 in fees!.

I can't prove this, but I did get the feeling that if I didn't ask I wouldn't have been told about the ET charges, so I told her I would investigate and get back to her. She wasn't happy and asked me why I would do that, because it was such a great deal and no-one else was offering to lower our costs.

Anyone else had anything similar?

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Reply # 494781 18-Jul-2011 15:12

I haven't had this, but I have had numerous letters offering me a 3 year fixed rate that is higher than my current rate.

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networkn

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Reply # 494783 18-Jul-2011 15:14

Is there a site that compares commercial energy rates? (Is there a difference?)

mattwnz

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Reply # 494806 18-Jul-2011 15:30

networkn: So I just got a call from ME on my business line telling me they are going to do me a favour and lock my prices down for 2 years so I don't pay any more than I currently do for one part of my charges.

I said that sounds great, and she says, I am going to transfer you to a voice recorder to record you giving approval. I said.. hang a tic, are we contracted to you for 2 years, and she says.. yes. Early termination is $20 a month for the remainder of the term and $110 cancellation fee.

Works out that if I move to another provider tomorrow, I am up for $600 in fees!.

I can't prove this, but I did get the feeling that if I didn't ask I wouldn't have been told about the ET charges, so I told her I would investigate and get back to her. She wasn't happy and asked me why I would do that, because it was such a great deal and no-one else was offering to lower our costs.

Anyone else had anything similar?

Did they tell you that before they told you they were sending you to a voice recorder, and before you asked? If not I would complain about that, and as they are recording calls, I would expect that they should have a copy of your transcript. That is also a huge contract cancellation fee.

It seems to be a trend that these energy companies are trying to lock people into long term contracts.

Ragnor

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Reply # 494815 18-Jul-2011 15:37

This is a fairly recent reaction to the huge increase in churn where consumers and business are changing provider for better deals these days.

I'd want to read the fine print before accepting a deal like that.

mattwnz

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Reply # 494823 18-Jul-2011 15:42

Ragnor: This is a fairly recent reaction to the huge increase in churn where consumers and business are changing provider for better deals these days.

I'd want to read the fine print before accepting a deal like that.

Yeah, I certainly wouldn't accept a cold call, and then told that I would be recorded accepting a deal that hasn't been fully explained.

flemster

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Reply # 494835 18-Jul-2011 15:59

We got a cold call from Meridian energy offering us a $75 account credit and a guarantee of no price rises for a year. Only catch was we did have to sign up for a full year. I checked online and it seemed their rates were slightly cheaper (then Genesis who we were with) so we made the change. So far after 2 months it all seems ok.

Anyone else received such a call?

freitasm

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Reply # 494838 18-Jul-2011 16:04

networkn: Is there a site that compares commercial energy rates? (Is there a difference?)

Yes, And they even advertise on Geekzone (I do glance at the ads every now and then, because again what people say, some are relevant).

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Ragnor

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Reply # 494839 18-Jul-2011 16:04

Power company switching hits record high
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/79818/power-company-switching-hits-record-high

Record numbers switch power companies
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/genesis-energy-limited/news/article.cfm?o_id=71&objectid=10706410

Campaign see thousands switching electricity supplier
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10737157

Talkiet

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Reply # 494840 18-Jul-2011 16:06

I had a retention call from Meridian after I requested a change to another provider. The Meridian person made an offer of $75 credit if I didn't move and seemed utterly amazed when I didn't go for it. I eventually said something like "No, make it $200 and you have a deal" and that managed to get her out of the script.

Cheers - N

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Reply # 494876 18-Jul-2011 16:53

We had some shifty guy come during the day and was hassling my wife to sign offering better deals etc. He came back later in the evening after dark and tried the hard sell on me, wouldnt take no for an answer and had to shut the door in his face while he was still talking. He looked offended when i said not interested! Got to say advertising is really in your face these days.

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Reply # 494888 18-Jul-2011 17:10

gingeralenz: We had some shifty guy come during the day and was hassling my wife to sign offering better deals etc. He came back later in the evening after dark and tried the hard sell on me, wouldnt take no for an answer and had to shut the door in his face while he was still talking. He looked offended when i said not interested! Got to say advertising is really in your face these days.

I recall about 10 years ago there was a big push by electricity companies to switch people across, offering things like $100 grocery vouchers etc. So it looks like it is a bit of a cycle.

pinkydot

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Reply # 494891 18-Jul-2011 17:22

we had received that offering three years fixed plan letter too.

what about the LPG 45kg those bottle gas.
got any cheaper one?
should have those comparison include too.

wardb

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Reply # 495295 19-Jul-2011 14:46

I've worked in the retail electricity sector and can honestly say that prices do not go down! Compare the prices and terms between each retailer using http://powerswitch.org.nz and http://www.switchme.co.nz and try and negotiate the term with the retailer you are interested in using, particulary if it is a fixed contract.

PaulBrislen

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Reply # 495298 19-Jul-2011 14:50

I've just blogged about slamming, which is similar to the kind of tactics you're talking about, over at the TUANZ blog (won't link - not trying to drive traffic).

We switched power companies and only then did the pre-provider retention team jump in and start offering us stuff to stay. If they'd bothered to be pro-active and call us even to say "you're on the right plan" we'd not have moved, but they didn't care until it was too late.

Plus I was astounded by the energy they put in - multiple calls, shouting, much angst. Just made my wife even more determined to switch.

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Reply # 495303 19-Jul-2011 15:05

wardb: I've worked in the retail electricity sector and can honestly say that prices do not go down! Compare the prices and terms between each retailer using http://powerswitch.org.nz and http://www.switchme.co.nz and try and negotiate the term with the retailer you are interested in using, particulary if it is a fixed contract.

Thanks for the tip about SwitchMe; it's the first site I've seen that lets you actually enter your usage instead of having to answer questions and come up with an estimate. Is also lists an additional retailer (Just Energy) that Powerswitch doesn't include... which according to SwitchMe is the cheapest.

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