Bristol Energy Review

Hi. I would not recommend this company. I switched in February and have had nothing but problems sorting out my billing. The people on customer service have been really helpful but nothing gets done. All I get told is that it has gone to industry. What is INDUSTRY? This was never explained to me when I switched. I was told it had been settled but still not sorted. I have to keep chasing it up. So some times it is better the devil you know. I never had this with my previous supplier. Would change back but could not deal with the stress.

Bristol Energy I believe are being taken over by another company shortly.
I have always found Bristol Energy to be a good company to deal with. Have never had any problems.
4 star because they are probably transferring to another supplier.

A very open and helpful energy company, something of a rarity :)

AVOID. they dont answer the phone or reply to emails.

Joined Bristol Energy 3 months ago and haven't heard a thing from them yet. No account number and not even requested an initial meter reading. I E-mailed them over a week ago and, apart from the acknowlegement E-mail, I've heard nothing back. I'm getting G&E and they're taking DD from my account, but I'd like some kind of contract, whether it be electronic or hard copy. Crazy!

I am with Bristol Energy for 3 year now..not an issue at all...fixed price on tarrif,everytime when i called them got an answer straight away..overall happy!

Very positive experience and I am paying less than I was.

waiting in the queue to try and settle a bill and have been for 20 mins plus. I have spent upwards of an hour on hold with these people over the past week to resolve a very basic issue. If I could go lower than 1 star I would. Shocking customer service.

Happy with the service. I have been with Bristol Energy for several years.

Been brilliant from day one, got a great price for gas and customer service has been brilliant setting up and with any queries. They over estimate your first few months like everyone else but it's meant we're in a solid amount of credit for winter so can't complain, one less thing to worry about. Recent aquisition by together energy looks promising as they sound like a decent company with good goals. Recommended

Very poor customer service. I switched away from Bristol enegery to new supplier and gave meter readings and Bristol energy are estimating my final bill which in turn is trying to double charge me for my energy, I tried to call Bristol energy but was on hold music for so long that I got fed up and emailed instead on 29th Dec and still no response but they seem to be able to send bill payment reminder. Which I'm not paying until you get my final bill right. Will be reporting to ombudsmen too as surely estimating a final bill cannot be right.

3 months in and no issues. Do ask for a lot of meter reads but that's not a bad thing.
Get a good rate and not giving money to a faceless corporation.

Never had any problems with Bristol energy I send in meter readings regularly and they send me email with energy usage alll so easy and quick I have never had to phone them for anything

Terrible. They never sent part of my final bill after I gave final meter readings and transferred to EDF. No contact at all. No emails letters or calls. I assumed all paid off and carried on with new suppliers. Instead of contacting me they sent the case to bailiffs and threatened CCJ immediately. I called straight away and was told it was an 'error' on my account that would only be noticed if I called and instructed them! Funny they can't send a bill but can send your details to the bailiffs! I paid immediately after I found out and they are still yet to send confirmation of this to law firm who continued to send correspondence threatening County Court. Beyond useless... Hence the name change to BE2020 I guess.

Been through three suppliers in three years looking for good prices and good service. Bristol energy have been wonderful. Smooth transition, supportive staff at all times, good communications, easy to deal with interface. Highly recommend.

I change my provided but bristol energy still keep sending me emails how happy they are when I stay with them , I called them and explain you are not my provider any more, when all was cleared out I RECEIVED SAME EMAILS AND NO REFUND OR FINAL BILL. Avoid

I have always given you are good review but with your recent changeover to another company I will have to withhold any comments until I see how they perform

Great customer service, easy to submit a meter reading, they attach bills to their emails so that you don't have to log in, and they refund your credit in 5 days no questions asked. Will definitely be sticking with them.

sadly since it was sold the company has gone to the dogs i have been waiting for over a week for a return phone call and even emails do not get a reply
sadly bristol energy has now sunk to the bottom of the list for customer care and i now feel its time to change supplier to one that will reply or actually do something

I left Bristol energy back in November, it's now February and my account is still active with a large amount of credit. They wont give back my credit due to me not having a final bill! I have a smart meter so they can access/generate my bill easily. Not only this I have spoken to more than 10 customer advisors, promising that the credit will be back in my account within 10 working days. Every time it's just another lie. They also managed to mess up my switch! This was very distressing as I got double charged for my gas and electricity..adding even more on to my credit. It took them over 6weeks to sort my switch over for electric. Not impressed and will never use again .
And I still dont have my money!!!!
Account is for Bryn Towning - I did email the team on the 08/01/2020 and got NO response (what a surprise) I then called the team 2 times on different dates and on both occasions I was promised a call back and yet again I DID NOT receive one! I then called again and managed to get hold of a supervisor, who said he had "escalated it to a manager" who would call me back before the end of the day.... I did not get a call!? clearly this has been a team effort to make a simple request as complicated as possible. from where I am siting IT'S THEFT!!!!

Used to be great but have really gone downhill since being taken over by "Together".

I ended up leaving after trying to get a refund of the overpaid amount at the end of my plan - I'd emailed them (as they weren't answering their phones) requesting this and got a response 3 weeks later telling me that they could only refund within 2 weeks of a bill being produced - My initial email was sent a few days after the bill!

I then had to send new meter readings and wait even longer for a new bill. When I eventually received that I was then told that I had to leave a month's credit in my account for some unfathomable reason.

I transferred to my new supplier coming up to a month ago and there's still no sign of a final bill or refund - it looks like they're determined to hold on to my money for the full 6 weeks the regulator allows!

Bristol Energy started ok but have rapidly gone downhill. Unable to speak to anyone as they have introduced a call centre that just fobs you off. Trying to manage my 94 year old mother s account for her and just get over inflated estimates for future payments. No one calls back or takes responsibility - absolute terrible. Stay well away from the BE Call Centre!!

I finally managed to get through to BE Customer Services after 4 days and was informed (by a very helpful person that sorted my query very quickly) that the calls are diverted to the call centre after just over 2 minutes.

Would have been good if the call centre was never involved in the first place. Still awaiting an answer to my complaint email sent last week....

Shocking service levels from trying to cancel account and get their meter removed .Failed to turn up on 3 occasions .Now want a meter reading after they finally took the meter away but of course we cant now log into the account .Been holding on for customer services as they dare to call it for over 40 minutes !!
Is this the worst customer service level ever ????????

Never had any trouble with Bristol Energy, They always pick up the phone and answer any queries, this is the reason I left my last two suppliers after spending hours on the phone and then to be given the wrong information, well done Bristol Energy.

Very disappointed with BE now after a really good start. Tried 3 times today 7-3-19 to speak to customer services about my direct debit. Did get through after a long wait only to be redirected to yet another queue where I eventually gave up. This is not the way to keep customers and be successful. Do something quickly or people will leave in droves!

This company are a joke. Apparently they are so busy that they can't answer calls but they assure you that they will call you back with 3 days. 5 days later and im still waiting. Do not use this company, there are many better energy companies out there.

Bristol energy just replied to inform me i should email their customer care team. Which i already did 3 days ago, and ive heard.... NOTHING! Stay away from this company, full of blaggers

Not a good experience so far. Despite ringing up to sort an account out and then subsequently emailing, my account was still listed as "the occupier" rather than my name. This means I was opening post - also addressed to "the occupier" for a previous account with a large overdue bill, which was threatening a visit from an external company. This is despite a phone call and three emails about this, only one of which has been answered. Their contact centre opening times are ridiculous if you work full time.

I have since had a more positive response via Twitter direct messaging which fingers crossed has resolved my initial issues, but overall it has been quite a stressful experience so far. The impression I get is they don't have the infrastructure or staff resourcing in place to deal with the volumes of customers.

I only went with this supplier as the previous occupant had. Time will tell if my experience becomes more positive but at present I wouldn't recommend switching to them out of choice.

awful company way too expensive unhelpful and very condescending I wish I'd never heard of them

Great prices friendly helpful service and supports the local economy - what more do you need

Never returned my last call after keeping me hanging on for over 30 minutes, now in process of switching.

Do yourself a favour. Pay a bit more money and use a proper supplier. Dealing with Bristol Energy is absolutely farcical. Every interaction I've had, from setting up a DD, to supplying meter readings, to moving house, to closing our account, has descended into a total time-wasting shambles with dozens of confusing and incorrect letters. It was a standing joke in our house for months - we'd get some sort of nonsensical correspondence through our letter box nearly every day.

I always check for the best deal as my gas and electricity tariffs are coming to an end. Although not the cheapest, Bristol Energy's pricing was competitive with a far more flexible package so I looked further. It was Bristol Energy's vision and commit to improving energy provision in Bristol that chimed with my own wish to be part of a sustainable future. Price, package and shared vision, so I switched. Coming to the end of my current tariff I'm pleased to report I've experienced excellent customer service. From the switch to submitting meter readings, engaging with Bristol Energy is easy. I'm so pleased with the service and the continuing competitive pricing that I've signed up for another year.

Started with them in October, of course the time of year you will use most energy. They decided to increase my monthly direct debit after 4 months. Rather than wait to see if it evened out over the summer.
So I am now leaving to go to another company. Through Martin Lewis website, so hopefully the next one is better. Customer service also not great. Didnt try to get me to stay. Wouldn't recommend at all.

I switched to Bristol Energy a short while after they were established as a municipally owned energy supply company, founded in September 2015 by Bristol City Council. I was under the impression they were a local energy initiative which More

Not very good so far- although I sent in meter readings as requested for my switch, for some reason they can't seem to explain, they used estimates. Although I have their reply which confirms they received the readings, they are refusing to use them now 'as it doesn't fit in the disputes procedure'. Poor service.

Response to response; yes I have had various emails from your customer services, including mixing up the readings info you have, and since the offer of how to deal with the problem doesn't include using the correct readings I originally sent, I'm not impressed.

No problems until December when Direct Debits stopped being taken from my bank account. Spoke to them the first time and was assured it was just a glitch, but it happened again this month. I was informed that it's caused by an internal billing system error that they've escalated with a third party, and they hope it will be resolved by next month.. but no guarantees could be given. I was also told that this problem is affecting 'copious other users' but they wouldn't tell me how many. A quick Google search hasn't thrown up any evidence of this however. In which case, I suggested that they send out emails to 'all these users' to inform them of this problem so as to avoid unnecessary calls to their helpline (or even a notice to this effect on their website).
I was informed that I could make a manual payment instead, but this rather defeats the object of setting up a Direct Debit mandate in the first place.. meanwhile, my account is going further into arrears at the time of year when you use most energy!
I couldn't help feeling that I was being fobbed off for the second time.
Sort it out Bristol Energy.. this isn't rocket science after all.

Hassle free and fair company that does not push it's self or it's products in the annoying manner of other's.

Indeed the worst company I had to deal with ever. Stay away

REPLY:

Oh thanks that's helpful! Please enlighten me .. should I call the number you are suggesting in your reply, where nobody from BE picks up the phone and it actually redirect to a third party company which will book a call-back that never happens or use the email where you only get automated replies stating you take 10 days to reply? Pathetic

ALSO. I like how you take 10 hours to reply to a bad review online pretending you care but you don't reply to customers with actual problems.

Having been with Bristol energy for just over a year I have found them to be reasonably priced and pleasant and helpful when speaking to there advisors.

The app which is supposed to be " good " is rubbish on my tablet it will not rotate to landscape and uses a font which is massive ! So will only display 1\2 of the screen it is supposed to display! There appears to be no way that I can now more easily contact the company nor enter my readings. I used to send my readings by email perhaps tedious for the company but OK for me! Now it looks like I shall have to try to find a number to do a phone contact HOW Very CONVENIENT. The last email I received 3day ago did not even have a phone number on, but hey ho I will just conveniently scroll back a month or so to find a contact number on one of the previous communications.

Very no fuss efficient company !! Meter reading on request.thats it !! Have no complaints at all

Have had very few reasons to contact BE but when I have the customer service has been efficient, polite and helpful. That with a competitive Green rate and useful App makes this one of the best for me. Ethical company too so big bonus there.

I moved in to a property in early November 2020 and supplied a bill by Bristol Energy, to cover the period until my new supplier was set up. Their e-mail correspondence was very slow or non existent and the phone call was infuriating when trying to explain that I didn't have an account number, because I didn't set an account up. There was no indication on the paper bill to suggest what it might be...

With the bill eventually settled, I was told I would receive a revised bill by 23/12/2020. As the bill works out considerably higher than the rate I have since been paying, I have a feeling Bristol owe me money. I sent an e-mail early January and then again 11/01/2021 and I'm still awaiting a response. Getting through on the phone is proving to be a thankless task.

I can't rate Bristol as a supplier overall, but I can safely say I wouldn't consider them if I was to ever change in the future, as their customer service has been appalling in my experience.

Call service staff was amazing, Mariusz Wota, helped me understand remaining balance at Bristol Energy and was very friendly as I had to switch to another energy provider.

Very knowledgable staff answered all my questions. As such I shall remain with this company.

I have been a dual fuel customer with Bristol Energy since June 2017, I have always found the various tariffs competitive. Meter readings are easy I receive an e mail every 3 months and then send a reply by e mail. I prefer to use a utility company outside of the so called big six, and they have a choice of green tariffs. The staff are always pleasant and helpful. Bristol Energy has recently been bought out by Together Energy I hope this will not impact on their quality of service.

Bristol Installed a Smart Meter incorrectly. This made my bill high. They insisted it was my usage. Having got an independent Electrician they confirmed the meter was incorrect and Installed incorrectly. At this point Bristol stated I owe More

I was with Bristol Energy 2 years ago and they keep passing my information to debt collectors which are threatening to take me to court over money I don't owe them! Bristol Energy admitted they messed up and an investigation will take upto 10 weeks and here I am on the phone TWO YEARS LATER sat in a queue for 20 minutes to sort out their mistake again because they've passed my info to yet another debt collecting agency

Well i am looking for a new energy supplier, decided to read the customer reviews before i took the plunge, having read some of the antics at Bristol Energy i think i will walk away, feel really sorry for all the people caught up with this company, sounds awful.

I am positive both I and my 90 year old mother have been overcharged by this company. We were both assured that we would save money by switching to Bristol Energy, but we have both seen our bills go up outrageously. Will be taking this matter further for both of us. Disgusting way to treat your customers BRISTOL ENERGY!

Been with them a few years - cheap prices and excellent customer service.

Horrendous, paid bill 25 days ago, contacted them numerous times via email and phone, they confirmed payment was received and the account was closed. 5 further reminder text messages including one advising my credit rating was being impacted. Then had a debt collector on the phone. Yet another phone call and email to them to sort out. Shocking customer service!!! Any further contact apart from an email confirming my account is closed and paid in full and I'm contacting the Financial Ombudsman. AVOID THIS LOT!!!!

As a first-time buyer, when I moved into my flat earlier this year one of my priorities was to find a company that would help me save money on my energy bills. Finally agreeing a mortgage was scary but I no longer just wanted a place to store my belongings; I wanted a place to call home. At the same time I also wanted the Big 6 energy companies to know that enough is enough and that I was no longer a customer who they could take for granted.

Joining Bristol Energy has done wonders in helping me save money every month and I have had nothing but professional, friendly service. But it has also enabled me to be part of something that I am proud of, by playing a small part in helping local communities out of fuel poverty. No one likes paying bills, but by signing up to Bristol Energy, I know that as well as getting a very fair deal, my money will at least be partly used as a tool for social good.

For one month, the Bristol Energy bill was higher for my unoccupied rental flat, than where I actually live, which is on Solarplicity.

Not an incentive to reduce energy use. And Bristol Energy tariff is not even green, so what am I paying for?

If I could give no stars I would. Total nightmare from the time I moved to them. Overestimated even though I sent them meter readings every month. Spent months trying to get a correct final bill because they kept changing the amount. Don't waste you time with this company.

An absolute mess.
As an old age disabled pensioner they have thoroughly misled me.
They don't honour their own contracts.
Nothing but hassle.
Only 2 months and have had to switch supplier.
They have even lost my account number.
Very stressful!!!!!!!
Avoid, avoid, avoid!!!!!

Left them in January and have now had text message and letter from Debt Collectors demanding defaulted debt. It seems that my final bill was not issued due to system error - direct debit coming out next week. Absolutely shambolic. Could cause all kinds of problems for people in these times and an apology wasn't exactly forthcoming.

I am a terminally ill 56 old man who is generally courteous and polite. I live in a timber framed chalet on the coast. I am poor. I am very cold! The Govt. kindly provided me with night storage heaters to help. Bristol Energy quoted quite a large (to me) amount of money to fit an appropriate meter to allow me access to Economy 7 electricity. I told them I could not afford the quotation. They offered to install a 2nd generation smart meter which, they said, would allow me access to Economy 7 rates. The meter was fitted at the beginning of August. It still isnt working. I have had to telephone Bristol Energy every week for the past 5 weeks whereupon they tell me it will definitely, without fail, be put right within 7 days..guaranteed. 100%. No problem.

Problem. It still doesnt work and I still dont have access to the appropriate tarriff. I have in every single phone call, despite my increasing frustration and anger, been courteous, polite, patient and understanding. Fat lot of good that's done me. Yesterday I telephoned Bristol Energy to raise a formal complaint...still polite of course. They agreed it was unacceptable, were surprised that I had discovered that they had fitted a 1st generation smart meter rather than the 2nd generation, were terribly sorry for how badly the problem had been dealt with thus far, but not to worry, they were fully committed to solving the issues and would definitely, without fail, absolutely guaranteed, 100% ensure I got a call back from someone at managerial level to sort it once and for all within 24 hours at the very latest. Really sorry, but onto it now. 100%.

No phone call. Apparently the staff member I spoke with when I called today disliked being sworn at. Quite right. Terribly sorry. 100% sorry. Still, if you treat people like me with such utter contempt and duplicity, what on earth do you expect?

Socially responsible Bristol Energy? Part of the community? All great for drawing people in undoubtedly but be honest, your business is a shambolic example of how to run a company so badly that normally polite and corteous people like me, who ought to be doing other things with the time left to them, spend valuable time lambasting you in review in one last ditch attempt to shame you into doing a job that should be routine for you.

For shame Bristol Energy, for shame.

Takes 20 clicks and a two step verification to make a payment, the app doesn't help. You have to re-insert your data an hilarious amount of times.

I give Bristol Energy 10 out of 100. The electricity nor gas have never been cut off, the service is affordable (or I am earning too much), and the monthly payment is seamless. I am peeved of that BrEne asked me twice within a year to increase my monthly payment, even though I had a substantial credit throughout. I think that many other customers in similar circumstances were also asked, and that this was under false pretences. I conjecture that their purpose was to improve the appearance of the company's books and to be more attractive for sale. I hate to be used. The price: 90 points on the satisfaction scale.

Misleading, not 2 employees can say the same thing in regards to your account and reasoning behind rates ending up hundreds of pounds in imaginary arrears. All direct debits have been paid on time! and even raised last year when they tried this BS before. The the house is empty the majority of the time and they blame it on one missing meter reading and their systems... (but they can't reverse it and still tell me I'm liable to pay ) Feel sorry for the lads and lasses on the phone having to deal with us angry mother f******s that have wronged by this epically disorganised company.

Absolute joke of a company. Provided them with my metre reads but they did an estimate instead at an inflated rate then when i called told i have to wait 3 days for a call back. Wont be paying bill until they resolve and will be looking at alternative supplier. This is not the first time this has happened

Reliable fair and good customer service. Phone is answered by a real local representative, Very happy with service and never a problem that took more than a phone call to resolve.

Absolute scum.
Avoid at all costs.

Bristol Energy refuse point blank to setup payment arrangements, or even allow setup of Fuel Direct (money direct from benefits), for vulnerable and poor customers.

Resulting in customers being pursued for debts they can't afford and having to take extreme measures to try to get on top of bills.

I find the staff at the end of a phone very helpful. The charges are competitive whereas my last energy provider was charging too much. I would recommend Bristol Energy. The details of units used, price, etc. are clear .It is a nuisance getting meter readings once a month as I have to beware locking myself out of my house. Now getting used to taking readings once a month. Sally

Appears a fair price, always responsive to queries and problems which I find very helpful

Started out as a fantastic company and rapidly gone down hill.
I INSIST on paying as the bill lands for the energy I ve ACTUALLY used. I submit reading via their app, only for them to be ignored and they rip me off with over-inflated estimates . Cannot access my bills through the app so what is the point?! It s like the app is a stand alone interface which isn t connected to anything at all..
can t ever get through on a phone, no live chat function and emails go un replied.
I m refusing to pay and switching.

Very poor transfer experience. I would strongly recommend passing on this supplier. I requested gas and electricity transfer. The electricity transfer happened successfully. They failed to request a gas transfer, with no communication to me. I complained and they said they would arrange the transfer, but could not honour the original transfer rate for gas. After some haggling we agreed a single payment to cover the estimated loss to me of higher than expected gas costs over the first year. I now find that they went ahead and issued a transfer request to my original supplier, but then withdrew it! I am now on the phone trying to contact them. This is the second attempt to speak to someone this morning. The first time they cut me off after I had waited on the phone to 'speak to one of our advisers' who is 'busy helping other customers'.
There have been many complaints about Bristol Energy and various attempts by them to improve.....clearly they are unable to improve. Pass them by!!

Been with bristol energy for getting on two years have found staff very helpful and had no problems supplying meter readings by phone or online app their energy deals are also very competitive when compared with other suppliers

I have been a Bristol Energy customer for a few years now and cannot really fault them in the service they provide Now they have been taken over l hope the new company will be as satisfactory Thank you

I bought a new house and Bristol Energy supplied the gas and electricity to the property (unfortunately!).

There were many other issues too.
Simply, don't waste your time..

I have previously had good experiences with Bristol Energy so am a little disappointed to say that having been persuaded to have a smart energy meters installed. The fitter duly arrived as promised and did the work but I am still awaiting connection to the in house display they leave you with which I believe is really the only benefit of you having a smart meter. The fitter expalained that it could take a little while but now two days have passed and still the display is telling me it s trying to connect. It really doesn t make any difference if you sit the display on top of the meter there is still no connection. Now. having checked review sites I see this is pretty common place and I may have a much longer wait even if in some cases it never can connect. Bristol do seem to be having problems financially at the moment and this will not help their cause if their customers feel conned into something that then does not work. If you are asked by them to consider swapping meters I would serious wonder why bother!! I am now seeking a better deal from a new supplier who can offer me a working smart meter.

Really bad opening times, never able to get in contact because I'm at work like them and they lose at 5pm and not open on the weekend - very very bizarre for an energy company. Have even tried to email, no response, just want to change providers asap.

Asked for a refund for a credit that had built up with Bristol Energy. No sign of refund. I think Bristol Energy are dragging their heals.

Customer for just under a year, including during a move of house. Easy to navigate e-billing, quick customer service, simple online submission of your meter readings, and all from a local energy supplier. Great company.

I have been a customer of Bristol energy for some years. Always replying to meter reads on the day requested via an Emil to meterreads@ Bristol-energy .co.uk. At the end of last month I received another request for readings, again sent on same day as request. This time however, no acknowledgement was received, so I sent them again,
Result, Bristol - energy used estimated readings, not what I the customer required to see on my statement. Let s hope this is not the norm for the future.
Keith Prosser.

Waiting 4 months to get a meter installed so that my property is habitable and they cancelled the appointment again

Decided to change tariff to go on a cheaper rate .Telephoned and got through after a couple of minutes asked for my current readings and promptly and courteously changed my tariffs and set up my new standing order.Absolutely no problem easy to do and staff very helpful.

Not fond of the company at all.

I have called and they only provide a call back within 3 days. That call didn't arrive.

I am getting rude automated emails about a balance outstanding. I am contesting this bill also but that's tricky as I can't talk with anyone.

I would not recommend this company to supply energy.

The cheapest provider I can find. Then add in great customer services, total renewable energy and socially responsible. I couldn't ask for anything more!

Worts company ever.They sent final bill 645 pound for a year.After long time opened case with energy ombudsman bristol reduced 511 pound.Now i put smart meter reading maximum charge 1.15 a day during lockdown same flat,same people, same enery consumption.But they charge extra 511 .Dont believe them.Bristol energy scam,ripp off.
May be bristol energy offer cheap than other company dont believe it is a trap any time they charge any amount they want.

Poor customer service, no communication at all. Apart from the moment you switch then they email you, text you constantly demanding the account to be settled. They majorly under predict the monthly charge for the direct debit to get customers from comparison sites. Resulting in the customer getting larger and larger in debt on the account the longer you are with them. So you have a HUGE exit fee. I highly recommend people read the fine print or switch from them ASAP to avoid a huge bill and 20 messages a day.

Have always been pleased with service.
Good rates that suit my budget.
Enquiries dealt with promptly.