Utilita for Business Review

What’s in this review?

Are you one of the customers that switched to Utilita Energy in March of 2018 from Toto Energy? Or are you looking to change supplier?

This guide will break down Utilita Energy, from company information to Utilita reviews from trusted sources such as Trustpilot, to give you an unbiased review of this fast-growing energy company.

Founded in 2003, the aim of Utilita Energy is to provide a service that exceeds the ‘big six’ regarding both service and customer support.

Not only do they often rely on new customers by word of mouth, but they were also named a Which? Top energy supplier for customer satisfaction in 2018.

They do have a mixed reputation, however, as they were fined in 2015 by Ofgem for blocking customers from switching suppliers and they have not had a wholly positive response from gaining new customers via Toto in March of 2018.

For a look at their reviews, jump to the Utilita reviews section.

Costs and Fees

Utilita offers a range of tariffs that feature pre-payment meters, smart meters, and non-meter oriented deals. For a ballpark average of what these plans might cost you, see the table below for estimated quotes.

For a closer look at the different tariff types, see the contract length and fees section.

To view the tariffs available for you, as some are area specific, merely go to the Utilita homepage and type in your home or businesses postcode.

Core services & offering

Flexipay

Utilita believes that customers should feel like they have complete control over their energy costs, which is why they offer a popular ‘pay as you go’ payment option, so you only pay for your energy usage. No more, no less.

Flexipay refers to a scheme by Utilita that allows you to change your payment method at any time, while still benefitting from a tariff that is protected by the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) price cap.

You can pay by any of these methods while remaining on the Smart Energy / Smart E7 plan.

• Direct debit
• Pay as you go
• Pay on receipt of a bill (pay quarterly)

The only requirement is that you must have a smart meter, or agree to have one installed, and not be in debt.

Smart Meters

Utilita offers smart meters that allow you to see, from a screen in your home, how much energy you are using, how much credit you have left, and it also allows you to take ’emergency credit.’

This is when you run out of credit to pay for your energy, so instead of switching your power off, you have a grace period to go and top it off before you lose the connection to your energy.

Schemes

Green Deal scheme

The green deal scheme is a government initiative to help people invest in renewable energy and products.

The programme offers loans to cover the costs of home improvements such as new boilers, insulation, heating controls and hot water systems.

Although Utilita isn’t a Green Scheme Provider, as your electricity and gas supplier and a Green Deal licensee, they can take your Green Deal repayments and pass them along to your Green Scheme Provider.

Eco scheme

If you are eligible, the eco scheme essentially helps customers to receive either funding or home improvements to lower the costs of their energy. For more information about the eco schemes and whether you are eligible, click here.

Feed in Tariff

Utilita is one of the energy suppliers that will pay you for the energy you generate with renewable sources such as solar, hydro and turbo power. All you need are your meter readings to receive payments.

Customer Support

After the news that many customers would be switched over to Utilita Energy, it appears that many of the negative customer service reviews are due to insufficient communication between the company and its customers, rather than necessarily because of the individual customer service agents.

With an influx of new customers, it is understandable that there would be an adjustment period for both the business and its customers.

Positive Customer Support Utilita reviews

Mrs N Wayper on Trustpilot:

Excellent customer service!

Negative Customer Support Utilita reviews

MC on Trustpilot:

Pretty hopeless. Called helpline over ten times, still waiting for someone to answer. Phoned the emergency line and got someone to answer. He put me back in the queue for the helpline and guess what, no-one answered

For more Utilita reviews, click here.

Contract Length and Fees

Utilita Energy does not have any fixed-price contracts, as all of their products feature a ‘pay as you go’ option to allow customers to only pay for the energy they use, which is also suitable for those with bad or no credit.

This also applies to businesses that would like to switch to Utilita Energy, with an emphasis on pre-payment meters that completely bring an end to estimated billing.

See the tables below for a breakdown of potential costs, type of tariffs they offer and payment options.

Smart Energy Tariff

Premium Energy Tariff

Smart E7 Tariff

Freedom Energy Tariff

Utilita Reviews

Utilita has a very mixed reputation, having earnt a 3/5 Trustpilot score with almost 2,000 reviews, 48% of which is positive, 35% is negative, and the rest falls somewhere in the middle.

It seems that many of the negative reviews are related to many customers being switched from Toto Energy to Utilita Energy in March of 2018.

This is when reports have stated that the energy suppliers have come under criticism from Citizens Advice because Toto Energy didn’t give customers ample time or explanation about the switch.

This news comes three years after Utilita Energy was fined by Ofgem for its compliance with the regulations under the ‘standard license condition,’ in other words, “when a licensee may block a domestic customer’s request to transfer to another supplier.”

Not only were they fined by Ofgem, but the company also donated £450,000 to the UK charity ‘StepChange’ and refunded £110,000 to customers stopped from switching.

Positive Utilita reviews

Mr D Warren on Trustpilot:

Fantastic service very helpful

Negative Utilita reviews

Mr Peter Bell on Trustpilot:

The phone system is frustrating and unhelpful. The staff try to do their best, but the systems appear not to work and are indeed not orientated to help the customer. I have had to complain about at least three occasions.

Company Comparison

Who Should Use the Company?

Based on all of the information including a closer look at the company and Utilita reviews, Utilita Energy seems like it would be the perfect company for those with bad or no credit, or those who want to keep a close eye on their energy usage.

This is thanks to the smart and pre-payment meters that Utilita offers, as well as the various schemes they provide for more financially vulnerable customers.

Verdict

Pros

• Competitive pricing
• Great for people with bad or no credit
• Pay as you go, so you only pay for the energy you use

Cons

• Recently had customers transferred from Toto Energy with little warning
• Utilita has been fined in the past by Ofgem
• According to Trustpilot, the procedure to leave is complicated

Utilita Energy has a mixed history, but other than being fined by Ofgem in 2015, this company seems to have had a good relationship with its customers. The only negative has been the recent transfer of many customers from Toto Energy, but that seems to be more down to a lack of communication than lousy service.

It seems that once that situation has resolved, Utilita will have an excellent standing with its customers.