[RESOLVED] Origin Energy not honouring 50% off energy usage charges for first three months

em on 21/11/2015 - 07:29
Last edited 21/11/2015 - 12:20 by 1 other user

Hi all, I signed up with Origin Energy online during this deal - https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/204637 - and received my first bill this week. There was no 50% discount applied. I rang up, woman I talked to said I needed to talk to sales and that they were really busy so call back during the day (I called after work). My partner called them up the next day and spoke to the sales team. They said 1. we should have look at the contract and seen that no 50% discount was written in there and queried then and 2. we obviously made a mistake when signing up and didn't check a box. My partner asked if there was anyone else he could talk to. They said no and ended the call.

Never really had a stupid problem with a company before where it the company didn't offer to resolve it some how. It's pretty obvious that if someone signs up to a deal they were looking for that deal to be honoured. I'm fairly good at filling out online forms and didn't see a check box which said "tick here if you'd like to receive our 50% off promotion" because if I had I would have ticked it.

Anyway I'm going to call back today because I don't think we should be fobbed off so easily. I hope no one else has run into this problem but if you have can you please share?? Also share if you had any luck resolving the issue.

I'll have to start doing the whole screen shot deal with everything - usually I just do that with credit card sign up deals :)

Edit: Third time lucky. If anyone else has any issues, we called three days in a row and the third time the customer service rep credited our account with half of the energy usage charged without any arguments at all.

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  Cheeper on 21/11/2015 - 08:42

  +1

  Pays to read t&c's with special offers, they can be tricky and not by accident either.
  Hope you get a resolution.

  • 

    em on 21/11/2015 - 09:18

    +6

    Just called then when they opened up. He credit my account straight away. Sometimes it pays to keep calling!

    I just said hi, I signed up during this promotional period, I think there's been a mistake with the billing. He fixed it.

    Weird, good to get a positive outcome though! For the company, taking a hit by providing the discount which they should have provided in the first place generates a lot more goodwill and positive word of mouth communication from happy customers than playing the hard line and refusing to help. Must have seen that we'd called through the last couple of days in a row… or we just got a good customer service rep!

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  c64 on 21/11/2015 - 09:19

  +1

  in my experience, it also pays to take screenshots or record desktop of each step of sign-ups & the t&cs.

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  davlap on 21/11/2015 - 09:42

  +3

  Virtually same thing happened to me. Fobbed off. They are one of those (many) companies where you get passed around and one department has no idea about what the other one does.

  I was told to call back a day or two later (or something)

  I looked through all my emails for quotes, intro, contracts etc and found a letter that gave the offer details and the discount. This was NOT the quote letter, but a welcome / contract letter

  Next time I rang I told them exactly what is said and offered to email the letter. They told me all was OK and readjusted my bill.

  I will try to find the letter and at least give you the name, email subject so you can look yourself.

  • 

    em on 21/11/2015 - 12:05

    Just checked initial email then, it had a confirmation letter which read "Eligibility for Half Your Power Discount

    To be eligible for the DailySaver Half Your Power discount you need to:

    a. switch both your electricity and natural gas to us at the same Supply Address; or

    b. if you already have an Agreement with us for the sale of natural gas, switch your electricity to us at the same Supply

    Address; or

    c. if you already have an Agreement with us for the sale of electricity, switch your natural gas to us at the same Supply

    Address and have your electricity on the DailySaver Half Your Power Energy Plan."

    I think it was just an argument between being 'eligible' and 'signing up' - we were eligible but the second rep argued we hadn't signed up.

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  xsacha on 21/11/2015 - 09:48

  +1

  I signed up with $50 off electricity and $50 off gas. They aren't honouring the $50 off gas even though I have a screenshot of the sign up and the promotion was still on their website, saying $100 off when you combine electricity and gas.
  They are saying I signed up for a special one that didn't have $50 off gas. Another person I called said they have never offered $50 off gas (yet it was still on their website). A third person said they will look in to it and credit me the $50 — this never happened. So third time not lucky for me.

  They changed it on their website to $25 + $25 last week.

  Looks like a dodgy Origin tactic. They charge $35 for 'sign up' to gas so the $50 is meant to offset that.

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  DarkOz on 21/11/2015 - 11:49

  +1

  I signed up for the 50% discount but they did confirm the offer in email and paper. I hope there isn't any problem when the first bill arrives next month.

  • 

    em on 21/11/2015 - 12:03

    I didn't get those confirmations so hopefully you'll be fine - it's odd because I don't remember anything saying I had to specifically sign up further than clicking the link, seeing the promotion, clicking to sign up… Goodluck!

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  LakeVostok on 21/11/2015 - 18:57

  Origin energy has a long history of being dodgy. A glimpse into their shonky business can be found in the following link which published the news of Origin being hit with $2 million fine for illegal door-to-door sales tactics:

  http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-30/origin-energy-fined-2-…

  I wouldn't touch Origin with a ten-foot pole.

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  emibel19 on 21/11/2015 - 19:14

  I signed up for this offer too, and recently got my first bill (for 76 days) with no credit applied, so I submitted an onine request asking what 3-monthly period it would apply to, and when I could expect the credit. Haven't received a reply yet. Sounds like I might have to go through multiple phone calls too. I was emailed a PDF confirming these details, so they don't really have an excuse.

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  kuhari on 22/11/2015 - 08:16

  I got charged around $110 to move address, which I was told was a combined disconnection fee at current house & reconnection fee at new house. Then the first bill came at the new house with an added $87 connection fee?? I phoned up & they said the computer added it in error & removed it. But if I hadn't checked every charge on my bill I would have been out of pocket by $87 due to their error. Lucky for me they reimbursed it straight away. But I shouldn't have to phone them to be charged correctly in the first place. And when can we charge for having to phone up & take time out of our day? And credit out of our phone caps? For companies errors.