Southern Electric
Average Customer Rating:
Contact Details
Southern Electric
PO Box 7506
Perth
PH1 3QR
Contact Information
- General Enquiries 0845 744 4555
- Email customerservice@southern-electric.co.uk
General Information
Southern Electric is part of the Scottish and Southern Energy Group (SSE), and provides energy to 2.6 million of the 5 million SSE customers.
Selling points
- Free Air Miles are available to Southern Electric customers, with added Air Miles bonuses for customers who buy their gas and electricity from them.
- Southern Electric also offers free Argos points for its customers.
Supplier services
Dual Fuel
Green
Economy 7
Packages on offer
Electricity domestic standard
Standard electricity, where units are charged at the same rate, regardless of the time they are used.
Electricity Economy
This package is suitable for households where over 15% of electricity is used at night, as units are charged at a cheaper rate during the night-time.
Gas Standard
Standard gas, where units are charged at the same rate, regardless of the time they are used.
Nil service charge
For those who wish to pay only for units they have actually used.
Ways to pay your bill
- Direct Debit
- Postal Order
- Cash
- Cheque
Special Services
Energyplus Air Miles and Energyplus Argos are packages available that allow customers to collect Argos points and Air Miles every time they pay their bill.
I also have 2 small children and Southern Electric have left me a day so far without heating or hot water and they are telling me I have to wait possibly up to a week! What a joke. I do not recommend this company.
Called this number 0845 744 4555, it was busy, as per the message I pressed 5 for call back to hear the message “this service is not available”. This is from one of the main Companies in the UK? Unbelievable.
I have attempted to contact the customer service department by phone and I got through after attempting to do so for 14 days. The telephone service could be better. But staff is polite when you eventually get through to them. I have tried to pay my bill today and after numerous attempts still did not get through. Will attempt to do so tomorrow.
I have had so much trouble with them wrong meter, cards don’t work, they will send out a gas man and he only puts 5 pound on at a time which lasts 12 hours if that and that’s with hardly any heating on and hardly using any hot water when you have three young children. It’s a nightmare, they don’t care, we’re waiting again at the moment wrapped in quilts.
I have been with southern electric for dual fuels for nearly 4 years and have been happy with them for customer service until the last couple of months. I needed my meter and cable moved due to building work, and after calling them well in advance they informed me that I did not need a new meter. When Manweb came to shift the meter and cable, they informed me that they could only do this with a new meter and that my supply company should have organised this. When I called southern electric to remonstrate with them over the bad advice, all they could offer was the usual 15 working days wait for a booked appointment. My builders have been sitting around for 3 weeks with nothing to do as they cannot proceed without the cable and meter being moved. The engineers were due to come today, and they did not turn up. I have had a whole load of builders and electricians waiting on site for the whole day. Numerous phone calls and pushing have resulted in a vague promise to get it resolved today if possible, but they blame manweb as southern electric outsource the meter replacements to manweb in our area. It as been very difficult to find out anything with any certainty – trying to rebook or tell you they will call you back when they know something more is just not good enough. The people are very pleasant, but the systems and their suppliers are really letting them down!
I have not had an up to date gas bill. I phoned and explained that I needed this as proof of expenses. I am still waiting over a week later. This is not good customer service.
I have tried to settle an outstanding debt with Southern Electric for the last eleven months. I am now on my third direct debit instruction and they have failed again to honour the arrangement with regards to the collection date as per their confirmation letter. Because I am on a very low wage, this has had a devastaing effect on my finances for the rest of the month! All I want to do is get this debt paid off. I have written to them and have had no reply apart from a threatening letter which involved intimidating me with a visit from the bailiffs.
Why is it that these so-called utility companies are allowed by law to behave in such a cavalier way with peoples lives?
Well fingers crossed.. I’ve just switched from bt and my energy services over to s/electric.. I’m disabled and on a lot of meds so when I signed up I gave them the wrong bank acc details.. I’ve not paid for weeks and was dreading phoning them.. but I just have, and Amy who I spoke to was wonderful, telling me not to worry my phone wont get turned off ect haha.. but I was worried, so she’s phoning me back in 2 days (to let me get over a hospital appointment that I have) how good is that… so 10 out of 10.. so far.
BOGUS COLLECTION CHARGES – OBTAINING MONEY BY DECEPTION
I paid my full gas bill 3 weeks ago. This morning I received a bill for £127.85; this was inclusive of a Collections visit Charge of £38.77. Phoned CS and was told that a debt collector had to call on me to pay my last bill and they were charging for his/her call out. I knew this not to be accurate and refused to pay, eventually they backed down and said it was an advanced charge they were applying as my a/c was not paid, but they would waive the charge if I paid the full amount immediately. They were red faced when they realised the account was in credit by £75.00. I am sure that to add these charges plus VAT to a person’s account and pretend that they incurred the charges is classed as obtaining money by deception, which is not a civil offence but a criminal offence. I have contacted the DTI and Trading Standards who are investigating this. How many vulnerable people in this country are they cheating like this? I am sending a full report to the Police with a request for the CPS to look at this as OMGEN apparently audit them often but how would OMGEN now how many of these collection calls are bogus?
I have now been without gas since around 6pm maybe longer as only noticed when I went to put heating on. I have rang many numbers to get this sorted, been passed and given several numbers and still not got any further. It is freezing here, ice on car windows, I have a young child and now I’m being told the lines are closed but press one for something 2 for no gas supply etc so I press 2 and all I keep getting is no can’t help you phone tomorrow between 8 and 12. My meter says call help which is what I’ve been trying to do but have to sleep in a freezer thank you southern electric.