I've had dealings with Southern Electric since 2004. Whilst I may not agree with their energy prices, the only, and it is THE only reason I've stayed with SE is because of their customer service. They may not get it right 100% of the time, but I would think that they attempt to get it right as often as possible.
I have lived in my current flat for almost a year now. I had dealings with a previous supplier for this flat (which was unwanted and unrequested thanks to a no-good estate agents), but after a relatively informal and friendly discussion with someone from Southern Electric, the switchover from Spark Energy (That's an entirely different kettle of fish ALTOGETHER!) was completely hassle free.
I had already wracked up a debt with Southern Electric from my previous property (also rented), so I now had two bills to take care of. The one for this property and the one for my previous property. Not being someone with a means of financial backing and also someone who spends most of his income on rent, I discussed several possibilities. I was already juggling several debts, and it seemed that the best option was for a pre-pay meter to be installed. This meter was duly installed. A few months down the line, I'm finding I'm not getting anywhere with having electricity I can actually USE as well as paying off the debt I owe. I decide to contact Southern Electric...something about Southern Electric that is to be liked is the myriad of ways you can actually get in touch with them. I've used most of them, with the exception of sending a letter!
I'm told that despite the charge being as low as it can get, they'll make an exception considering my circumstances (which are far from favourable as of right now - mostly for physical reasons). I'm told I need to top up this meter key at the same place 3 to 5 times before the new charge is registered. I topped the meter up a total of seven times, and still nothing.
I got in touch with them this morning, feeling less than friendly and far less than reasonable in both body and mind, and decided to set to with getting things put straight. No sooner had I topped up the meter with what little money I had left yesterday, I woke up this morning to discover that the majority of that money - for some unknown reason - had just been chewed right up. I hadn't even had heating on (I wear layers it's cheaper)!
I ran through the screens on the display of the pre-pay meter to discover that for months, the charge it was collecting on a weekly basis had not changed. I am now waiting for a new key to register a new charge of a quid. I argued that the situation was not one of wether or not the charge was adjusted on the meter, but that the charge never changed and as a result I was unable to further use electricity beyond the means for which I could pay for it. This, sadly, did not seem to register as a major issue (for someone with a suspected serious health issue - it's undecided yet, I took tests yesterday - it's very bloody major to me)! I am now waiting for a key that will simply re-register a message that apparently the meter should have picked up MUCH earlier.
Whilst in the beginning they seemed fairly reasonable, and generally are still able to adapt and adjust to whatever situations their customers may throw at them, I remain unimpressed with them for the way they've handled this particular issue. One that would not have needed to have been discussed with them this morning had they delivered on the promises they made to me earlier this year.