Spark Energy - Reviews, Account Login, Tariffs & Meter readings

NEWS (27/11/2018): Spark Energy has collapsed This will leave 290,000 customers currently with the scottish energy company without a supplier. A decision has yet to be made on which company will take over the supply. You can call our energy helpline to find out the latest on what to do if you are a Spark energy customer call:02039 360059 or request a callback from one of our advisers.

Spark Energy is a small independent supplier formed in 2007 to address a gap in the market for supplying tenants. They work with top UK letting agents to try and make the process of moving into your new rented accomodation as simple and stress free as possible. They currently supply over 350,000 homes in the UK.

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Spark Energy Reviews

Spark Energy has done a pretty good job of sparking their customers' anger this year, receiving nearly more complaints than any other company. Luckily, Selectra is here to give you the lowdown on the biggest problems with the company and how you can go about getting them resolved.

Why has this happened? We often find that energy suppliers increase in size but fail to keep their customer base happy. It's a very common problem which affects the companies as they grow a lot before they have the capabilities to deal with such high customer numbers.

Part of the problem has been a part of Spark's business model which includes rewarding landlords who persuade tenants to sign up. However, it appears that many landlords have been obliging tenants to stick with the company even though they can only do so by law if they will be responsible for paying the bill.

Energy regulator Ofgem says: Tenants should be made aware by landlords and letting agents of any tie-ins with specific suppliers and should receive appropriate details at the outset of applicable tariffs and charging details. Landlords may under no circumstances sign up tenants for a tariff without their prior consent and tenants have the right to choose their supplier based on their needs.

Negative reviews

Once again Spark Energy is bottom of the heap in the Which? Customer survey with overwhelmingly negative results. While in 2016 Spark was ranked at number 11, in 2017 and this year it has come 30th out of 31 energy companies rated by 8,761 members of the public, only slightly beating Npower which took the last position.

Spark Energy only scored 47% satisfaction overall, scoring three stars out of five in the four categories of bills, customer service online and on the telephone and value for money.

Spark energy performed similarly badly in Trustpilot´s survey in which from 10,783 reviews the company earned an average score of only 69%. Npower and Spark Energy have the joint-largest percentage of very dissatisfied customers (5%). Keeping in mind that the best performing firms have 0% very dissatisfied customers, it is a considerable number.

According to recent reviews most customer complaints are caused by unsatisfactory communication and delays in responses from the customer service team. There have also been complaints of incorrect billing and unclear practices which have led to customers being deceived. There have been high profile complaints from customers who have been chased by debt collection agencies for bills that they did not incur.

Our energy advisors have a lot of experience resolving Spark Energy complaints and have provided a list of the top 5 Spark Energy Problems.

Top 5 Spark Energy Problems

• Charging more than agreed - sometimes more than double!
• Mis-selling tariffs by giving underestimates of usage, only to increase the direct debit later.
• Objecting to switches with no justification.
• Customers who have lost their prepayment card having problems getting a new one.
• Erroneous transfers - customers receiving bills or correspondence from Spark without even switching to them.

The good news is that all of these issues can be easily solved and our advisors have helped hundreds of customers resolve their Spark Energy complaints and switch to a more reliable supplier.

Positive reviews

We have to add that while Spark Energy has a lot of negative press 53% of their customers on Trustpilot gave them an excellent review. Customers who did give positive reviews praised the company's customer service team, who they claim are helpful, polite and aren't pushy.

One customer said "When mentioning other services like smart meter etc they didn't push me for it or try to convince me to anything else just simply said if you change your mind, give us a call. Which keeps these kind of calls simple and stress free."

Customers also liked the company's prices which they felt were good value for money. Spark has done an independent customer survey using Customer Sure where their customers have rated them at 7.6 out of 10, much higher than any of the other customer surveys.

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Prices & Tariffs

Unlike many big suppliers Spark Energy provide 5 simple tariffs for those who switch to their service, making it easier for customers to choose which is the best tariff for them.

1. Move in saver 5 (Standard variable tariff for home movers)
2. Fixed Saver (Fixed until March, April or June 2019)
3. Digital Saver V1 (Variable and with no exit fee with the account based completely online)
4. Swift PAYG (A smart meter upgrade and 20 pounds of extra credit)

It can often be difficult to know which might be the best in your circumstances and the best way to get an up to date tariff would be to give us a call; however, until then you can see a premade tariff quotation below for the 13 price regions across the country.

Below you can see the tariff label information (TLI) for Spark Energy´s Digital Saver V1 (variable rate):

Last Updated: April 2018

The digital saver V1 by Spark Energy is the cheapest variable rate available with Spark. The tariff has no exit fee making it ideal for customers who want to be able to change their tariff easily. It is paid by direct debit and all of the transactions are dealt with online making it simple and easy to use.

Compare tariffs now

Account Login

Spark Energy provides you with the opportunity to manage your energy from anywhere with an online account. If you would like to login to the online portal to manage your bills without having to call anybody, then you can do so by clicking the button below. Customers can sign in using their Spark Energy username and password.

If you have forgotten your password you can also retreive it from the same page follwing the onscreen instructions.

Once you are logged into your account, you will be able to do the following:

• Track your usage
• See past usage details
• Submit meter readings
• Check your balance

Spark Energy is also increasingly focusing on new technology and how it can help make managing energy easier for their customers. Spark Energy CEO Chris Gauld stated: “Our customers tell us that they’re really comfortable managing their accounts at a time and in a place that suits them. We’re delighted to step up to the mark and continue to meet that need."

Spark Energy are also have an app which customers can use to carry out the same tasks as they can do in their online account but with the convenience of being able to manage their energy from their phone. Unfortunately the app has very low ratings in the Play Store and in the Apple Store, with customers complaining that it isn't very user friendly and often doesn't work.

Spark Energy have also set up a new digital-only brand for their Smart Pay As You Go customers called Swift. The system allows customers to top-up 24/7 from the comfort of their sofa, office or on their daily commute giving them flexibility in how, when and where they can top-up.

Log in to your account

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Spark Energy Fuel Mix

A huge emphasis has been placed on where energy comes from recently, and as such, all energy suppliers throughout the UK are required to submit details about their fuel mix. Spark Energy are no different. Here you can see a breakdown of the different types of energy that Spark uses in its energy mix.

As you can see from the chart, Spark Energy score just slightly higher than the national average for renewable energy. It uses 5.2% more renewables than the national average. So, while it isn't as environmentally friendly as some of the renewable only suppliers like Bulb Energy or Good Energy, they are doing much better than the Big Six. Spark Energy's biggest percentage comes from natural gas, making up 41.4% of their supply.

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Spark Energy Meter Readings

Spark Energy uses a professional company, Morrison Data Services to read your meter every three months.

A technician will come to your house to read your meter and will be wearing an official uniform. They will also be carrying an ID badge that easily identifies them. Technicians can also be requested to use a password if customers request extra security measures.

In addition to their online account Spark Energy has also implemented their "smart assistant" Ami. Ami can deal with the routine problems that customers have day to day, such as going paperless and sending meter readings, which means that their customer care agents can spend more time dealing with customers who have more complex issues.

However, to ensure that your bills are as accurate as possible you should also read your meter about once a month and send the results to Spark Energy. If you get a monthly bill delivered then it is best to do the meter reading during the last five days before your bill is due.

You can send your meter readings to Spark Energy quickly and easily by logging into your account Alternatively, you can contact them on their automated meter reading line which operates 24 hours.