Lumo Energy 10K startup + 10 BO/$

[straitman]

If anyone does decide to go with Lumo I advise that you do not under any circumstances let them go with estimates. Their billing estimates structure is totally incomprehensible to me.

 

[oz_mark]

If anyone does decide to go with Lumo I advise that you do not under any circumstances let them go with estimates. Their billing estimates structure is totally incomprehensible to me.

How do you you know your on an estimates structure? I found out my readings were being estimated a year after they starting estimating them (differenr retailer)

Electricity retailing in Victoria is an absolute farce.

 

[AdMEL]

How do you you know your on an estimates structure? I found out my readings were being estimated a year after they starting estimating them (differenr retailer)

Electricity retailing in Victoria is an absolute farce.

Slighty OT, but how did you find out your readings were being estimated? And which retailer? I assume it's not something they will readily disclose either over the phone or on their bill, but is probably buried in the fine print. A couple of reasons for asking: my bill has jumped considerably (almost 50%) and whilst I part of it is my doing, I am looking at possibly changing retailer (currently Origin) if I can get a better deal. I was looking at the Lumo offer, but given the comments, it doesn't look great!

 

[oz_mark]

Slighty OT, but how did you find out your readings were being estimated? And which retailer? I assume it's not something they will readily disclose either over the phone or on their bill, but is probably buried in the fine print. A couple of reasons for asking: my bill has jumped considerably (almost 50%) and whilst I part of it is my doing, I am looking at possibly changing retailer (currently Origin) if I can get a better deal. I was looking at the Lumo offer, but given the comments, it doesn't look great!

Tru-Energy - and they sent a letter about it after a year along with a bunch of corrected bills.

 

[serfty]

My power bills have an indicator to reveal whether the charge was based on an estimated or an actual reading.

This is the form a character along site the noted "readings", either an A or and E.

 

[Brooke01]

***Another update***

Hi,

I hope you all don't get sick of hearing from me about this - but I just thought it was important to provide another update on the "saga".

So.....

I call them up last Monday - bizarre that the girl who answered the phone was the girl who signed me up ! I briefly explained to her my issue, and she had to put me through to "Customer Service". **GULP** - I knew I was going through to an Indian call centre

After waiting for some time (they were busy) - I finally got to talk with a young Indian gentlemen. I am quite "travelled", but I did find him a little hard to understand, and had to ask him to repeat himself a few times. The general conversation went like this....

Me - I did not receive a promo code, and even so - there is nowhere in input it on the payment portal screen.
Him - Your promo code is xx_X, you input it on the payment portal screen.
Me - there is nowhere to put in in the payment portal screen.
Him - you must input it on the payment portal screen.
Me - there is nowhere to put in in the payment portal screen.

And around and around we went for alittle while - until he actually looked at the payment portal screen himself.

Him - oh, there seems to be a problem, I need to talk to my supervisor.

So - off he went. When he came back he told me he would ring me back within 30minutes.

Admittably, I was sceptical - but true to his word, he did in fact call me back - only to tell me that it would take time to fix and either he or his supervisor would call me back once it was done. I pressed him for a time frame - and he said by Thursday.

Okay.....

Come Thursday - and once again, I would have bet money that I would be the one following up - but just after lunch, he called and told me the problem was now fixed. Now, when you look on the payment portal screen there is a box to input your promo code.

I did not worry about trying to sort out the points and bonus from the first bill I paid ($17odd) - because I since got my first bill for gas on the Tuesday. So, when I pay that, I will input the promo code and hopefully get 10xpoints and the 10k bonus. We shall see !!!

Even though they did not reply to any of the emails they sent - I was pleased that they called me back when they said they would, and (seemingly!) fixed the problem. I find it amazing that I must have been the very first person to have called up about it though ???

So - hopefully a good outcome.

Sorry it's so long.

Brooke

 

[hummel]

***Another update***

Hi,

I hope you all don't get sick of hearing from me about this - but I just thought it was important to provide another update on the "saga".

So.....

I call them up last Monday - bizarre that the girl who answered the phone was the girl who signed me up ! I briefly explained to her my issue, and she had to put me through to "Customer Service". **GULP** - I knew I was going through to an Indian call centre

After waiting for some time (they were busy) - I finally got to talk with a young Indian gentlemen. I am quite "travelled", but I did find him a little hard to understand, and had to ask him to repeat himself a few times. The general conversation went like this....

Me - I did not receive a promo code, and even so - there is nowhere in input it on the payment portal screen.
Him - Your promo code is xx_X, you input it on the payment portal screen.
Me - there is nowhere to put in in the payment portal screen.
Him - you must input it on the payment portal screen.
Me - there is nowhere to put in in the payment portal screen.

And around and around we went for alittle while - until he actually looked at the payment portal screen himself.

Him - oh, there seems to be a problem, I need to talk to my supervisor.

So - off he went. When he came back he told me he would ring me back within 30minutes.

Admittably, I was sceptical - but true to his word, he did in fact call me back - only to tell me that it would take time to fix and either he or his supervisor would call me back once it was done. I pressed him for a time frame - and he said by Thursday.

Okay.....

Come Thursday - and once again, I would have bet money that I would be the one following up - but just after lunch, he called and told me the problem was now fixed. Now, when you look on the payment portal screen there is a box to input your promo code.

I did not worry about trying to sort out the points and bonus from the first bill I paid ($17odd) - because I since got my first bill for gas on the Tuesday. So, when I pay that, I will input the promo code and hopefully get 10xpoints and the 10k bonus. We shall see !!!

Even though they did not reply to any of the emails they sent - I was pleased that they called me back when they said they would, and (seemingly!) fixed the problem. I find it amazing that I must have been the very first person to have called up about it though ???

So - hopefully a good outcome.

Sorry it's so long.

Brooke

Thankyou very much for the update Brooke. Post's like these help other members (including myself) decide on the best course of action.

It's always a battle to get bonus points posted but that's what where this forum helps

 

[drewbles]

Anyone after standard points with a power company, I can suggest Australian Power & Gas. They don't have any bonus points, but do take amex: http://www.australianpowerandgas.co...ons/FINAL AGP10_090_Payment Options_May11.pdf

(I signed up for a 3 year deal to get good pricing, and they offer rebates as well for each 6 months you've stayed with them, with some of the better pricing I could find in VIC).

 

[straitman]

Anyone after standard points with a power company, I can suggest Australian Power & Gas. They don't have any bonus points, but do take amex: http://www.australianpowerandgas.co...ons/FINAL AGP10_090_Payment Options_May11.pdf

(I signed up for a 3 year deal to get good pricing, and they offer rebates as well for each 6 months you've stayed with them, with some of the better pricing I could find in VIC).

Thanks drewbles.

I'll have a look.

 

[Brooke01]

***FINAL UPDATE***

Hi again,

Just wanted to provide you all with, hopefully, a FINAL update on this topic.

I paid my "first" bill this week with Lumo (it was really the second bill, but the first that I was able to put the Promo Code in with).

The bill was $92 ish for gas.

I eagerly watched my AmEx memberships awards balance - and within 2 days I had credited over 11k in points - 10k bonus points, 920 points (10x per $ spent) and the Centurion bonus points.

So....I was very pleased - and also relieved that this story has a happy ending

Now, just to wait to get an electricity bill so I can compare to what I was being charged prior with another company - hopefully I will still be smiling after that

Thanks for reading - and hopefully I will not need to update this thread again.

Cheers,

Brooke

 

[hummel]

Brooke01

Was your gas bill with Lumo similar to your previous supplier? It appears that it has eventually worked out for the best.

 

[sparoy]

***FINAL UPDATE***

Hi again,

Just wanted to provide you all with, hopefully, a FINAL update on this topic.

I paid my "first" bill this week with Lumo (it was really the second bill, but the first that I was able to put the Promo Code in with).

The bill was $92 ish for gas.

I eagerly watched my AmEx memberships awards balance - and within 2 days I had credited over 11k in points - 10k bonus points, 920 points (10x per $ spent) and the Centurion bonus points.

So....I was very pleased - and also relieved that this story has a happy ending

Now, just to wait to get an electricity bill so I can compare to what I was being charged prior with another company - hopefully I will still be smiling after that

Thanks for reading - and hopefully I will not need to update this thread again.

Cheers,

Brooke

Thanks for the update Brooke01. I think I will now go ahead with switching to Lumo. Do we need to sign a contract for a certain period of time with them?

sparoy

 

[Brooke01]

Hi,

I "think" I was required to sign up on a 24month contract - but if I cancelled it, it would only cost $150.

As far as the gas bill went - it was alittle hard to determine whether it was similar to previous, as at our old place we were on the bottled gas - which was very expensive. We are now on natural gas. I have had a bit of a look at it - and I think it will work out cheaper.

I will be able to give a much better answer when we get our first electricity bill - I am hoping to see a significant reduction. Our last bill for the quarter before we moved was $1100, there is only 2 of us - and we are both at work most days ! Granted, it was a huge house - but still......

Cheers,

Brooke

 

[mitchy123]

***FINAL UPDATE***

Hi again,

Just wanted to provide you all with, hopefully, a FINAL update on this topic.

I paid my "first" bill this week with Lumo (it was really the second bill, but the first that I was able to put the Promo Code in with).

The bill was $92 ish for gas.

I eagerly watched my AmEx memberships awards balance - and within 2 days I had credited over 11k in points - 10k bonus points, 920 points (10x per $ spent) and the Centurion bonus points.

So....I was very pleased - and also relieved that this story has a happy ending

Now, just to wait to get an electricity bill so I can compare to what I was being charged prior with another company - hopefully I will still be smiling after that

Thanks for reading - and hopefully I will not need to update this thread again.

Cheers,

Brooke

Brooke - I went through the same thing, I wasn't sent the promo code until after my first bill came, and I was not aware that I needed to enter it (I'm sure it was buried somewhere in T&C's, though I didn't notice it). I do feel slightly deceived that I couldn't enter it for the first bill, I might call AMEX and have a whinge.

In any case, I have it now so future bills can earn the 10x, plus the initial 10k.

 

[CannonMx300]

Lumo energy are the worst consumer product in the history of electricity and gas and i know, i have sold for them in victoria and queensland and they make me happy. happy because everytime i see one of their bills i switch their very unhappy customer to a better deal very easily. my advice your 18% or 12% discount is useless as ill bet my house your rate is well over 18% or 12% higher to make sure they still rape your bank account every month.
Enough said

Lumo sucks balls

 

[Brooke01]

**Final, Final Update - I promise **

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to give you one final update on this thread.

I have received my first "proper" electricity bill from Lumo since we switched. Our bill at the place that we lived at previously was always around $800-$1100 for the quarter. As I mentioned before - the house was probably 3 times as big as the place we are in now - but still, there is only my husband and I and we both are away from the house during the day etc. Same appliances plugged in at the old place as the new - the main difference we have is a lot less lights at the new place.

Electricity portion of the bill was $411 !
Gas portion was $276
Total - $680 approx

The gas is probably higher than at the old place as we have gas ducted heating here and have been using it on the colder nights (we had gas ducted at the old place, but it was bottled gas and tended to be very expensive - so we used electicity for heating). Obviously using electricity for heating at the old place pushed the bill up in winter - but even our summer bills were over $800. I expect the gas portion to drop somewhat now that the nights are getting warmer.

So......at this stage - I am beyond pleased !

It is easy to voice complaints - and I did just that, initially. But I have to say - Lumo have impressed me thus far with the way my complaints were handled, and the fact that my total bill is the cheapest it has been in 4 years is definately an added bonus !!

No more updates - I promise

Cheers,

Brooke

 

[Zoe Nguyen]

**Final, Final Update - I promise **

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to give you one final update on this thread.

I have received my first "proper" electricity bill from Lumo since we switched. Our bill at the place that we lived at previously was always around $800-$1100 for the quarter. As I mentioned before - the house was probably 3 times as big as the place we are in now - but still, there is only my husband and I and we both are away from the house during the day etc. Same appliances plugged in at the old place as the new - the main difference we have is a lot less lights at the new place.

Electricity portion of the bill was $411 !
Gas portion was $276
Total - $680 approx

The gas is probably higher than at the old place as we have gas ducted heating here and have been using it on the colder nights (we had gas ducted at the old place, but it was bottled gas and tended to be very expensive - so we used electicity for heating). Obviously using electricity for heating at the old place pushed the bill up in winter - but even our summer bills were over $800. I expect the gas portion to drop somewhat now that the nights are getting warmer.

So......at this stage - I am beyond pleased !

It is easy to voice complaints - and I did just that, initially. But I have to say - Lumo have impressed me thus far with the way my complaints were handled, and the fact that my total bill is the cheapest it has been in 4 years is definately an added bonus !!

No more updates - I promise

Cheers,

Brooke

Thanks Brooke for the update, we are moving soon so I am also looking for another energy company that accepts Amex. I'm comparing between Lumo and Energy Australia.

For Electricity, Lumo's rate is better than Energy, however with the Gas, it's much higher (still better than our current company AGL though). Do they give you any discount if you bundle gas and electricity ?

 

[Netty]

On-line to pay Lumo bill. Phoned and said I'd lost the promo code and was given AX10. 10,000 Amex points credited within 2 days. (When I signed up with them I was told couldn't get bonus points as my rate was a cheaper deal than the one with bonus points) Try it!

 

[k3nnis]

So guys, is Lumo good to sign up or should I stay clear? I am using AGL at present.

 

[dimgai]

So guys, is Lumo good to sign up or should I stay clear? I am using AGL at present.

I called them up 2 months ago about signing up.. Apparently the person I spoke to needed to find out the rates applicable to my type of meter and was to call me back within 3 days... It's being about 2 months, so I took that as a sign.