Community Utilities  Avis 

They still charge you the fee even if I moved out of the apartment for a few weeks. We have email communications in advance and received a reply confirming my final bill date. I cannot log into the system to cancel my subscription for the monthly direct debit due to the contract expiring when I moved out. If you choose to pay by card, they charge you an additional 5% surcharge monthly for not using direct debit.

Amir was great and extremely helpful!

Honestly never had an issue with this company in all the years I’ve used them.

Their customer service has always been quick to respond and really helpful.

I didn't have an option to choose my utilities service providers, so unfortunately I have to deal with Community Utilities. They first registered me to a wrong address. Then there were incorrect bills. This month, they sent me several emails before the due date, claiming that I have an overdue.

Funny. The CS team was helpful though.

Community Utilities is an absolute nightmare as a utilities billing provider. We can't even switch companies, but many residents share my frustration.

Their billing cycle is entirely random and unreliable. This month, we got our bill 18 days in, and it’s rarely posted before the 5th. We constantly have to chase them for updates, and their communication is atrocious.

The payment system is a disaster. We've had numerous issues, and they can't charge the correct amount based on usage. Instead, we're forced to pay upon receipt of invoice and are hit with an extra 5% charge for the privilege.

Viewing live usage is impossible, a feature we’ve had in many other properties.

Customer service is abysmal. Emails go unanswered for up to 5 working days, and when they do respond, it's often the same copy-and-pasted nonsense.

We're not renewing our lease solely due to the appalling service from Community Utilities.

Good customer service from Saaliga

Saaliga was very helpful. She sorted out issues with my outstanding Payments swiftly.

Absolute joke of a company that seriously needs to be audited. I raised an issue with my bill over 10 days ago having been forced to use community utilities after my lease changed hands. From waiting around on false promises of contacting me (several times) to getting an email today summarising ways I can setup a direct debit and not addressing my issue at all, I’m disgusted with the service I’ve received. Absolutely ridiculous. My usage has been calculated on estimates plucked out of thin air reflecting 5 times my actual usage! They have the audacity to send payment reminders 10 days before my bill is due, for figures they just make up. Would not recommend.

Extremely kind and helpful team, Saaliga helped me sort out my payments seamlessly and was incredibly patient and an excellent communicator! She was very calm and organised through it all and answered any questions I had, as well as guided me through all my options with ease!

I had an amazing experience with Amir. Extremely professional and very considerate and helpful. I’m glad I got him to help with sorting out a payment plan for my account.

Recently, I had a pleasant experience thanks to Amir. Even though the issue is still ongoing, he was able to provide a viable solution.

I also received an email confirmation that everything will be sorted.

Amir who works at CU was very helpful and keen to resolve our issue. The problem is still ongoing but he’s been in contact with us and trying to help. The three stars is given because the issue has been going on for the past year and it’s hectic to explain the situation over and over. I’m glad Amir is taking over to resolve the issue.

Amir is 5 stars, so helpful & solved my issue I have been trying to rectify for WEEKS. The 2 previous women I spoke to were no use and couldn’t help at all, one promised me a refund which was not processed but Amir helped and sorted this problem. Very efficient and sent me an email to confirm all he had done. Thank you!!

This company has been a constant let down throughout our tenancy (in Liverpool), and is continuing to cause us issues a month and a half after we’ve moved out and cancelled our account.

Our initial utilities (water/heating) for a 2 bed flat was £70. A few months later our bill was raised to £90. Then it was raised to £160 which we understood with the energy crisis. Our account ended up being in credit by £200 (which you can’t withdraw via your account it has to be requested), but they then sent an email attempting to raise our bill to £289. I disputed this and they u-turned and kept our monthly payment the same.

We reached the end of our tenancy with over £500 in credit, owed to us (which really shouldn’t have reached that point anyway). We informed them of our move out with a month’s notice. It is now 6 weeks later and not only have we not received our final bill (apparently they needed the meter serial number confirming??? Why???), but we have now been charged another £162, despite being in credit.

The final straw is that I removed our bank account details from the online portal so that they could not attempt to take further funds over a week before this final amount was charged. I’m intrigued to know how they have managed to charge us when our account details were no longer available on the portal?

Customer services are very good at placating you via email, but in reality do not tell you what the actual hold-ups/issues are, and have consistently refused to inform me when I can expect to be refunded and my account to be closed.

They have some serious problems if they want to be seen as reliable. It took a week for Scottish power to produce our final electric bill - just as an example.

Horrible! Would give one star if I could. Tariff far above price cap, with no customer service or assistance. Harassing debt recovery team, impossible to deal with. Changed how much I supposedly owed on a monthly basis with no ability to provide proof of a ledger. Absolutely horrible experience. Avoid at all costs.

If I could give no stars I would, it’s a horrible company that robs people. I’ve dealt with them on 2 separate occasions and it’s been issues with billing each time and with me being over charged. The company is a joke and should be shut down!!

If you are looking at renting from a building that uses Community Utilities, turn and run. They charge an unfathomably high service charge on top of your utility price and only get away with it because they're not technically billing a utility by Ofgem's definition (because it's a communal heating system).

They charge us nearly £1 per DAY on top of the actual energy cost, which they also overcharge for (they use a "industry standard" Heat Efficiency Factor calculated 50 years ago based on buildings of that age). I'm not qualified to comment on the HEF calculation, but I think it's clear that things have changed in 50 years, and regardless the service charge is the real issue as it dwarfs our energy costs.

Their billing system is constantly down for maintenance; the billing system is impossible to use and their invoices are confusing and misleading. They do the absolute bare minimum (arguably below, considering the number of times they messed up our bill in the year I've used them) and charge an obscene amount for the privilege. They are so far behind even the worst actual utility companies, who are at least subject to consumer protection and regulation.

Shame on them, and shame on neglectful landlords who use them -- particularly Legal and General in our case who you would expect better from.

Dreadful company. Invoices two weeks late almost every month. Billing errors, no direct debit option. terrible custumer service. AVOID. would give zero if possible.

This company is trying to exploit a loophole that they know are borderline illegal, and if I take them to court I would definitely win, I just don't have the time to. (And it's only a matter of time before someone else does)

Collating from my own experience and other reviews, they dish out meaningless price increases and surcharges, makes no effort to communicate the electric bills (which violate OFGEM rules), and then hit tenants of apartment buildings with a large bill at an awkward time. They also offer no alternatives other than themselves, which means no valid consent was given to them to act as the "billing agent".

I myself had been billed with >£1k in bill AFTER moving out, without any warning. After calling (and calls not going through) and then being ignored and poorly handled by many different agents, I have finally decided that their business practise was unethical, wasting my time, threatening my health and wellbeing by wasting my energy.

On the bright side, they didn't even bother to keep track of my previous communications and whether or not I have logged into my account to view the bills, so they actually can't say that they've given me sufficient notice, or have billed me correctly, because they haven't given me any evidence that my meter reading was the "actual meter reading" taken by their staff.

Everytime they send me a "reminder" email to pay my bills, I just ignore them, or send them an angry email in reply. In the end, they can't send me to debt collections (they don't have my address), nor does it affect my credit score (they are terrible at keeping records, and even if they have the record, I'm happy to take them to court/ tell my bank that they're scamming and that I didn't sign a contract to pay them, so I don't owe them anything).

And just remember: you only need to ignore then for a year and you're scot free: (from Ofgem website)"You can't be charged for gas or electricity used more than 12 months ago if you have not been correctly billed for it, or informed about it via a statement of account, before."

In conclusion: Ask to see a copy of the contract & terms of conditions with YOUR signature on it, and see how they shriek and tremble in terror upon realizing that they have no legal grounds to charge you.

ABSOLUTE SCAMMERS!! We were charged £200 for one month in a one bed apartment and we have never used the heating or dishwasher. Now that we have left community utilities our bills are less than £100 a month. Absolute joke of a company!!! Our entire apartment complex had the same issues. They basically send you an invoice for a random ridiculous amount each month and hope you pay it. STAY AWAY!!