Contact from Countrywide
Well the time has come for my tank to be refilled. I took a look today to see how much gas I had left and it was less than 5%. Interestingly I received a letter from Countrywide telling me to check my tank so that if necessary I can order gas before ( heaven forbid) the bad weather is once again upon us!
So this morning I rang Countrywide and informed them my tank was down to 5% and I required a refill, “what was the current unit price” I asked, a pause and then “54.6 ppl sir”. After getting off the floor I asked the young lady to repeat just in case my hearing was playing up, no definitely 54.6 ppl.
So the negotiations begin “can we do better than that price wise?” another pause, “well Sir, I don’t actually deal with prices”. So I asked if she would get someone to ring me to discuss the price- I should get a call early next week, I will keep you all posted.
WISH ME LUCK.
Best Regards – Dickie
Only just discovered this website, and this message from last November. But I thought it might be instructive to recount a similar experience with Countrywide. They had sent regular bleeding-heart letters, apologizing abjectly because, as wholesale prices had increased, they had absolutely no alternative, and with the greatest reluctance, to increase their unit price.
Naively I thought they were doing their best. But I eventually decided to check the prices. Last Feb I was charged 65p/litre (yes, that does say sixty five ppl). When I checked other suppliers they were (as of November 2011) nearer 43-48 pence…
Clearly I had to change suppliers, so after several attempts I eventually got hold of someone at Countrywide, who instantly I asked about transferring my account, dropped the price from 65p down to 45p, and capped it at until February 2012.
But because of my trusting nature, they had been overcharging by 20p(that’s about 44%)over the ‘correct’ rate.
Lesson – CHECK the prices of ALL available suppliers EVERY time you need to refill – Demand a competitive rate or transfer.
Interesting enough i had the same letter from Countrywide and clearly in these times find gas prices hard on the pocket! I must say though over the 14 years i have been supplied by them they have always been fair. I know other suppliers offer fantastic deals but my neighbour got sucked in by the attractive package and has been stung ever since. Unfortunately i will never have the luxury of mains gas so i will always challenge my price.