We have recently contacted Powergen to get an electricity supply to some new offices. A process that I had imagined would be quite straight forward. After repeatedly contacting their new business department through an automated telephone system for ‘my convenience’ I eventually arranged for someone to attend the office to refit the fuse which they had no record of removing (they were the previous supplier).

As promised they visited the office on the day they were supposed to. However, they posted a card to advise that they could not access the office. The time of arrival on the card stated 9.50PM. Are these people for real?

After leaving further messages on their busy phone system I eventually spoke to an advisor. They could not send anyone out for several days even though I believed that they were at fault. Our moving in deadline was rapidly approaching.

The day after they were supposed to fit the fuse I again contacted their office to find out if the work had been done. The advisor informed me that they could not tell as there is a 7 day delay from work being undertaken and the systems being updated.

Fortunately our offices have a caretaker service which enabled me to find out that the fuse had indeed been fitted.

If we all conducted our business in this fashion, you would struggle to get anything done in the UK. That’s my rant done with. It is unlikely that I will remain with Powergen for long.

Allow me to continue your rant with respect to British Gas who really do take some beating.

I moved into a new house, and we contact British Gas with our details, meter reading, etc. They set information to me, at number "1 Main Street", when in fact our address is "1 Main Hall, Main Street" (and is about a mile away from "1 Main Street"). (Obviously this is not the actual address - it's just for example purposes!)

Easy enough error to make, I suppose, but easy also (or so we thought) to rectify. We contacted them to explain the situation. What happens? Our post continues to go to "1 Main Street" and we start getting "1 Main Street" mail instead. We phoned again, and were told it'd be sorted out, but it wasn't. And again, and again, and again.

I then put it all in writing in a letter to them, cc'ed to Oftel (who incidentally couldn't believe what was going on), and they wrote back to me (at the wrong address). On and on it went with disconnection threats and more, all because British Gas couldn't put the right names and addresses on their correspondence. With about my 5th letter, they had the gall to say "why didn't you just phone?!"

Anyway, we each got £20 compensation (whoopee!) and the problem seemed to have finally been resolved. But no... I've started getting British Gas junk mail now... addressed to the owners of "1 Main Street" but sent to us at "1 Main Hall, Main St" - and vice versa.

We're now some 6 or 7 months on from our original communications, and they still can't organise a p*ss up in a brewery...

There... that's my rant done with.

are powergen both the supplier and the PES (Public Electricity Supplier) or is the hardware owned by someone else?

I have worked in many industries, and I have to say that the Utility industry is without doubt the worse of ANY I have ever been involved in. What should be simple becomes a nightmare. I could tell you horror stories that make Halloween v Jason look like Noddy.

When will these people learn. One day we will be presented with real choice and real alternatives. Then they had better improve customer service or suffer the consequences.