We’ve put together this guide to help you get to know the main terms in your contract for the supply of electricity by us to you.
To get an up-to-date copy of the full Standard Terms and Conditions please refer to sainsburysenergy.com/legal/terms-and-conditions or call our Customer Services Team to request a copy on 0808 501 5277 (should be free from all mobiles and generally free from all landlines).
As well as our Standard Terms and Conditions you will also receive “Tariff Specific Terms” relating to that product which will set out the additional key contractual terms for that product.
1. Charges for supply
The charges for your supply of electricity are set out in your welcome pack. They will differ depending on your location, your method of payment, and will be variable or fixed depending upon the terms and conditions of your contract/tariff.
You will be required to pay a daily standing charge which applies no matter how much energy you use.
We are permitted to change the terms of your contract in certain circumstances but if the change is to your disadvantage we must give you at least 30 days prior notice of that change.
For the avoidance of doubt, if you are on a fixed term tariff your payments are not independent of your energy usage. We reserve the right to adjust your payments in accordance with your energy consumption. We will do this periodically. We will notify you of the revised amount by writing to you. To ensure accurate bills, you should provide us with regular meter readings.
Direct Debit/Debit Card/Credit Card
It’s part of our terms and conditions that you agree to pay your energy charges by Direct Debit, Debit Card or Credit Card, and ensure there are sufficient cleared funds to pay your bills.
If you agree to pay your energy charges by Direct Debit, but that arrangement fails to operate or you don’t comply with your obligations relating to the payment method, for example, if you cancel your Direct Debit or your Direct Debit fails, we may transfer you to the non-Direct Debit version of your tariff (where your tariff has beneficial rates or charges) and will give you notice of any change to the terms of this agreement.
If your tariff does not have a non-Direct Debit version, we will transfer you to the non-Direct Debit version of our standard tariff. In either of these cases, your monthly payments may not be enough to pay for your usage and then there may be an outstanding balance due for payment immediately.
2. How we use your personal information
For the full details on the above please see the section on using your personal information in your enclosed Terms and Conditions, or at sainsburysenergy.com/legal/terms-and-condition (as applicable). We strongly advise you to do so as this is only intended as an overview.
3. What information we collect
We will collect personal information such as your name, age, address, meter number, contact details, bank account details as well as credit or debit card details etc., when you engage with us via our websites, our mobile App, when you contact our call centre via our agents or sometimes we may obtain it from 3rd party publicly available sources such as the Post Office, or other companies like energy comparison sites or brokers when you sign up to our products and services through their websites or contact centres. We will also obtain information from credit reference agencies.
We may record information about your health or any disabilities you may have (your sensitive data) to see if you are eligible to sign up to the priority services register, or to see if there are any additional services we can offer. We will only do this with your consent.
4. What do we use your personal information for?
We will use the information you have provided, or we have obtained from legitimate sources, to do the following (this is not an exhaustive list): help us identify you and the property you want us to supply, assess your credit-worthiness, set up and manage your account (including supplying energy to you), communicate with you, prevent fraud and loss, recover any debt we are owed, carry out statistical analysis and to improve our services.
If you have a smart meter we will only use your consumption data at the level (monthly, daily or half hourly) and for the purposes you have consented to, except where we are permitted to use your data for billing and regulatory purposes, or to resolve a query or a complaint or if we think your meter has been damaged or compromised in some way. For full details please see the section on use of Smart energy data in the section on Smart Meters in your enclosed Terms and Conditions or at sainsburysenergy.com/legal/terms-and-conditions (as applicable).
5. The legal bases and the purpose for processing
We can only use your personal information where that is permitted by data protection laws. Those laws require that where we use your personal information we must satisfy one condition (legal basis) for processing. The legal bases are consent, to comply with our legal obligations, to perform a contract, and it is in our legitimate interests. In some cases, you may have the right to opt out of certain processing where we are unable to demonstrate we have an overriding interest in continuing to do so.
6. Who we share your information with
We may share your information with agents acting on our behalf and with relevant industry organisations for agreed industry processes. If required, we may share it with organisations like Ofgem or as part of a governmental data sharing initiative.
As a Sainsbury’s Energy Customer, we will share some of your details with Nectar Loyalty Limited to enable Nectar to allocate you your points. How Nectar will use your information is set out here.
We may also share your information with Sainsbury’s who will use your information for statistical analysis and to help them understand more about their customers. You can find out more about how Sainsbury’s will use your information here.
7. Credit Checking
We will search the files of credit-reference agencies, and (where relevant) gather information from fraud-prevention agencies and, using information you give us during signup or that we hold about you during your time as a customer, we will use this to help us assess your ability to pay our bills. As such your personal information will be shared with credit reference agencies (which may include your payment history and any payments you have failed to make) and may then be used by other organisations that access their files. If we are not satisfied with our assessment of your creditworthiness at the time you sign up to Sainsbury’s Energy, then we will not accept you as a Sainsbury’s Energy customer. However, we will discuss this with you and offer you the option to be supplied by Npower on other terms. If you confirm you are happy to be supplied by Npower on other terms, then Npower will discuss with you the most appropriate payment methods, products and services it can offer you. These may include security deposits or prepayment meters. If we accept you as a Sainsbury’s Energy customer, missed or late payments which have not been formally agreed may result in your credit score being affected and may therefore affect your ability to obtain credit from other lenders. If you fail to pay, we may register a default against your credit file and, if we enter into a formal payment arrangement with you, that may also be registered against your credit file both of which may affect your ability to obtain credit from other lenders.
8. Automated decision making and profiling
The law requires that we tell you if our systems conduct any processing, including profiling which produces a decision that is completely automated and produces legal effects concerning you or similarly significantly affects you. We do not consider that any of the automated decision-making, including profiling, that our systems conduct fit these criteria. For further information please see the section on ‘automated decision making and profiling’ in the Privacy Notice.
9. How long we keep your personal information for
We will keep your information for as long as we need it to provide the products and services you have signed up to. We may also keep it to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes and enforce our rights. Information that is no longer required for any purposes will be disposed of. For full details of how long we keep your personal information please see the section on ‘Data Retention’ in the Privacy Notice.
10. Your rights to how we use your personal data
You have certain rights in relation to your data including asking to see the personal data we hold about you – for the full details please see the Privacy Notice at sainsburysenergy.com/legal/privacy-notice.
11. When do we pass your personal information outside of the EEA?
We or our agents may send information outside of the European Economic Area (EEA) but your data will continue to be governed in line with your terms and conditions and the legal protection provided by our agreements and any relevant laws.
12. Duration of the contract
Your contract(s) with us will continue until either:
a. Your electricity and/or gas contract is ended by us after a 28 day period of notice which may be given at any time, or
b. You move house, provided you give us at least 2 working days’ prior notice, otherwise you may continue to be liable for the supply to the premises. You may be charged an early exit fee if you are on a fixed term contract, or
c. You change supplier. You may be charged an early exit fee if you are on a fixed term contract.
You can change your energy supplier at any time, but you may have to pay any outstanding balance for the energy you have used and/or any outstanding charges (where applicable) before you can switch.
13. Exit fees
Some of our non-standard products may have an early exit fee (if this applies to your product the fee will be set out in the Tariff Agreement). If you switch in response to a price increase or any other change to the terms of your contract, that is to your disadvantage or a notice of the end of the fixed term period of your contract, you would not have to pay an exit fee.