Ebico not for profit company ?

IN fact if you want to save a ton of cash with Ebico then you could do worse than transfer your gas to them in say March/April and transfer away in September.
With my central heating and combi boiler I use very little gas in the summer months and get charged by EDF at about 4.5p per KWH, whereas Ebico will charge me at a lower flat rate that I don't have to pay by DD.
The downside is that by doing so means that I will run up a deficit next winter as I won't have the summer months to offset my DD payments.

As you have already pointed out, and as described in the ebico site, ebico cannot be cheaper for every customer in every situation. If they were, they'd have a lot more than 40,000 customers!

As they say:
"most other companies also offer deals that mean people are charged less if they use a lot of energy, or when they commit to paying in a particular way

This means people pay usually a lower rate because they spend more. So, in effect, the market usually rewards those who have more money to spend in the first place."

Some people are less fortunate and are required by financial constrainst to limit their energy consumption. Furthermore some don't have such ability to choose how they pay, whilst others may not be happy to pay monthly by DD (see the number of threads on this board alone by customers who have experienced problems by paying monthly by DD e.g. accruing a debt, suppliers increasing monthly payments, etc.

Again as per the ebico site:
"even those who make less significant savings choose to stay with EquiGas, because they prefer to pay rates that are fair to all consumers"

The term 'less significant' savings in this context can only mean are able to secure a lower price elsewhere, possibly if they are a high user and/or commit to paying in a particular way.

I think however, this goes off the topic of this thread which is that Ebico are indeed a non-profit making company (this does not mean they are the cheapest). As you have now verified following your purchase of their accounts, there are no fat cat directors and the surplus is minimal compared to their annual turnover.

Furthermore the surplus is not a profit. It cannot be trousered by the owners/members of the company, nor can money be made by those people by the future sale of the company.
Any surplus can only be used to further the cause of the company (as specified in their memorandum and articles of association), or in the case the winding up of the company any assets possibly donated to charity.

toastiest wrote: »

On my latest ebico Gas bill I got 14 pounds of for paying by DD.

Perhaps your bill suggests that if the billing company's computer system forces them to allow a percentage discount for paying by DD, your unit prices will be increased by that same percentage.

http://www.ebico.co.uk/html/c_faq.php#q7

Everyone with ebico pays the same price in the end

Cozworth806 wrote: »

Does Ebico charge for IGT's like other companies?
This could save around £40per year

No, there are no hidden charges with ebico, not even even for an IGT. (although their terms and conditions do allow for this)

Everyone currently pays the same price.

Not all companies charge extra for an IGT, e.g. BG and SSE don't either

Cozworth806 wrote: »

Thanks, I wouldn't touch BG ever, and SSE aren't that cheap for me anyway, so it looks like Ebico and probably SP for electric.

Yes, that's exactly the deal I've got sorted for my father - gas from Ebico and electric from SP. Don't forget to go through a cashback site for your switch to SP - it's about £30 at the moment. Every little helps..