MSE News: Government targets retrospective energy price rises

Agree with Kim.

The 65 working days(13 weeks) provision worked in favour of the customer.

If the company were silly enough to wait several weeks before notifying you of a price increase, you could elect to change to a new supplier and revert the the old rates you were paying until the switch took place. - so up to 20 weeks on the old pre increase rate.

Incidentally nothing to stop you changing back again to your old company.

A classic own goal!

davidgmmafan wrote: »

I think in principle they should have to at least tell you at the time. However I am constantly astounded at the sheer number of people who say they knew nothing about prices rises when it was all over the TV, radio and newpapers. Do this people live in a box?

Equally the BG price reduction has been EVERYWHERE...

Much needs to be done to reform the market including effort being made by customers to get the best deal.

The companies do announce the price change at the time, and as you say is is plastered all over the media.

However that was not consider sufficient by ofgem who decreed every individual account holder needs the information in writing.

The companies argued(quite logically IMO) that to send out millions of letters(18 million for BG) at the same time was a huge expense and administrative burden - extra staff required etc(the cost of which would be passed on to us).

The solution was to give them 65 working days for the formal notification, with the proviso that a customer could revert to the original tariff if he decided to leave the company.

As stated above, that arrangement that worked to the advantage of the customer; and has now been stopped by this misguided initiative!

We lose out! the companies lose out!

What if the opening of your account was delayed?

I moved into a new flat at the end of June 2009 and called Npower on the very day I moved in. They told me I would hear of them within 2 weeks.
After 2 weeks, no letter so I called them again (it was July by then), and was told 'there is a problem with your account but we will contact you as soon as it is solved, don't worry'.
In August I called twice (at the beginning and at the end of the month): same story.
In October still no news, so new phone call.
In November, when coming back home, I found a letter from an independent meter reader (slid under my door) asking me to contact him to check my meter. I called him, and apparently Npower were not sure which meter was mine (the meters for all the flats on my floor are in a cupboard on the landing, but they're numbered, and I had been monitoring mine still June, so I knew it was for sure it was for my flat!), so they had asked him to check that. So we booked an appointment, he checked the meters for all the flats, took my name and phone number, and reassured me I would hear from Npower soon.
Christmas and January came and went: still no news (OK, first we had the Royal Mail strikes, then several bank holidays, then the snow, but still).
February: new phone call to Npower, this time I managed to get a reference number for my call, the direct number for the complaints department, and 10 days later, a letter telling me they were sorry and were trying to solve the problem etc.

Right now I know what my bill would amount to (from June to February), but I'm worried that if they raise their prices I might get charged at the new price, even though I've been trying to get them to open my account and send me bills for 8 months.
Calling them doesn't come cheap either: on my last phone call I spent all I had left of credit (£5), and eventually had to ask them to call me back because we were going to be cut! And it's lucky that didn't happen while I was on hold...