MSE News: How to beat the energy price hikes

Good point, thank you Guy.
Don't forget, David that Ofgem are also charged with maintaining an energy industry.
What if there was no or limited competition. Prices would go thru the roof.

If we're sharing absurd info I believe Ofgem is mainly funded by the energy industry. Could this possibly explain thier shoddy reputation in the eyes of customers??? You be the judge

Is this really going to work, and has anyone successfully done this?

Who exactly are you writing to/emailing at the energy supplier? I expect that in most cases such correspondence will enter some sort of customer service black hole rather than resulting in the billing system being updated to freeze your tariff.

I'm very happy to be proven wrong, if anyone has practical experience of doing this, and getting a result without having to jump through umpteen hoops with customer service etc.

rdtrdt wrote: »

Is this really going to work, and has anyone successfully done this?

Who exactly are you writing to/emailing at the energy supplier? I expect that in most cases such correspondence will enter some sort of customer service black hole rather than resulting in the billing system being updated to freeze your tariff.

I'm very happy to be proven wrong, if anyone has practical experience of doing this, and getting a result without having to jump through umpteen hoops with customer service etc.

Never had a problem with this. Done it on every switch following a price rise. A simple email or letter will do the trick.

Customer Services will normally be the contact point.

The latest switch from OVO will save me around £300 from rejecting the price increase alone,until the switch goes through. Then there are the sign on bonuses from the new supplier/cashback. All helps to soften the blow.

rdtrdt wrote: »

Is this really going to work, and has anyone successfully done this?

Who exactly are you writing to/emailing at the energy supplier? I expect that in most cases such correspondence will enter some sort of customer service black hole rather than resulting in the billing system being updated to freeze your tariff.

I'm very happy to be proven wrong, if anyone has practical experience of doing this, and getting a result without having to jump through umpteen hoops with customer service etc.

You are right to be sceptical, and it can be problematic - but it does work and you just have to stick to your guns.

My mother-in-law was with EDF Energy, and for some reason she didn't get a letter at the end of July 2010 advising in advance of such a price hike, but when she eventually saw details of this (yes, here on MoneySavingExpert.com!) she immediately checked for the best deal and commenced the switching process, advising EDF that she would not be paying the increase as per the provision in the contract between them.

This is where it gets serious. I will spare everyone the detail, but a succession of customer service staff stated that she would have to pay the higher rate until the switch actually took place. I advised her on the drafting of letters, and we advised EDF that (1) payment would be made only for fuel used at the existing rate, and (2) if any data was supplied to a third party - e.g. credit reference agency - that she owed money or had defaulted on payment, proceedings would be commenced to recover nominal damages of £50 (a figure determined by the Court of Appeal - see my posting on this elsewhere on this site) under S.13 DPA 1998.

This was eventually resolved only by e-mailing EDF's Head of Media Relations (Kaa Holmes), advising him that we would be inviting Granada Television to cover the story at any County Court proceedings arising out of this dispute. My mother-in-law is in her 80's, is partially disabled after breaking both hips, and is my father-in-law's carer - he has vascular dementia and needs full-time care. Not surprisingly, this generated some action, and within 24 hours we had an acknowledgement that all of the people with whom we had dealt would receive remedial training about customer rights arising out of their contractual conditions, and confirmation that EDF Energy would provide a final invoice for energy used at the lower pre-increase rate.

One final irony: after all this, she received an e-mail advising that the final invoice had been prepared and was available online by logging-in to her EDF energy account. On trying to do so, she found that, as the account was now closed, she couldn't see it! She requested a copy, and... yes, you guessed it, she had been invoiced at the new higher rate!

In fairness, a further e-mail to the EDF Executive Office swiftly resulted in another apology and a further credit to the account to reflect her considerable efforts in trying to resolve these successive corporate failures, so there was a happy ending.

But it shows just why you should all be checking your utility bills and not accepting even the strongest of supplier assurances at face value! Notwithstanding that comment, I have an e-mail from the Executive Office stating categorically that EDF Energy will:
"... always maintain customers' prices following their request to change supplier due to a price increase".