Ebico / SSE partnership has ended!

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  • Anthorn
    Anthorn Posts: 4,362
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    Well, surprise, surprise I haven't received the by now fabled letter from SSE either. All I have is the online news item on the Ebico site to go on:
    https://ebico.org.uk/ebico-news/letter-confusion-so-are-we-reducing-or-increasing-prices/

    There is nothing on the SSE site that I can see about the Equipower tariff being increased and nothing about it in my SSE online account. All I can say is that Ebico from the start of this sorry affair has been confusing and a mine of mystery and misinformation. If Ebico and RHE have started as they mean to go their customers will most likely be concerned about it.

    But quite frankly if the Equipower tariff is to be increased then I'm going to fix with Scottish Power until April 2018. Really, this whole Ebico / RHE affair is getting on my nerves!
  • Stuart_W
    Stuart_W Posts: 1,719
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    edited 14 March 2017 at 9:42PM
    We had hoped to make switching to our cheaper tariffs as simple as possible for our EquiGas/EquiPower customers. However, unfortunately our former supply partner, SSE, has been unable to support the transfer of customers to our new supply partner. So, we must now ask our EquiGas/EquiPower customers to confirm to us, that they want to make the move to Ebico Zero. Customers who have not yet let us know that they would like to switch to Ebico Zero will remain supplied by SSE on the EquiGas/EquiPower tariff and will be subject to the increase in the electricity price.

    The above paragraph appears in the news item now on the ebico website. It looks like the default action of ebico switching certain customers UNLESS they request to stay has been thwarted by SSE and you have to consciously CHOOSE to switch - so I imagine some folk will be getting a further letter soon.

    In other news, I've finally got the online billing log on working, and apparently I'm 8 days away from submitting a meter read.
  • uk1
    uk1 Posts: 1,839
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    It always seemed to me that automatic (inertia) switching would be against some regulation or other.
  • footyguy
    footyguy Posts: 4,157
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    Stuart_W wrote: »
    The above paragraph appears in the news item now on the ebico website. It looks like the default action of ebico switching certain customers UNLESS they request to stay has been thwarted by SSE and you have to consciously CHOOSE to switch ...

    Indeed, and with the information received today from SSE that they were raising the price of their Equipower tariff by between 15% and 20% depending on region and meter type, not to mention the warning stating
    We reserve the right to refuse or withdraw the tariff at any time

    I consulted a comparison site to find the best deals for me.

    Unsurprisingly, Ebico Zero came up tops, so this evening I went to the Ebico site and made a few applications to switch :).
    You cannot actually specify your current supplier as Ebico, so I chose SSE (although there is also an option for unknown).
    Also you cannot specify zero consumption in the online application process, but 1kWh per year is accepted.

    To others saying they have not been informed by either email or letter about Ebico Zero, then I must admit the only correspondence I received was regarding one supply address, and that was an early email suggesting the switch was going to be automatic ... which it does not seem like it will be now.

    If you've not received information from SSE yet about the increase in their Equipower prices, then I would also say I only received that for some of my accounts - perhaps the others will arrive in the post tomorrow?
  • Anthorn
    Anthorn Posts: 4,362
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    footyguy wrote: »
    Indeed, and with the information received today from SSE that they were raising the price of their Equipower tariff by between 15% and 20% depending on region and meter type, not to mention the warning stating

    Where did you get that news from? Link please. I still don't see anything about an increase to the Equipower tariff on the SSE website nor in my SSE online account. This is all I see on the SSE website which refers to the SSE Standard Tariff:
    https://sse.co.uk/price-change

    I think that due to variations in this thread in reported letters being received and Ebico/RHE apparently not knowing their rear end from their elbow I can ignore such reports until I see it with my own eyes.
  • Electricity isn't a concern for me as I'm with SSE on a three year fixed tariff.
    Similarly, I hope I've sorted things out regarding my gas supply, having got assurances from SSE I'll continue on the same tariff as before, namely the Ebico no standing charge gas tariff, however sans any input from Ebico now they've been cleaved asunder from SSE.
    However, I'm sure SSE are under no obligation to maintain this tariff indefinitely and I can see it being withdrawn in the not too distant future.
    Therefore, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that if and when that happens, Ebico and RHE will have resolved the shambles that seems to be attending the early days of their partnership, and the process of signing up for any future gas supply from Ebico will be a relatively painless process.
  • Stuart_W
    Stuart_W Posts: 1,719
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    edited 15 March 2017 at 12:23PM
    Anthorn wrote: »
    Where did you get that news from? Link please. I still don't see anything about an increase to the Equipower tariff on the SSE website nor in my SSE online account. This is all I see on the SSE website which refers to the SSE Standard Tariff:
    https://sse.co.uk/price-change

    I think that due to variations in this thread in reported letters being received and Ebico/RHE apparently not knowing their rear end from their elbow I can ignore such reports until I see it with my own eyes.

    Is this evidence enough... Here is part of my letter...It's got the ebico logo at the top but has been sent from sse with my account number on.
  • THX758
    THX758 Posts: 150 Forumite
    But i thought it took weeks to be moved. So logically, until you receive confirmation that you have moved to the new provider, Ebico is the one who can rise and lower the prices on the equigas and equipower tariffs. Not SSE.
  • Stuart_W
    Stuart_W Posts: 1,719
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    THX758 wrote: »
    But i thought it took weeks to be moved. So logically, until you receive confirmation that you have moved to the new provider, Ebico is the one who can rise and lower the prices on the equigas and equipower tariffs. Not SSE.


    Previously, yes, but not now. SSE consider Ebico to be in breach of their agreement, having launched a prepay tariff with RHE recently, so they now see all Equipower/Equigas customers as fair game and SSE are pulling the strings, which means I imagine price rise after price rise.


    The Utility Week article, posted by Sheepy123, seems to be the only place this is actually covered. This is what it says -

    Big six energy company SSE has told not-for-profit supplier Ebico that its recent decision to launch a pre-pay tariff in collaboration with Robin Hood Energy represents a breach of their longstanding supply contract.
    SSE and Ebico are now to end their 20-year partnership, via which Ebico currently supplies 60,000 SSE customers.
    Ebico denies that its collaboration with Robin Hood Energy - described as a "match made in heaven" by Labour's shadow energy minister Alan Whitehead - contravened its supply agreement with SSE.
    In a letter to SSE’s domestic business director Stephen Forbes, Ebico’s managing director Phil Levermore said he was “very sad that SSE has taken the decision to issue notice of termination of our partnership.
    “As you know, the partnership between Ebico and SSE has lasted for nearly 20 years and in that time, I believe, it has served the interests of those in fuel poverty both directly, through the tariff offered, and indirectly through the funds that Ebico has been able to provide to community fuel-poverty initiatives through the Ebico Trust.
    Levermore continued to say that the launch of the Ebico PrePay tariff with local energy company Robin Hood Energy was specifically designed to help fuel poor customers “many of whom are likely to experience energy costs as their top household expense after housing costs”.
    Levermore said he was disappointed by SSE’s “heavy-handed” response to Ebico's altruistic intentions and added that he is concerned that, from today (24 February), SSE will withdraw its support for the zero-standing charge tariffs it has delivered together with Ebico.
    Levermore warned that this will come as a “shock” to existing customers and would undermine a “very popular” tariff structure which has recently enjoyed strong sales.
    Ebico has now batted back SSE’s breach of contract accusations, saying that its withdrawal of services from customers is the true contravention of terms.
    In response to the rising quarrel, SSE issued a statement to confirm that “the partnership between SSE and Ebico will now come to an end”.
    “Over the last 15 years, SSE has supplied its customers under the Ebico brand with their energy and high levels of customer service,” said the statement. “It has produced tariffs specifically tailored towards vulnerable customers and has contributed £1m towards tackling fuel poverty.”
    The big six supplier reassured that “SSE customers supplied under the Ebico brand will continue to be SSE customers for as long as they wish. They will continue receive their energy and the same high levels of customer service from SSE for the foreseeable future regardless of today’s announcement. Any suggestion otherwise is incorrect, misleading and should be ignored.”
  • Anthorn
    Anthorn Posts: 4,362
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    edited 15 March 2017 at 2:31PM
    Stuart_W wrote: »
    Is this evidence enough... Here is part of my letter...It's got the ebico logo at the top but has been sent from sse with my account number on.

    No; That letter points to an increase in the standard tariff (as posted on the SSE website which I linked to in my previous post) and points to Equipower paid by direct debit being cheaper. There is not even any indication of who sent that letter. Going by your own post it looks like the letter came from Ebico and not SSE. In fact that last piece of information on the alleged letter is wrong or at least incomplete: The discount for paying by direct debit does not apply to Ebico tariffs:
    3 Paying by Direct Debit means you will receive a discount of £40 per annum, per fuel, deducted proportionately from your standing charge on a pence per day basis, when compared to using an alternative payment method. Discounts are inclusive of VAT at 5%. The following are excluded: energyplus Care, Woolwich Domestic Heat, EDN, EBICO and Pay As You Go.
    https://sse.co.uk/price-change

    Overall, if I don't get such a letter I don't believe it. There is too much variation in this thread over alleged letters for me to believe it.
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