Ebico prices to rise on 2 October

Nicholas

Ebico are putting their prices up on 2 October

31.9% for gas
24.3% for electric (on average)

See here for more details

penrhyn

Ebico prices to increase on the 2nd of October 2008

Over the past few months there has been a great deal of coverage in the media of the ongoing developments in energy prices. Wholesale electricity and gas prices have risen by over 40% in the 6 months since April this year. At Ebico, we have made a commitment to our customers to keep our prices as low as possible for as long as possible. But now we have to take steps towards covering our costs. So I am sorry to say that, with effect from the 2nd of October 2008, the price of our EquiGas and EquiPower tariffs will be increased. I will be writing to all customers with details of these increases but, in general, they represent an increase of 31.9% in our gas price and an average of 24.3% for our electricity (prices for electricity vary by region and are available on our EquiPower rates page).
I appreciate that these are very significant price increases and that many customers will be keen to reduce the amount of energy they need to heat their home. If you’d like to know more about the help available to make your home more energy efficient, visit our Insulation grants page.
Even with these price increases, EquiGas and EquiPower remain competitively priced and continue to offer:
No standing charges

The same simple flat rate for everybody regardless of your payment method

Help for the whole community in getting a fair deal from the benefits of energy competition

Phil Levermore
Managing Director, Ebico Ltd.

Premier_2

Has anyone received written notification of this price increase yet?

Why have ebico removed the above notification from their website?

samba

I have not received any written notification - I only noticed because I saw that there was a price rise on my latest gas bill.

I believe they have to inform the customer within 14 days of the rise otherwise they are breaking the rules. Needless to say I will be contacting Energywatch or whoever has replaced them and putting in a complaint. Additionally, I will be leaving Equipower as they no longer represent the best value for money for me.

EDIT: I have just checked the consumerfocus website, and it seems they now have 65days to inform you of the change, at which point you have 10 working days to inform them that you are changing supplier.

1carminestocky

65 working days so effectively probably just after the end of the World as we know it (unless Mr Brown really IS a World super hero).

1carminestocky

samba wrote: »

I have not received any written notification - I only noticed because I saw that there was a price rise on my latest gas bill.

I believe they have to inform the customer within 14 days of the rise otherwise they are breaking the rules. Needless to say I will be contacting Energywatch or whoever has replaced them and putting in a complaint. Additionally, I will be leaving Equipower as they no longer represent the best value for money for me.

EDIT: I have just checked the consumerfocus website, and it seems they now have 65days to inform you of the change, at which point you have 10 working days to inform them that you are changing supplier........[/quote]


...and request they charge you at the OLD rates until the switch completes.

npower-victim_3

samba wrote: »

Needless to say I will be contacting Energywatch or whoever has replaced them and putting in a complaint.

Note that the replacement for complaints is the Energy Ombudsman, not Consumer Focus.

Premier_2

npower-victim wrote: »

Note that the replacement for complaints is the Energy Ombudsman, not Consumer Focus.

I think there is possibly some confusion here.

Energywatch was an independant watchdog whose mission was to to get the best deal they could for energy consumers. In that role they ocould give advice to consumers and even take on complaints on behalf of the consumer. However they could only reach a resolution by talking with the suppliers.

When Energywatch was effectively disbanded (or merged with postwatch if you want the official view), it's roles were split into two different areas.

Consumer Focus - this organisation pushes for a fairer deal for energy consumers in general, but does not get involved in specific customer complaints, unless such a complaint is in the interest of of the wider customer base.

Consumer Direct - this is the organisation that will now give advice to consumers about specific complaints a customer may have against their energy supplier


The Energy Ombudsman was set up back in 2006 and so was in existence during the time energywatch existed. The Energy Ombudsman still exists and it's role has not really changed as far as I can see. They are funded by their members, i.e the suppliers. They will only investigate a customers complaint if it has reached impasse. i.e. it has gone through the suppliers own internal complaint system and the supplier has issued a deadlock letter, or 2 months have passed since the customer originally filed the complaint (this used to be 3 months). As an ombudsman, they can decide on an outcome of the complaint and their members will abide by that decision. They can also impose fines on the suppliers if deemed appropriate. Energywatch had no such power as a watchdog.

shinjukumaster

I've just checked the Ebico Website and the prices are stated as:

Gas 3.77p kWh inc VAT

Elec 14.62p kWh inc VAT (London)

Are these prices pre, or post, rise?

~Chameleon~

I'm currently with Ebico for both gas and electric, but my electric bill is now three times higher than my gas bill so I'm not sure I'm getting the best deal possible.

Would it be worth me switching just the electric to someone else or wait and see whether Ebico are actually going to put their prices up now fuel costs are decreasing?

I've not received anything from them about any price rises as yet.


ETA: A quick check on uSwitch tells me I could save over £200 a year by switching my electricity over to BG click energy 6 :eek:

Is there a catch with this account as I vowed I'd never return to BG but the savings are very tempting!

KimYeovil

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

Is there a catch with this account as I vowed I'd never return to BG but the savings are very tempting!

There's no catch (other than British Gas' customer service). The rebates are not annual but are dependent on consumption. But this means there is little penalty if you want to switch quickly in the future. Prices have increased recently so there should be no changes for a few months.

Of course you have the usual difficulty of direct debit accounts - you need to be able to afford the suggested payments while they adjust to your actual use. And if you are from Ebico the gas is unlikely to be cheaper (if you are a low user) but, as you say, electricity should be fine.