Scottish Power "Prices fixed for free"

tincat

I've just received a letter (arrived Friday, opened today) saying that when my current pricefall tariff runs out (31st October) SP will automatically change me over onto their fixed price tariff until May 2009.

To opt out of this I have to send back the slip. However, this is hardly enough notice - what if the mandate doesn't get there in time? I will phone them tomorrow to verbally ask to be kept off the fixed price rate, but bet they will say they need it in writing.

I wasn't here on Friday / Saturday and only saw the letter yesterday, which I opened today, so that means that they have only given a weeks notice. Is this enough time for the majority of people to respond?

2nd question - Do the majority of people think fixing prices is a bad idea? I'm hoping prices will fall a bit.

acc

You can opt out of their default tariff quite quickly, which is what I did, and I have selected a standard tariff because the fixed tariffs are so much more expensive, and if anything prices should come down. Oil prices have halved this year, and the government are putting pressure on the energy suppliers to pass the saving onto the consumer. (However OPEC are trying to cut production to force oil prices back up.)

My energy account is also on the Pricefall tariff, but Scottish Power did not even bother to send to me the letter you got. I logged into my online account and found that SP were going to transfer me onto a new tariff with price increases of more than 50% without consulting or even informing me.

I promptly transferred my account to BG after using the comparison websites which all found BG to be the cheapest supplier for dual fuel. (I did not look at whether it would be cheaper to use separate supplier for electricity and gas.)

tincat

Thanks for your reply. I've checked my annual consumption from last year to this, and entered it into uswitch. My elec was 4745 and my gas was 27304 units over 369 days.

When I enter that amount into uswitch, I get the following message:

"You are currently paying £629.75 a year for gas and £410.99 a year for electricity based on a consumption of 27304kWh for gas and 4745kWh for electricity with ScottishPower."

The cheapest possible option for the same usage is with npower, and I'll be paying £1,391.56 per year, which is over £350 more. Does this sound correct to you?

Is anyone eligible for economy 7 or is it only a saving for people without gas central heating?

Mi_bargains

Hi, I have been looking to change my energy supplier as my fixed rates are coming to an end, the average quotes I have been getting are around £400 a year more than I currently pay, so your increase of £350 sounds about right to me.

I would not advise on signing another fixed price contract just yet as I feel the energy prices will be coming down in the next few months.

starshaped_2

acc wrote: »

My energy account is also on the Pricefall tariff, but Scottish Power did not even bother to send to me the letter you got. I logged into my online account and found that SP were going to transfer me onto a new tariff with price increases of more than 50% without consulting or even informing me.

Hi guys,

I'm also on the Pricefall tariff and have had the same letter. acc, where/how did you find out that the price increases will be more than 50%? I've looked on the letter, on SP's website and in my online account, and can't find anything about what the new prices will be. I'm intending not to let my account switch over, and will post the slip back today and hope they get it in time!

Unfortunately I'm tied into using Scottish Power because they are the only company who will supply to my meter, and I can't get a new meter as it's a rented property I am now wondering what the alternative is if I opt out of this fixed-rate contract.

tincat

starshaped wrote: »

Hi guys,

I'm also on the Pricefall tariff and have had the same letter. acc, where/how did you find out that the price increases will be more than 50%? I've looked on the letter, on SP's website and in my online account, and can't find anything about what the new prices will be. I'm intending not to let my account switch over, and will post the slip back today and hope they get it in time!

Unfortunately I'm tied into using Scottish Power because they are the only company who will supply to my meter, and I can't get a new meter as it's a rented property I am now wondering what the alternative is if I opt out of this fixed-rate contract.

I also can't find the bit about the prices increasing 50% on the paper. However, electricity was 0.07543 per unit and gas was 0.02118 per unit. On the new standard rate (no contract) I will be paying 0.1062 per unit electric and .03569 for gas.

My maths is not great, but as far as I can tell that is a 40.8% increase in electricity and 68.5% increase in gas. If I'm wrong, please feel free to correct me. These rates are not including VAT. I'm sure they have cheaper deals under contract, but this is on their standard rate.

I'm out of contract on 31st October, and on the 1st November I'm changing suppliers.

emc

starshaped wrote: »

acc, where/how did you find out that the price increases will be more than 50%? I've looked on the letter, on SP's website and in my online account, and can't find anything about what the new prices will be.

The tariffs are on the SP website, but I have also confirmed the figures with SP staff on 0800 400 200.

I give below the figures that apply to my tariff, which is With Standing Charge for the Southern area. The figures may be slightly different for your area, although the percentage increases are likely to be the same, and the figures will also vary slightly depending on whether your current tariff is on SC or not.

The Daily SC on both Electricity and Gas stay the same, at 13.52 and 12.21, respectively.

The increase is in the unit price, which for Electricity goes from 7.639 to 11.36 (48.7% increase), and for Gas goes from 2.270 to 2.798 (67.3% increase).

If you do continue with SP, then there are discounts for dual fuel, online accounting and direct debit (but I found their discounts to be smaller than BG). I believe there is a further 3% discount for the Discounted Energy tariff depending on what your current tariff is.