oil prices below $50 a barrel!! still no price cut!!

logie28

http://www.ft.com/indepth/oil


Still no price cuts? surely with prices at a three and a half year low energy companies should be making some noise.

Not just 1 breaking ranks saying price cuts could possibly be brought in , in the new year.

I know they buy in advance etc etc, but with the steady decrease over the last few months, surely they have bought enough at a lower price that they can pass on to us immediately.

This cartel needs smashing and Gordon Brown needs to put immediate pressure on now for major price cuts.

originalbob

Time to start petioning the PM methinks.The e-petition covers the disparity in pricing between prepayment meters and monthly/quarterly billing, but the sentiment's there!

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/northover1/

Plushchris

originalbob wrote: »

Time to start petioning the PM methinks.The e-petition covers the disparity in pricing between prepayment meters and monthly/quarterly billing, but the sentiment's there!

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/northover1/

Actually the difference between pre-payment and quarterly billing isnt as big as people make out. In actual fact Scottish power is cheaper on pre-pay than it is quarterly billing.

1carminestocky

logie28, take care! You will shortly be accused of being either mentally challenged and/or of illogical ranting by one or 2 self-appointed 'energy experts' (one of which can't quite decide exactly how far in the future the energy companies buy their fuel, is it between 1 and and 5 months or 6 and 9 months? :rolleyes: ). Just thought I'd forewarn you (although, in truth, the reality is akin to being savaged by a dead sheep)...

BallandChain

originalbob wrote: »

Time to start petioning the PM methinks.The e-petition covers the disparity in pricing between prepayment meters and monthly/quarterly billing, but the sentiment's there!

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/northover1/

I was gearing myself up to sign that petition as I've been looking for one for Downing Street. Well, there is one signature on there and it says the deadline is 20 November - today! What's all that about?

logie28

I was also going to sign, dont think 2 people will help brown pile the pressure on.

common sense not a petition should make our leader*cough* press his thumb on this cartel and break it.

In the current climate he could win himself a few "brown-ie" points. I think he is scared, the oil companies practcally dictate to the world.

Cardew

logie28 wrote: »

This cartel needs smashing

Just about every thread these day makes the accusation that the Utility Companies form a Cartel, and based on that nonsense decides that is the reason for high gas and electricty prices.

Well no informed source anywhere has made the accusation that they form a cartel.

The Regulator and the all party Parliamentary Committee on Energy have recently independently carried out exhaustive investigations into energy pricing and concluded there is no cartel or even any contact between the companies on pricing.

If there was even the slightest hint of a cartel, the Serious Fraud Office(SFO) would be on them like Bloodhounds. What possible chance is there with 6 huge companies and lots of smaller companies getting away with such serious criminal activity?

The Regulator encourages 'Whistleblowers' and with the hundreds of people involved in is inconceivable that price fixing could be covered up; and look what happened to BA when Virgin admitted fixing the fuel surcharge.

Us 'armchair economists' can argue about excessive profits or not, effect of buying energy on the futures market, profits per customer measured in £tens etc

However to base any discussions on the false premise that there is a cartel is a nonsense.

reactor_3

Cardew wrote: »

Just about every thread these day makes the accusation that the Utility Companies form a Cartel, and based on that nonsense decides that is the reason for high gas and electricty prices.

Well no informed source anywhere has made the accusation that they form a cartel.

The Regulator and the all party Parliamentary Committee on Energy have recently independently carried out exhaustive investigations into energy pricing and concluded there is no cartel or even any contact between the companies on pricing.

If there was even the slightest hint of a cartel, the Serious Fraud Office(SFO) would be on them like Bloodhounds. What possible chance is there with 6 huge companies and lots of smaller companies getting away with such serious criminal activity?

The Regulator encourages 'Whistleblowers' and with the hundreds of people involved in is inconceivable that price fixing could be covered up; and look what happened to BA when Virgin admitted fixing the fuel surcharge.

Us 'armchair economists' can argue about excessive profits or not, effect of buying energy on the futures market, profits per customer measured in £tens etc

However to base any discussions on the false premise that there is a cartel is a nonsense.

I can't believe you are spouting this rubish.
The price of energy has fallen everywhere except in European/UK gas.
There has been criticism of gas prices from all quarters including Energy watch,
yet you persist in pretending everything is fine and there is no profiteering going on.

We all know vast profits are being made whilst people freeze.
The regulator of course did not investigate the wholesale market where the real
cartel exists. Many of the retailers make up that cartel.

The SFO are about as useless as the agency supposed to protect Baby P.

BallandChain

Reactor, you do realise that your thanks button is working, lol!

1carminestocky

I prefer Allan Asher's conclusion - it's 'passive collusion'. In other words, it's totally undesirable and not good for the consumer but not illegal. (Takes deep breath as this is a long sentence coming up) I like his theory on the Big 6 - they are essentially lazy organisatoons because they sell a product EVERY HOUSEHOLD needs as oipposed to merely wants, there's therefore millions of customers to go round the 6 of them so why rock the boat and go out on a limb by undercutting your rivals so they retaliate and then you retaliate and before you know it your punters are getting a half decent deal and your profits are diminished to the point you have to try and be efficient to save money? No, that's not what they want to happen...is it?

reactor_3

Futhermore this whole switching idea is a big con because as I understand it the gas companies pay the switching sites when you switch via them, however of course they are payinig them with *our* money.

The result is the more people switch the higher your bills will be!!:eek:

I'm surprised Ofgem didn't spot this obvious flaw :rolleyes: