Fed up with baffling bills and confusing energy tariffs?

CaroJones

Apologies for the confusion, I've just made the copy on our action page a bit clearer, so you know your details only help us find your MP, as Premier kindly says.

The problem is that many people find energy bills and tariffs confusing, which makes cutting energy use to save money or finding a better deal a nightmare. There are over 4000 different tariffs available on the market and energy regulator Ofgem's own research shows 70% of consumers find the number of tariffs on the market confusing.
Ofgem are consulting on their proposals to improve the consumer energy market at the moment - that's why it's so important to make your views heard now.

Bills need to be made much clearer and tariff structures more transparent, using tools such as a summary box on all bills - like you get with credit card or phone bills to provide key information up front - and introducing minimum standards for tariffs such as 12 weeks warning of a price change for all customers.

Which? has suggested some wording for the letter but you can edit it and add in your own experiences once you input your details and our database has located your local MP. Which? will only contact you again if you check the box to receive updates, in accordance with our privacy policy, which you can find by going to which dot co dot uk /privacy-policy/ (apologies, I'm not able to post URLs as a new member).


I hope that helps, happy to answer any further questions.

With thanks

Caroline Jones
Which? Campaigns Officer

Ken68

Thank you Wendy and Carol.
Something our MP'S should have dealt with long ago.

bob_a_builder

And we now all know why they haven't had the time ...

too busy feathering their own .... duck houses et al

jd87

I've sent one to my MP, Caroline Spelman, (Con, Meriden).

Ken68

Just got a reply from my MP's researcher, was in the junk folder. asking for full address and postcode to comply with Parliament rules. Could so easily have been deleted.

mvan

Ken68 wrote: »

Thank you Wendy and Carol.
Something our MP'S should have dealt with long ago.

The same people who are lining their pockets at the moment, none of them have experience of paying energy bills as we the taxpayer appear to pick up every last penny. They will have never experienced the tariff confusion that energy companies output (they must be taking lessons from ryanair!) or the regular free loans that energy companies get with incorrect direct debits. Until the system is sorted out and we get some people in touch with what goes on in the country I doubt these people have any interest in fixing it. I welcome the which move.

owain.davies

I would absolutely agree that bills need to be clearer, but not so convinced that you should necessarily get rid of all the tariffs with different structures. OK, most people are on standard, E7 or E10, but there are plenty of other tariffs out there, mostly designed with a specific purpose in mind, and people can benefit from being on them. This is going to be even more important going forward, as i may want an 'electric car tariff' and smart meters will open the way for me to make much bigger savings by picking a plan which directly reflects my needs, monitored by a smart meter. If anything, i think consumer choice is stifled by having too few tariffs easily available!

jimexbox

Yes, bill should be a lot clearer, their bills are a deliberate attempt to cause confusion. Coupled with the sheer ignorance and laziness of many of our fellow citizens it makes a banner payday for our energy suppliers.

You can lead a horse to water....

CaroJones

Owain I totally agree with you that customers must have choice, that's one of our guiding principles at Which?. The problem with the energy market is that there are over 4000 tariffs available, so many people aren't sure what the differences are or which one is best for them - it's a Hobson's choice really. We're just calling for the system to be more transparent (e.g. warning about price changes, clarity about discounts and when they end), and also for different options to be easier to compare.

damienuk

I think the number 1 issue is ease of comparison: since each provider has its own threshold where the rates change (so they have the headline "no standing charge") it's really difficult to just pick up a leaflet from one provider and compare it to the rates listed on your own bill.

I.e. the x units at 50p/unit, then next y units at 20p/unit (hope nobody actually pays that much!)

However, only way to resolve this (that I see anyway) is to standardise the 'x' and 'y' - but I'm not entirely sure that would be in the best interests of the consumer? At the moment the energy companies have the ability to produce their own product range, and I wouldn't want to see that stifled.

I just want to see it made easier to simply compare pricing between different tariffs/suppliers. I don't actually see the "4,000 tariffs" point as an actual issue? Also, I'm somewhat dubious of 4,000 completely separate tariffs in any single area? Are you including every tariff across the country (i.e. considering each area has its own rates), and/or saying with/without direct debit discounts is a separate tariff?

The real issue is lack of competition, and that's (partly) due to having to rely on comparison websites (which many can't be bothered with, or find complicated in themselves) to actually perform any comparison.

I'd like to see Which? propose solutions/changes instead of just highlighting the problem. It's a welcome thing for this issue to be highlighted at all, but since regulators are rarely in-tune with the reality of the situation it seems prudent to offer the potential solutions as well as the problem...? At the moment I'm not sure what you'd recommend as potential solutions, so I find it difficult to support your campaign.