Campaign suggestion for Martin

Katie-Kat-Kins

I've recently been having difficult interpreting my bill and finding out important details about my tariff. In particular it seems difficult to get accurate and consistent information regarding E7 and E10.

Can I suggest that all electricity companies be obliged to clearly display on your bill whether you are on single rate, E7 or E10 (currently I am on E10 but my bill says E7 ).

Further they be obliged to show the rate per unit for each register on your meter and the circumstances in which that rate applies i.e. time of day and whether it is heat or the main supply.

They should also be obliged to clearly display the name of the tariff you are on so it is clear should you have a query or want to switch.

This information *shouldn't* be difficult for the suppliers to provide, and would make a difference to consumers as they will know for sure what they are getting and when, currently many may think they know but be mistaken. It is currently difficult to get this information, even the customer services staff at my supplier seem to struggle!

I'd also like to suggest that energy companies be obliged to provide a service like orange's best plan review for phones where they review your usage every six months and let you know whether any of their other tariffs would be better for you. Obviously switching supplier completely might get a better deal, but with the high number of tariffs offered by each company this would give guidence to consumers who don't want to switch (say if they have a debt or aren't permitted to under the terms of their tenancy) and would also provide a starting point for consumers looking to switch.

What does everyone think??

Cardew

The difficulty is that timings for switching to cheap rate vary according to the part of UK in which you live.

Then there is clocks altering for British Summer Time.

Added to that, the switch timing is controlled for many households by 'mechanical clocks' - not remotely. These clocks can be a long way fast or slow.

How would companies know the best plan review(like orange)? Your consumption in winter is no guide to your consumption in summer.

More difficult than you envisage methinks!!

Premier_2

They should, and usually do, specify which tariff you are on. Sorry to hear your supplier doesn't do this correctly.

However, where you are on a multirate tariff (E7 or E10) then specifying the times for each individual would be difficult.

Times change by area (and perhaps even within an area). Imagine the surge in demand that would occur if everyones storage heaters all came on at say midnight.
Some older E7 meters are also controlled by a timer within the meter (and like most clocks, they are not entirely accurate, especially over a number of years). Modern meters tend to have the switching controlled remotely by radio signal.

Regarding review every six months. No thanks, the last thing I want is my supplier having any excuse to try and up-sell me products every six months. I had enough trouble making them not making any unsolicited marketing calls to me EVER!

Katie-Kat-Kins

I don't think that the fact that timings for E7/E10 vary accross the country should be a problem. The suppliers must have access to this information and with your postcode could keep a record of it and print it on your bills.

The fact that it is not straight forward is all the more reason for it to be printed on your bill clearly.

I like to think I am reasonably savvy and I have had difficulty getting this information. My supplier has quoted me different timings on different occasions and it concerns me that I could have been setting my immersion and washing machine, taking my showers etc at times I believed were night rate and they weren't and it also makes it incredibly difficult to plan use of storage heaters efficiently and to decide whether you are better on E7/E10.

If someone has an old style timer clock meter the bill could always have some wording to say that the times are dependant upon the clock and the clock may not be accurate.

Katie-Kat-Kins

In terms of the best plan review, I certainly do not want to encourage more marketing calls.

The way the orange best plan review works is that every six months you get a letter saying we've looked at your usage and we consider that you are on the best plan available or we think that you would be better off on xxxx tariff. It could be compulsory that there be some disclaimer about their recommendation only covering their own products. It also doesn't have to be six monthly, for power annual review might be better due to weather variations.

But I think that given that with every supplier there are so many tariffs this would be really helpful to many people. Especially those without internet access or those unable to switch supplier. You could have the option to accept or reject their advice.

Katie-Kat-Kins

As a demonstration of how issues like E7 and E10 are not straight forward for customers and there is serious need for improvement, I have just been given yet another set of times for my E10.

I asked for confirmation in writing early this year and was provided with one set of times, I queried this again earlier this week and was given two different sets of times whilst on the phone before the customer services rep admitted defeat and agreed to check with a colleague and get back to us.

I have phoned them again today and have been given a completely different set of times, which they say they will also confirm in writing!

When I have two different sets of time in writing I will be making a formal complaint about misleading information.

I know that my electricity bill will have been larger as a result of this, as my careful timings with the immersion, washing machine and showers have all been out!

mattcanary

Just to make the issue clear. The timings of the cheap rate electric do not vary dependant on where you live in the country or your postcode. Two people within the street can and often do have different timings. Until recently I was a meter reader and I know this to be fact.

I believe the timings get set at random, so that there is not too much surge put onto the National grid network all at once.

The timeswitches attached to some meters will tell you what time the switch happens (bear in mind that in the summer, the meter switches to cheap rate an hour earlier than during summer and ends an hour earlier too). Unfortunately with some types of meter or if you have a teleswitch, rather than a timeswitch, iyou do not know what times the cheaper electric operates (unless a sticker has been put on the equipment telling you - this is pretty rare). In such circumstances, the customer would need to contact the supplier to find out.

mattcanary

I would add that it extremely often, the timeswitch is not working properly. This is particularly the case with older meters and/or timeswitches. The time is often way out so it will switch over to the cheap rate at the completely wrong time. If you have a teleswitch, this won;t be a problem - but the time it switches over to the cheap price can vary from day to day!
The clock mechanism on the timeswitch built into an E10 meter does change when the clocks change for winter and summer, unlike the equipment with E7 meters

mattcanary

The worst type of E7 meter to have is the one with a normal old style dial meter (normally - although it can be a different type of older meter) and then an LED display attached to the bottom of the main meter. You take the readings off the bottom part (NOT THE DIAL AT THE TOP). This display will also tell you the time and date, but it won;t tell you what time the equipment is set to switch over to the cheap rate.
These are pretty ancient pieces of equipment and I have never seen one displaying the correct time. They are normally hours out. Terrible pieces of equipment and I would recommend anyone that has one of these pieces of junk to get it changed for more modern equipment. There are a lot of these meters about - certainly in the East Anglia region where I live.

If a timewitch is more than two hours fast or slow, you can contact your supplier to get them to repair/replace it.

st999

Also if you have a power cut your time switch will be out by the length of the power cut. My sister had her underfloor heating and storage radiators coming on during the day at the cheap rate, she was most annoyed when they came and reset the clock.

Stan.

mattcanary

Kat, I'm assuming your metering equipment does not give you the information as to what exact 7 hours during the night you get your cheaper electric?