MSE News: Npower price warning: thousands to see costs rise

Former_MSE_Guy

This is the discussion thread for the following MSE News Story:

"Some will see the price they pay rise by almost 25%, while the energy giant freely admits anyone affected should switch ..."

Read the full story:

Npower price warning: thousands to see costs rise

davidgmmafan

Its interesting that you choose the example of sign online 14 as I recall looking at this tariff myself and found, for the average to high user of gas it could actually cost MORE than the standard rate. I believe one elec there would be an increase.

As I've been saying on here and elsewhere for ages only 95% of people are on the standard tariff. Clearly energy companies must take some of the blame, it can be difficult to understand the bills, but consumers have a part to play too. I bet most people shop around for insurance and the like energy is no different.

If the Ofgem rule is the real reason for this change then perhaps it should be made clear it only applies to prepayment meters costing more - surely this wouldn't be that difficult? You would hope they talked to Ofgem about this first but the delay in Ofgem commenting (this was in the mail last Wednesday) suggests not.

shadowspy24

Look how super compliant energy companies become when it means that they are forced to raise their prices, but when everyone is telling them to lower their prices where is that compliance then?

magyar

shadowspy24 wrote: »

Look how super compliant energy companies become when it means that they are forced to raise their prices, but when everyone is telling them to lower their prices where is that compliance then?

Ofgem cannot force companies to lower prices, but it can force companies to implement certain rules which cause prices to either go up or down.

gryphon5

I'm currently on sign online 10, is it possible to request to move to sign online 18 (their latest offering) or do I need to move away from npower to get a "new customer" deal?

notbritishgas

gryphon5 wrote: »

I'm currently on sign online 10, is it possible to request to move to sign online 18 (their latest offering) or do I need to move away from npower to get a "new customer" deal?

Yes if you ring them they will swap you over to SoL 18 immediately.
However be aware that SoL 18 has a daily standing charge, in my region just over 30p per day, whereas with Sol10 we are just coming to the summer period whereby under their sculpting method we pay fewer units at the higher rate (46 per month between May and September). So even though on a full year 18 is about £125 cheper than 10, for the months until September the Gas will be more expensive than the standard tariff they are changing us to.

notbritishgas

magyar wrote: »

Ofgem cannot force companies to lower prices, but it can force companies to implement certain rules which cause prices to either go up or down.

If the Ofgem rules are really the reason that Npower are moving their cheaper tariffs onto the standard offering then surely we can expect all of the other suppliers to follow suit.
Somehow I do not think they will do so.

magyar

notbritishgas wrote: »

If the Ofgem rules are really the reason that Npower are moving their cheaper tariffs onto the standard offering then surely we can expect all of the other suppliers to follow suit.
Somehow I do not think they will do so.

I can't comment, I was merely stating what powers Ofgem do and don't have.

davidgmmafan

I heard sometime ago on Watchdog that Ofgem DID have the power to regulat eprices but gave it up voluntarily believing competition would do the job just fine - anybody know if there is any truth to this?

My understanding is anything prior to SOL14 is going to be the same as standard, so comparing SOL10 to SOL18 is somewhat pointless, since SOL10 as it is now won't exist after 7th May.

When I was last shopping around the top two companies that came up as cheapest, NPower and EDF, both online tariffs both had an end date on. Its just like savings you HAVE to keep looking every so often esle you lose out. I do worry about the impact this may have on groups who aren't able to get the best deal.

I need to work out if I'm better off on SOL18 than SOL17, including the cancellation fee.

AbbieCadabra

gryphon5 wrote: »

I'm currently on sign online 10, is it possible to request to move to sign online 18 (their latest offering) or do I need to move away from npower to get a "new customer" deal?

i've just done this today, online via quidco (£80 cashback, well, i can hope can't i? ).

for us, from SOL10 to the standard tariff would have been about £150 more per year. with SOL18, it should actually be about £90 less than SOL10 (providing i don't want to switch before June 2011 (i think that was the tie in date) as a £40 exit fee would be payable). SOL18 is a variable tariff, but it does state it will be 2% less than the standard tariff during the tie in period.

there's a couple of other recent threads on here about the increases, they contain useful links & info worth having a search for

Paulgonnabedebtfree

I had my letter from Npower recently too and will switch to another company by the look of it. However, there is an extra thing to bear in mind with Npower and I personally think it's a very underhand trick. Npower credit your account once per year with £100 if you pay by direct debit (assuming both fuels). In my case, my credit comes with the first bill after July (it varies from person to person I think as it's based on individual account anniversaries). It is now April. Assuming one moths notice to switch supplier that would take me into late May. By switching then, I would effectively be increasing my tariff by nearly £50 a month for the two months as I would lose out on my direct debit rebate. So even if I were to get a better deal and some cashback from the switching company, I would probably still be better off waiting until after July. To add to the confusion, Npower seem to make their bills as clear as mud and I've never yet noticed any direct debit credits appear on it. I feel it would be much fairer to give the discount month by montrh. This is why they do it annually IMO - to keep you until the individual year end. So I will putr up with paying more in order to get my £100 back. Tough luck Npower. I sussed you out. I'm self employed so I need to increase my prices.
So Npower. I'm upping my prices. Up yours.