MSE News: Escape energy lock-ins as prices soar

RJH_2

Hi, I'm a noobie on here, and like bendaw I also switched to EDF's online s@ver v7 tariff (dual fuel) in about December 2010, but since the price hikes i'm looking to switch, however when I search for cheaper tariffs on both moneysupermarket.com and energyhelpline.com the largest saving I can get is £21...does anyone know if the rates have been updated on these sites to take into account the price hikes? Many Thanks
RJH

Consumerist

RJH wrote: »

Hi, I'm a noobie on here, and like bendaw I also switched to EDF's online s@ver v7 tariff (dual fuel) in about December 2010, but since the price hikes i'm looking to switch, however when I search for cheaper tariffs on both moneysupermarket.com and energyhelpline.com the largest saving I can get is £21...does anyone know if the rates have been updated on these sites to take into account the price hikes? Many Thanks
RJH

Hi RJH and welcome to the MSE forum.

I can't speak for moneysupermarket.com or energyhelpline.com but I primarily use UK Power for my comparisons because they are usually pretty quick to update when new tariffs are announced. They even list the updates for you to check.

Why not see whether you get any better results there.

csiman

bendaw wrote: »

I moved to EDF in December 2010 on their Online S@ver V7 tariff and they then increased prices by about 20% six months later. I complained and requested confirmation that I had a window to cancel my contract without penalty. They said that early termination of my 12 month contract would definitely incur a penalty.

I notified them by email of my right to cancel without penalty charges as confirmed by Ofgem and then received two emails from EDF advising that early termination of my Online S@ver V7 dual fuel contract would be a breach of contract and will incur a £60 penalty.

Can anyone please advise me of the true legal position on this?

I also moved to EDF in December 2010 on their Online S@ver V7 tariff and they then increased prices by 22% six months later.

They have now announced further price rises of around 5-10% allegedly.

I then logged into my account only to discover the rates have gone up by much more than this.

The price list shown on my account states 12.71p for electric & 3.521p for gas. This represents an increase of 52% for electric and 33% for gas on the rates I was paying on the 10th June of this year.

Surely there is no way they could have put my unit rates up by that percentage amount in just over 3 months.

Bizarrely, the switching websites all show my rates as 10.605p & 3.298p which is meant to include the price increase from 10Nov.

I have received no communication whatsoever about any price increases.

EDF are a complete shambles (emails ignored and virtually impossible to speak to a real person on the phone).

I really do want to get out of this contract.

csiman

RJH wrote: »

Hi, I'm a noobie on here, and like bendaw I also switched to EDF's online s@ver v7 tariff (dual fuel) in about December 2010, but since the price hikes i'm looking to switch, however when I search for cheaper tariffs on both moneysupermarket.com and energyhelpline.com the largest saving I can get is £21...does anyone know if the rates have been updated on these sites to take into account the price hikes? Many Thanks
RJH

Check your price rates via your online account. Mine are showing far higher unit rates than the comparison sites are using as of 10 minutes ago (about 10-25% difference!).

bendaw

Interesting comment from backfoot - especially as I have just received this email from EDF.


"Thank you for your e-mail dated 21st September 2011

I have looked into this for you and I can confirm that you registered with EDF Energy for the Online S@ver Version 7 tariff. When you originally agreed the contract for this, it was explained that it is a variable tariff and therefore subject to price changes. The contract also states that if you change your supplier before the tariff is due to end (the Online S@ver Version 7 tariff ends 31st December 2011) then you may be subject to an early termination fee of £25 per fuel.

EDF Energy is within its rights to charge these termination fees as it was stated in the contract terms and conditions which you agreed to be bound by.

However, I appreciate that you may be unhappy about the price increase and therefore I have completed a quote for you based on your current energy usage to see if any of our other tariffs may benefit you.

We have the Fixed S@ver Version 2 tariff which would only cost you around £4 more per year compared to what you are currently paying with the Online S@ver Version 7 but it has the added bonus that it protects you from any of our price changes up until 30th September 2012.

If you wish to switch to this tariff, we will be more than happy to do this for you if you give us a call.

I hope this e-mail helps and that you will consider staying with EDF Energy"


It's a complete muddle!

Is it an offer worth taking up as a low/medium user?

backfoot

[EMAIL="Kerry.Butler@edfenergy.com"]Kerry.Butler@edfenergy.com[/EMAIL]

Let Kerry know about the idiot who has written this completely incorrect letter.

Consumerist

bendaw wrote: »

If you wish to switch to this tariff, we will be more than happy to do this for you if you give us a call.

Be careful here; they don't mention whether they intend to charge termination fees even if you change to another EDF tariff.

I suggest you send them a copy of Ofgem's advisory letter of the 16 August and dispute their right to charge termination fees.

In order to avoid missing any time limits, I would make any switch within the time limit, pay any charges they made and then claim them back under EDF's complaints procedure. You can then refer the dispute to the Energy Ombudsman at a later date if necessary.

Edit
Probably be quicker and less messy to email Kerry Butler as suggested by backfoot.

jalexa

csiman wrote: »

I have received no communication whatsoever about any price increases.

Then you need to dispute that through the complaints procedure. AFAIUI, (and I realise there are a couple of sharp cookies reading this), to "escape" the early termination charge you need to "reject" the increase (before the implementation date) and then promptly initiate a switch.

Which you can't do because you didn't receive the required notice.

Complaint first and then Energy Ombudsman if you are not 100% satisfied with the Edf final (or "deadlock") response.

meggsy

So if there is a small window in which to switch away after a price rise I wonder why npower advised this on 21st July 2011 ..

"I’m happy to confirm that you will not receive any cancellation charges if you choose to leave npower now. As I mentioned previously, this wouldn’t normally be the case, but the prices on your Sign Online 19 tariff changed in January 2011 and we don’t feel it would be fair to apply any exit fees under those circumstances"

I didn't switch after the January price rise because the 'discount' was due in March, I then carried on with the low summer rates and switched away from npowerland recently.

backfoot I agree that the 'discount' is in effect an exit fee, could you post your contact again please, was it Ofgem or Consumer Focus ? Thanks

bendaw

Should have said my email to EDF had Ofgem letter of 16 August attached