Hidden Tariffs?

backfoot

It's quite interesting that Airmike's justification of the ''Eon final bill policy'' is that it is a termination fee by another name.

Following my representations to Ofgem, termination fees have been banned following price increases.

The point Gerrard,Milliscent,Sterling,myself and many others have made is that Eon's crafty policy should also be caught by the Ofgem ruling.

This is quite a revelation. The discounts are for being a dual fuel customer, paying by direct debit or the discount of a particular tariff . Even though the customer continues to qualify for each and every part of those discounts, they are misteriously withdrawn because a customer gives notice to switch.

It doesn't look good.

MillicentBystander

Yes. Amazingly, Eon employee Airmike23 has backed up mine and several others' point regarding Eon's 'no discount on final bill' T&C being an exit fee by another name. And it's actually worse than any other exit fee in that it is never ending. Been a loyal Eon customer for 20 years but moving to pastures new? Have a final bill minus discount. Goodbye! Yet another sneaky tactic that needs looking at by OFGEM.

Cardew

The interesting aspect, if Ofgem outlaw this EON practice on final bill discounts, will be to see if it will be applied retrospectively - like NPower in the sculpting saga.

Pincher

I have said it before, the E.On marketing genius behind the tariff structures should run the country. He is wasted constructing these intricate terms and conditions for the sake of E.On . If he ran the Treasury, the fiscal deficit would be gone in no time at all.

It's only now that I realise the final bill discount clause was tailored to the 26.7% (=DD2%+DF6%+OL18.7%) discount of the online tariffs.

When the discount is only 8% (=DD2%+DF6%), the loss on a final bill is not that much. e.g. £200 x 8% = £16.

backfoot

Cardew wrote: »

The interesting aspect, if Ofgem outlaw this EON practice on final bill discounts, will be to see if it will be applied retrospectively - like NPower in the sculpting saga.

If I had been an Eon customer their policy would have been challenged on a number of grounds.

Principally,they have written in an Unfair Contract Condition which is designed to override the advertised principal terms of the contract. i.e. the price and related discounts.

There is no breach of the qualifying conditions by the customer in that their dual fuel status remains, they still have a direct debit in place, and they are still contracted to the discounted tariff. It is Eon who invoke the contract breach by altering the principal terms by withdrawing those terms for no good reason.(on top of the main price increase which is the unilateral variation).

Providing the customer gives the required notice, I can't now see that aren't in breach of SLC 23, by not maintaining the pre increase prices and discounts.

Will Eon revoke this policy voluntarily or will it need a determined customer to take them to task.Are you up for it Cardew/Pincher?

There is no essential difference between this and the termination fee issue.

MillicentBystander

I'm suspecting Cardew wouldn't want to draw attention to his secret, hidden tariff so it's looking like the ball is in Pincher's court. Take a leaf out of backfoot's book and get stuck in!

Pincher

MillicentBystander wrote: »

I'm suspecting Cardew wouldn't want to draw attention to his secret, hidden tariff so it's looking like the ball is in Pincher's court. Take a leaf out of backfoot's book and get stuck in!

Get stuck in? Argument?

I am money pinching by name, and money pinching by nature,
but you must have some respect for your opponent, let's call HER Darth Aeon. We are the players in a chess game, we play white, and she plays back.

I applaude the feigned attack by raising prices when wholesale prices are falling, panicking white players into fixing at high prices, to cover her retreat into lower prices.

If I emerge from this battle without paying more than I had to, despite all the traps and deceptions, it somehow seems more worthwhile. The final bill discount is only a nuisance if you don't time your switch. As for getting caught out because you never read the key facts, that's why raw recruits are cannon fodder. Next game you'll know better.

nova_dee

is there any thread here that simply states which supplier gives the cheapest rate per kwh?

sorry i cannot catch up with the technicalities i am moving house and im still stuck whether im switching from southern electric to anything cheaper..

any quick answer?

btw...please forgive my ignorance but what does standing charge mean anyways?

TIA

Cardew

nova_dee wrote: »

is there any thread here that simply states which supplier gives the cheapest rate per kwh?

sorry i cannot catch up with the technicalities i am moving house and im still stuck whether im switching from southern electric to anything cheaper..

any quick answer?

btw...please forgive my ignorance but what does standing charge mean anyways?

TIA

Sorry there is no simple answer.

There will be an electricity supplier, and a gas supplier(rarely the same supplier) that will have the cheapest kWh price for your area, but that doesn't mean they will be cheapest for my area.

Then there all manner of discounts(dual fuel, direct debit, paperless billing etc) that can alter the eventual price you pay. On top of that different 'standing charges'.

A 'standing charge' is simply a daily charge for supplying gas or electricity to your property.

It used to be a simple xx pence per day regardless of how much gas or electricity you used; and still is on some tariffs.

However the majority of tariffs now charge extra for the first xxx units used - called Tier 1 or primary units - and then the rest at a lower price. This largely has the same effect on a bill as a standing charge; despite often being called a 'no standing charge' tariff.

For the majority of people that extra charge for tier 1 units will be the same as a daily standing charge. It is only people with very low consumption that will gain from the Tier system.