EON SaveOnline 3 - Price Changes?

Andrewbullie

Hi All,

Just new to this forum and have a query regarding energy prices from EON and other companies in general.

I was on a Dual Fuel tariff for a couple of years and whilst speaking to one of the EON reps. was advised that I could change to SaveOnline 3 and make big savings. I found that my charges reduced as follows:

Electricity went from 23.4 (first 900kWh) to 16.230
Gas went from 6.5 (first 2690kWh) to 5.157

In order to benefit from this I had to tie my self in to a fixed plan until 31st October 2011 (13 months), if I wanted to opt out of the plan then I was required to pay a £30 cancellation charge.

I today received notification that my plan was coming to an end and that my prices will go from 24.266 to 25.851 (electricity) and 7.344 to 5.157 (Gas)

I was then that I realised I had been paying much higher what I initially signed up for. Although I am sure that I was advised it was fixed by the call centre operator at the time I cannot prove it.

I contacted EON tonight and asked them about my EON SaveOnline 3 pricing and they said that they increased the price in February and again in April and again in August. He also said that they were entitled to do this as the only thing fixed was my contract and not the price.

I find this very annoying as after being promised a significant reduction, it was soon wiped out by price increases that I could do nothing about as EON had removed my freedom to change unless I paid a penalty.

I know I should have picked up on this earlier but I am not very good at monitoring my costs, that's why it took me until now to realise.

Are they allowed to do this? I am guessing the answer is yes otherwise they wouldn't.

Interested to hear some responses.

Many Thanks

Andrew

Pincher

My bill went up to over £2,000 a year three years ago.
That made me sit up and pay attention.

I am now mean, tight-fisted and watch my bill like a hawk.
Sad, isn't it?

Keith

Thanks op, I wa wondering what my prices would be, have they said what tariff you move onto?

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi Andrew

Thought it might help if I explained how this tariff works.

All our Saveonline products have variable prices and these will change if our standard prices change.

Saveonline 3 was released on 19 August 2010 and was affected by price increases in February and September. Not sure what our agent was referring to in April; there were no price increases to our standard products then.

After each price increase, customers had the option of changing supplier without being affected by the new prices. This was detailed in the letters we sent following each price increase.

Also, customers on contracts with cancellation fees were not charged this fee if switching due to the price increase.

Saveonline 3 ends on 1 November 2011. At the moment, letters are being sent out reminding customers of this and letting them know the product they'll automatically be defaulted to after this date unless they tell us otherwise.

The online default product will be based on our standard prices but with extra discount for managing your account online. However, there are no cancellation fees.

There are other products available and these can be seen on our website. Alternatively, pop your usage on to one of the comparison sites to see all your options, both with us and the other suppliers.

Just a quick heads up; we don't give discount on final bills when changing supplier. However, this doesn't apply where customers have completed a contract. Therefore, if a change of supplier completes after the end date, you'll receive all the discount applicable to the tariff even if part of this falls within the final bill.

Sorry for any confusion Andrew but hope this makes things a little clearer. Give me a shout if you need any more info as will be happy to help.

Malc

skintus_mcgintus

hi Eon Rep Malc,

I'm currently on EON Save Online 3 duel-fuel tariff, which is due to end on November 1. However I lost the letter you sent me about this

Please can you let me know:

1) What the tariff reverts to?
2) Can I start the switching process now and still get my discount on the final bill? Can I specify the switching date as 1 November and still benefit from my discount?
3) Should I wait until the end of the "fix" deal (ie November 2) until I apply to switch energy provider? When is the earliest I can do this without losing my discount.

and finally:

4) why are energy companies allowed to call a price "fixed" when it is not set at a "fixed" price? I realise that other board members have mentioned this before. But doesn't the advertisement of "fixing your energy prices" mean that you actually pay the same price throughout the fix? has anyone ever complained to the ASA about the unfair description of a fix which can actually fluctuate wildly?

sorry for all the qns...

gflat223

Today, I too began looking at the process of switching from Eon's Save Online 3 duel-fuel tariff and realised that I now seem to have difficulties in getting a " clean break " at the end of the contract on 31st October. Skintus McGintus points out that the switch must take place after the 31st October fixed term ends or else £30 is forfeited. Therefore it would be good to know whether there is a procedure for stipulating the date at which you authorise the switch, as there usually is, when you switch ISA providers. In my experience the switch date for energy depends on how fast or slow the new supplier is at processing the paperwork once you have given your permission. This is unsatisfactory from the consumer's point of view because the uncertainty is a clear disincentive to the switching process. The two main comparison sites do not allow you to stipulate the date of changing which suggests that you would have to go directly to an energy company and therefore will probably not get the cash back bonus for making the switch. (? is that right ?)
Thank you "Eon Rep Malc for telling us that the company's discounts will apply to those charges on the final bill which were incurred before the end of the 31st October fixed term - as long as the switch was not made effective before the 31st October - "Therefore, if a change of supplier completes after the end date, you'll receive all the discount applicable to the tariff even if part of this falls within the final bill." Is that the 6% for direct debit, plus 2% dual fuel, plus 2% for on-line account management, ie 10% altogether?

It would be very helpful if we could be talked through a clean break from Eon's Save Online 3 duel-fuel tariff from someone who has already done it.

Airmike23

You all way over think this stuff, today if you start a change of supply you will leave Eon approx 9-15th november. As of 1st November, if you do not inform Eon of an alternative tariff choice, you will automatically go on to Energy Online which is Eon's Standard rate with an additional 2% discount, this is not the cheapest Eon deal. No Power Co can offer an alternative cheaper/cheapest deal at the end of the current product, some companies decide to extend the product, I know with some instances of EDF and Scottish Powers online tariffs they will occasionally offer another 12 months on the deal (this does not always mean that this is the company's cheapest deal just because it was when you joined them), but generally you get offered the standard tariff by an energy company at renewal. If you don't want to accept the standard offer can contact the existing provider and change the tariff to their cheapest one, or do a change of supplier altogether. Also CONTRACT with an energy company is a rolling 28 day contract, irrespective of the tariff type you have taken with an energy company you can change supplier whenever YOU wish. To try and discourage a customer optioning the fact that they can leave whenever they please, on some, or all but their standard tariff tariff, power company's will put an early termination fee (ETF) in place to discourage the customer from changing supplier whenever THEY want. I.E Eon Save Online 3 if a customer transferred their bill from Eon to another power co before 31st October 2011 they would have incurred the ETF, however if switch to alternate Eon tariff before that date NO ETF charged. Unfortunately you can never stipulatethe date you wish your supply to start with a new provider, rule of thumb is it takes 4-5 sometimes up to 7 weeks fro a cos to go thru, so if instigate a change approx 3 weeks before tariff ends cos will complete after tariff has ended thus no ETF incurred and minimal time on a unit rate that is not as preferable as other pricing options.

E.ON_Company_Representative:_Helena

Hi skintus_mcgintus,

Malc's not here today so I thought I would pop in and answer your questions, if that's ok.

When your SaveOnline 3 tariff ends, if you don't pick another tariff to change on to, you will revert to the Energy Online standard tariff.

If you change supplier before the tariff has ended, you will be charged the cancellation fee.

You can't stipulate the exact date that you want the change to go through on, but you can work on the basis that it takes between 4-6 weeks to change supplier.

You can apply to change supplier before your contract comes to an end, as long as the supply doesn't actually leave us before the end date of your contract, then you won't get charged the cancellation fee.

A fixed tariff is called this because the unit prices are fixed and will not change for the length of the tariff. However, as customers usage can change you may need to pay more or less to cover the energy that you use, but the unit prices still won't change.

Hope this helps.

Helena

gflat223

Thank you Airmike23 and E.ON Company Representative: Helena that was very helpful and it earns Brownie points for Eon's customer service rating that they let Helena clarify the situation even though it may not in the short term benefit the company.

skintus_mcgintus

Agreed, many thanks for clarifying a very confusing topic!