SSE to lower Gas prices tomorrow

oldwiring

Cardew wrote:

So if you have an electricity bill on 31 March, you will pay at the old higher rates on your next quarterly bill that will be raised on 30 June.

In extreme cases you could pay at the old higher prices for 3 months(or longer) for gas/electricity consumed after their date of implimentation of the new lower rise.

Whenever there has been a price increase mid billing cycle, they have estimated consumption at the date of the price rise and applied the old and new prices.

Why can't they do that for price decreases?

Surely that is what BG is doing on march 12th?

Nothing ventured nothing gained, so Have sent an email asking for clarification . Will post content of reply when received.

Cardew

oldwiring wrote:

Nothing ventured nothing gained, so Have sent an email asking for clarification . Will post content of reply when received.

Thanks.

Let me be quite clear on this.

I think that they will probably implement charges correctly i.e. as you suggest, with estimated pre and post rise consumption. Not do do so will create a huge outcry.

However it is my simply my interpretation of their statements that differ from yours.

Just semantics.

tripled

Did you get a reply from them oldwiring?

Iffy_Wallet

Dear Customer

After two years of rising gas and electricity prices, the past two or three weeks have seen a number of the major energy companies announcing impending or actual price reductions for domestic customers. Some of our customers have asked us if we're going to follow suit. It's a fair question.

Basically, we'll reduce our prices as far as we are able and as soon as we are able. Here at EBICo, as well as our not-for-profit approach to business, our other key founding principle is to treat all our customers fairly and consistently. It doesn't matter when you became a customer, how much energy you use, or what method you use to pay your bills, our aim is to get the best deal for everyone.

If you look at the details behind our competitors' headlines, you'll see that in many cases the reduced prices are attached to 'special' tariffs that are aimed at attracting new customers. They have not reduced the prices for vast bulk of their customers. We'll be reviewing our prices for EQUIGAS and EQUIPOWER for all our customers, existing and new alike. That's the way we do business at EBICo - and we think people like it.

Yours faithfully

Phil Levermore
Managing Director
EBICo Limited

Ebico are talking about, thinking about, maybe, possibly, re-adjusting prices, I think. Maybe.

wills34

BG despite charging more they actually make a lot less profit per customer (up to 83%) than the german utility companies EON and RWE despite charging more perhaps losing 2.5million customers in the last 3 years has contributed to that. Southern and Scot Power (who are in the middle of a takeover) also don't make that much profit per customer due to competitive prices, bizarre timing of price increases. I would say that the german companies and to a lesser extent EDF are in a better position in the market to be competitive this year. All of these companies obviously have shareholders and i don't believe some companies have as much scope as others

Cardew

Iffy_Wallet wrote: »

Ebico are talking about, thinking about, maybe, possibly, re-adjusting prices, I think. Maybe.

I may be a cynic, but that Ebico letter seems to me like 'management speak' for we won't be decreasing prices anytime soon.

oldwiring

tripled wrote: »

Did you get a reply from them oldwiring?

Yesterday, it seems to indicate the worst option, but I intend to write my disgust, if I can finf higher authroity there, just in case what I have been told is inaccurate.

Today am trying to find out why an upgrade to MAXDSL has had absolutely no effect on my BB connection:eek: I am b*y peeved.

SusanCarter

You can always try submitting meter readings on the date of the price change. When I was with nPower, I found that when the price went up they underestimated the reading on the date the price went up therefore charging for more power at the new higher rate. Luckily I happened to have read the meter that day and they accepted my correction and after that I just submitted a meter reading whenever they upped the prices (before changing to EbiCo who are cheaper for electricity and almost as cheap for gas as nPower were before the three price rises in under 15 months). I imagine that most companies would overestimate the reading if they are putting the prices down so submitting your own meter readings is probably the best way to protect against this.

Cardew

SusanCarter wrote: »

You can always try submitting meter readings on the date of the price change. When I was with nPower, I found that when the price went up they underestimated the reading on the date the price went up therefore charging for more power at the new higher rate. Luckily I happened to have read the meter that day and they accepted my correction and after that I just submitted a meter reading whenever they upped the prices (before changing to EbiCo who are cheaper for electricity and almost as cheap for gas as nPower were before the three price rises in under 15 months). I imagine that most companies would overestimate the reading if they are putting the prices down so submitting your own meter readings is probably the best way to protect against this.

Susan,
Like you I have had that happen when prices rose. However we had a post from the man who claimed he wrote the algorithm on which the pre & post rises estimates were based and he was adamant that it was all ‘above board’.

I also tend to think that all the Utility companies would be playing a very dangerous, indeed criminal, game if it was a deliberate policy to defraud customers.

However I think all the above, and your post, is academic if I understand oldwiring’s last post correctly. It would appear that the interpretation in post #28 is being applied. i.e. there will be no pre and post rise prices on a bill. If you were unfortunate enough to have a bill the day before the lower prices came into effect, you would pay the whole of the next 3 months consumption at the old(higher) prices.

If that is indeed so, it is really sharp practice. I expect they will get away with it because that is what their announcement appears to say.

oldwiring

I have emailed them with a complaint email this afternoon.