Ebico now pay referral fees for switching

footyguy

According to the ebico website, existing ebico customers can now earn a £15 referral voucher (e.g. amazon, pizza express, etc) for referring a friend

Is this the start of a slippery slope for ebico?
Their website used to boast:

Because we’re a not-for-profit company, our focus is on maintaining the lowest prices for customers rather than spending a lot of money on advertising or paying commission to ‘switch’ companies (energy comparison services).

... but this has since vanished.

I wonder how long before the comparison sites and/or cashback sites will be offering cashback for switching to ebico? :cool:

(I tried to post links to the applicable sources, but it appears I'm no longer permitted to do so
Google should throw them up though, if needed )

Treadmill

Interesting, I am with Ebico because of their lack of gimmicks, and not penalising me for paying cash on receipt of bill. I hope I am not now funding offers like this.

Stuart_W

I remember Ebico offering me a shopping voucher years ago if I recommended a friend. They have done this before. I don't think it is anything new.

You might not like to think of funding offers like this, but the reality is monthly direct debit customers who opt in to e-billing (that's what I was when I was with ebico) are "funding" your ability to pay in cash on receipt of a quarterly bill. High DD-paying ebill users are subsidising lower cash paying paper bill customers. The aims of Ebico are laudable, but ultimately only achievable through legislation. Until then, they remain great for the rich with 2nd property holiday homes and far too expensive for large families who are often the most vulnerable to fuel poverty. Even cash payers can quite often find a better deal now - and as more and more people like me leave, who they rely on to subsidise the more expensive customers - the less and less competitive Ebico will be.

The shopping voucher is to encourage you to recruit people to replace those, like me, who have left. If Ebico only end up with cash paying paper bill accounts, their costs will be disproportionately higher than their rivals.